In terms of good governance and transparency, the disclosure of assets of individuals holding public office is viewed from an ethical perspective.
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The Prime Minister and ministers of the government formed on the basis of the Gen-G movement demanding control of corruption and good governance have not yet made their asset details public.
Even after four months of the formation of the government, the Prime Minister and ministers have not shown any readiness to make the details public, despite questions being raised about keeping the details of their assets confidential.
Section 50 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2059 and Section 31 (a) of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority Act, 2048 provide for the submission of asset details within 60 days of the date of appointment to a public position and within 60 days of the end of each fiscal year.
There is no obligation in the law to make the submitted asset details public. In the context of good governance and transparency, the disclosure of the assets of persons holding public positions is viewed from an ethical perspective. That is why it was customary to make the details public by taking a decision from the Council of Ministers.
Even before this, the asset details of the Prime Minister and ministers were not made public during the tenure of some governments. After public questions began to arise, some ministers had made the details public. This time, no minister has come forward to make the details public.
The government formed on 10 August under the leadership of former Chief Justice Sushila Karki includes former Secretary Rameshwor Prasad Khanal as Minister of Finance and Federal Affairs and General Administration, former Executive Director of the Electricity Authority Kulman Ghising as Minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Physical Infrastructure and Transport and Urban Development, and Advocate Om Prakash Aryal as Minister of Home Affairs.
Former Supreme Court Justice Anil Kumar Sinha as Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Engineer Mahabir Pun as Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Agriculturist Madan Prasad Pariyar as Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Development, and Journalist Jagdish Kharel as Minister of Communication and Information Technology.
Former Secretary Sudha Gautam as Minister of Health and Population, Gen-G Youth Bablu Gupta as Minister of Youth and Sports, Advocate Kumar Innam as Minister of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, and former AIG of Nepal Police Rajendra Singh Bhandari as Minister of Labor, Employment and Social Security and Drinking Water. Researcher Madhav Prasad Chaulagain is the Minister for Forest and Environment, former Tourism Board employee Shraddha Shrestha is the Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizens, and former Nepali Army Lieutenant General Balananda Sharma is the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
The website of the Prime Minister's Office states that the asset details of 12 ministers have been received. Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Kumar Ingham, Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security Rajendra Singh Bhandari and Minister for Foreign Affairs Balananda Sharma are yet to submit their asset details. It has not been 60 days since they were appointed.
Khemraj Regmi, former president of Transparency International Nepal, says that it is necessary to make asset details public for transparency. 'A government formed on the foundation of the movement for good governance should make it public,' he says, who is also a former secretary. 'They are the ones who raise questions when others do not make their asset details public. Those in office should show an example of transparency in practice rather than speech.'
Earlier, the KP Sharma Oli-led government was widely criticized for not making the asset details of the Prime Minister and ministers public. Before that, the government led by Sher Bahadur Deuba also did not make the asset details public. The government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal did make the asset details public on 8 Jestha 2081.
Madan Krishna Sharma, President of Transparency International Nepal, says that it is not appropriate for a civil government to behave like others and that it should maintain transparency itself. ‘The mandate of the current government is to maintain good governance,’ he says.
Dipesh Ghimire, Associate Professor at Tribhuvan University, says that ministers should not keep asset details secret. He says that ministers should spontaneously make their asset details public to prove that they are transparent in order to maintain the trust of the citizens. ‘A government formed on the basis of good governance, and a government with a former Chief Justice and former judges involved in it, should not hide asset details,’ says Ghimire.
Minister for Communications and Information Technology Jagdish Kharel says that the asset details have been submitted to the Prime Minister’s Office. He did not respond to the possibility of making the asset details public on his own. "The Prime Minister and ministers have submitted the details within 60 days as per the law," he says.
Energy Minister Kulman Ghisingh also remained silent on whether the asset details that had already been submitted to the Prime Minister's Office could be made public. When journalists questioned the ministry about why the asset details had not been made public, he said, "We have submitted the asset details within two months of becoming a minister. They will be the ones to make it public." He had referred to the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers' Office by saying "them." An official in the Prime Minister's Office said that no minister had raised the issue of making the asset details public.
