KATHMANDU Dec 14: Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal said Tuesday that internal conflict within Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) was the biggest hurdle in the procurement of new aircraft in the national flag carrier´s fleet.
Speaking at the meeting of parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the prime minister made it clear that he had no intention of influencing the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority´s (CIAA´s) probe on alleged irregularities in the procurement process. [break]
“I am simply trying to resolve the issue,” he added.
The committee had requested CIAA to look into the purchase process, stating that the lock-up money was sent to European aircraft manufacturer Airbus without following necessary procedures.
“I am positive toward replacing the entire managerial team at NAC by representatives of concerned ministries or forming a special committee of experts,” he said, adding that he just wants to make sure that the procurement deal is beneficial to the government.
“The government is positive to resume the procurement process. Our only concern is that the there should be fair and transparent dealing.”
The PM said internal conflict within NAC, returning lock-up money forwarded to the manufacturer and selecting the aircraft requirement - narrow or wide body - were the major challenges.
“There is no point purchasing wide body aircraft, as studies have showed that it would be appropriate to acquire narrow-body aircraft in the national carrier´s fleet,” the PM added.
Speaking on the occasion, CPN-UML lawmaker Rabindra Adhikari said the procurement process will not gain pace unless the ongoing power struggle between executive chairman and managing director of NAC is resolved. “Forging national consensus for the purchase and the settlement of lock-up money are the other important issues,” Adhikari added.
UCPN (Maoist) lawmaker Keshav Nepal suspected that the conflict between the executive chairman and managing director was due to commission offered by the manufacturer. “The government should cancel the ongoing procurement process and start afresh,” he added.
Similarly, Nepali Congress lawmaker Kamala Panta said a serious study on the market of NAC should be conducted before forwarding the procurement process. “Aircraft of NAC are with a very few passengers. How can we become assured that the national flag carrier will yield positive results after adding new aircraft?” she questioned.
The discussions will continue in the next meeting of PAC as well. CIAA officials have also been invited for the meeting.