On Tuesday, the CIAA wrote to the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) to take action against both former and incumbent ambassadors and officials staying in various diplomatic missions even after expiry of their tenure and recover money of the allowances and facilities they have enjoyed unlawfully during their overstay.
A press statement issued by the anti-graft body has said that taking allowances from the government by all the officials staying in office even after expiry of their terms amounts to financial irregularity and it also create unnecessary financial burden to the government.
A highly-positioned source at the CIAA said around 11 former Nepali ambassadors including Shankar Sharma, Sushil Chandra Amatya, Madhuban Poudel, Arun Dhital, Mohan Krishna Shrestha, Bhoj Raj Ghimire, Pradhumna Bikram Shah and Suresh Chalise stayed at office even after expiry of their terms and enjoyed government facilities in an unlawful manner. The envoys are both career diplomats and diplomats appointed politically.
Sharma was ambassador of Nepal to the USA, Amatya to Sir Lanka, Poudel to Kuwait, Dhital to Africa, Shrestha to France, Ghimire to Canada, Shah to Brazil and Chalise to Britian.
Tara Prasad Pokharel, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that some former ambassadors overstayed for up to six years though they were appointed only for four years.
The Ministry sends a reminder to ambassadors six months before expiry of their tenure.
“But we found the ambassadors giving no heed to the reminder and continued at their office,” said the source at the CIAA.
When asked why the ministry continued to send allowances and salaries to the ambassadors even as they were overstaying beyond their given tenure,
Spokesperson Pokharel said that giving continuity to the incumbent ambassador for the same posting until the envoy is replaced has become a norm for some years.
“The government was in a way accepting this trend silently,” he admitted. “This is how they were receiving salaries and other perks.”
The CIAA has also asked the ministry to give continuity to the sitting ambassadors only after setting certain criteria to extend their tenure if their additional stay is justified on valid grounds.
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