From now onward, energy secretary will become the ex officio chairman of NEA board to put a system in place which, in minister Bista´s words, would significantly curtail political intervention in the state electricity monopoly. [break]
For the past 26 years, the minister concerned, or minister of state in the absence of a full minister, has headed the NEA.
“I had declared that I would relinquish NEA chairmanship, shortly after becoming minister around three months ago,” Minister Bista reasoned when asked whether it was just a publicity stunt at a time when the government itself is living on borrowed time. “I had asked Energy Secretary Balananda Poudel to take over as NEA chairman immediately after his appointment in the ministry. But he needed sometime to prepare the proposal that was approved today,” Bista added.
Bista, who has started a new trend of hiring the managing director of NEA through open competition, also gave up the more expensive Toyota Prado of NEA and started using a modest Mahindra Scorpio from Wednesday.
During his tenure as NEA chairman, minister Bista also got the board pass a decision that would put a stop to the purchase of high-end luxurious vehicles.
There is a tradition of NEA vehicles being misused by high-ranking politicians with former prime ministers Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal still using Toyota Prado purchased by NEA in the same lot as the one Bista had been using in the capacity of NEA chairman till date. Former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and senior CPN-UML leader KP Oli have also been using NEA vehicles.
The government provided compensation to NEA for the vehicles used by senior politicians a few months ago following intense media pressure.
Bista said the decision to stop the purchase of expensive vehicles will ensure that NEA vehicles would not be targeted by powerful politicians in future.
The minister, who significantly reduced the scourge of load-shedding by minimizing the leakage, and with the help of favorable weather conditions, as he conceded, has also made financial arrangements for a few hydropower projects.
Bista is unfazed by the uncertainty about his ministerial future. “I know that I would not remain a minister for long considering the ever-changing political dynamics in our country. But I am determined about doing something new in the energy sector for whatever period I stayed at its helm,” stated Bista.
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