The selection process for the Securities Board Chairman was prolonged

Since the committee called for applications very late and selected the first round only about a month after receiving the applications, the process of selecting the chairman has also been delayed. Meanwhile, the selection of the chairman has become uncertain after the process of presenting the work papers of those selected in the first stage has stopped.

Shrestha is the coordinator of the recommendation committee members, Finance Secretary Krishnahari Pushkar and expert member Uday Niraula. Especially after the finance minister did not agree on the name of Santosh Narayan Shrestha among the five people who were recommended, the presentation of the papers of all those selected in the first phase was stopped. "The finance minister is going out of the country from May 2nd to 10th, it seems that the process will proceed only after he returns," the source said, "The finance minister's dissatisfaction with the names of those who were shortlisted in the first phase is very visible. Therefore, it should not be surprising if all the previous procedures have been canceled and the application has been called again.'

The recommendation committee called for applications on February 16, in which 19 applications were received. In the first round, five people were selected last Sunday: Krishna Bahadur Karki, Chiranjeevi Chapagain, Navraj Adhikari, Muktinath Shrestha and Santosh Narayan Shrestha. The shortlisted candidates were mailed on Thursday (Chait 29) for submission of papers. However, without issuing any official notification, the Ministry of Finance staff informed the candidates by telephone last Wednesday that the presentation of work papers has been postponed. "When asked when it will happen, we will inform," said a candidate. The official said that the confusion has increased because the next date for the presentation of the working paper has not been fixed.

Previously, while selecting the chairman of the Securities Board, the then recommendation committee selected five people in the first phase and also specified the date and time of their work paper presentation and interview. "This year neither the schedule of presentation of work papers was made public, nor was the notice of postponement issued," said another candidate. When the coordinators and members of the Ministry of Finance and the recommendation committee were repeatedly contacted, they did not want to say anything formally.

With the five people mentioned for the chairmanship of the board, Krishnaraj Pokharel, Gopal Prasad Bhatt, Neeraj Giri, Keshav Prasad Shrestha, Krishna Prasad Adhikari, Raghuraj Kafle, Pravin Pandak, Surya Prasad Adhikari, Ramdev Yadav, Sitaram Thapalia, Bimal Kumar Tiwari, Ramkrishna Khatiwada, Khagendra Katuwal and Mukti Aryal. applied. Among the five selected in the first round, Krishna Bahadur Karki is currently the Chief Executive Officer of NEPSA. Navraj Adhikari and Muktinath Shrestha are the Executive Directors of the Securities Board, while Chiranjeevi Chapagain is the former Chairman of Nepal Insurance Committee. Santosh Narayan Shrestha is a shareholder of hydropower company and microfinance financial institution.

Until about five years ago, the post of Chairman of the Securities Board did not have much appeal. Although there were many individuals who wanted to go there, businessmen were not very interested. The situation has changed a lot in the last five years. In recent years, business houses have become very active not only in who wants to be a board chairman, but also in choosing who to be chairman. Experts say that by making their own person the chairman of the board, the license of various organizations can be redeemed, and shares can be issued at a premium.

'The issue of who will be the president of Sebon is higher than the Finance Minister, Secretary of Finance, Vice President of the Commission, they are only politicians,' a former president of Sebon said, 'The competition is between the business houses, who can give more money, that person is sure to become the president. The official claims that if the recommendation committee was independent in the process of selecting the president, Sebon would have gotten the president long ago. "In such appointments, it is only necessary to show on paper that the government has completed the formalities according to the law," said the official, "the person is already determined." The process is carried out in such a way that only that person is selected.

He argues that since the selection process of the president is not transparent, the actions taken by the person to be selected are not correct when he comes with conditions. "Businessmen used to have little influence over the chairman of the board, but after the tenure of the then presidents Bhishmaraj Dhungana and Ramesh Kumar Hamal, the business houses have started to dominate the business houses," added the official. Companies were also allowed to issue shares at exorbitant prices, distributing licenses arbitrarily. After being able to operate in this way, the businessmen have started a power struggle.'

The outgoing chairman of the board, Ramesh Kumar Hamal, was going to give stock exchange license to certain business houses in a planned manner. But after it became controversial, the government has stopped the license distribution. Now the incoming president has to distribute the license of the new stock exchange. This is why business houses are struggling to send their own people to the president, experts say. "There is not such a clash of power even in the appointment of the governor of the National Bank, as it has been in the appointment of the chairman of the Securities Board in recent years," said a candidate, "because of this, it is very difficult for those who are selected to work."

Expert member of the selection committee, Uday Niraula, has also been questioned about his qualifications. Some people have demanded a written proof of Niraula's qualifications from the office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. In Section 3 of the Securities Act 2063, to be appointed as an expert member of the board, one must have at least seven years of experience in the securities market, management, capital market development, financial or economic field with at least a master's degree from a recognized university in economics, management, finance, commerce or law. There is a provision to have one member nominated by the Government of Nepal from among the received experts. Sources claim that even though Niraula teaches at Tribhuvan University, that alone does not qualify him to be an expert as mentioned in the Act.

The deadline to apply for the Securities Board Chairman was last February 30. Thus, the committee prepared the short list only 25 days after the last date of application. The committee will have to select 3 people from the 5 people selected in the first stage and recommend them to the government for appointment in the second stage. There is a provision that one of the 3 people recommended by the committee should be selected by the government as the chairman of the board.

Board Chairman must have at least a master's degree from a recognized university and have worked in the fields of securities market management, capital market development, economics, finance, commerce, management or law for at least seven years. The committee formed for the purpose of recommending a name for appointment to the vacant post of chairman of the Nepal Securities Board in accordance with Section 7 of the Securities Act, 2063 has determined the procedure in accordance with the provisions in subsection (5) of the same section.

Since last December 20, the chairmanship has been vacant in Sebon. The government formed a recommendation committee in the first week of January to appoint a new chairman. Due to the absence of the chairman, all types of securities issuance permits, including initial issuance, right shares, bonus, bonds, etc., of the companies have been stopped, while the new license and action process has come to a standstill.