The recent dispute between Mahat and Koirala is one case among many. Coincidentally, it has been disclosed that Nepali Congress (NC) ministers in the caretaker government appear to be in the forefront compared to ministers from other parties when it comes to rifts with their secretaries.
NC ministers Mahat, Mohabat Aftab Alam, Umakanta Chaudhary, Purna Kumar Sherma and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sujata Koirala are ahead in piling up showdowns with secretaries at their respective ministries.
Mahat recently sought clarifications from Secretary Koirala over the appointment of Karki to the Upper Tamakoshi project. Koirala did not furnish any clarification as he was not compelled to do so by law. Mahat finally revoked the decision taken by Koirala, pointing out that he was not even consulted and informed in advance of the decision.
Minister for Local Development Purna Kumar Sherma´s bid to dole out millions went in vain as the secretaries at his ministry did not speed up the decision as per his wish.
Sherma finally transferred Secretary Umesh Mainali after Mainali rejected to dole out nearly Rs 500 million purportedly for development projects and as per the interests of the minister. Ministers Sherma and Rakam Chemjong, State Minister Ganesh Khadka and dozens of NC and UML lawmakers had been pressing Secretary Mainali to dole out the money.
Administration experts have surmised that the ongoing rift between ministers and secretaries is the result of ministers prevailing upon the secretaries to take undue advantage and misuse of state coffers.
In the opinion of Prof Bhim Dev Bhatta, a former member of the Pubic Service Commission, ministers are responsible for their recent disputes with secretaries. "I have weighed the recent incidents very closely. What I have learnt is that ministers are pressing secretaries to take unlawful decisions and the latter have been refusing to oblige," he said, adding, "The stance taken by the secretaries is, in my judgment, laudable."
Other NC ministers are also ahead in terms of rifts with their secretaries. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sujata Koirala has long been feuding with Secretary Madan Bhattarai. And she finally exposed the rift when she said that she would never sign the Machine Readable Passport deal reached between her ministry and French company Oberthur Technologies.
Another NC minister, Umakanta Chaudhary, changed the responsibilities of the secretaries under his ministry following a deepening rift with Secretary Dr Sudha Sharma. Under Chaudhary, Health Secretary Dr Sharma was replaced by another secretary, Dr Prabin Mishra. Sources at the ministry said Chaudhary was unhappy with Sharma as she did not implement controversial decisions as wished by the minister. She was asked to unlawfully transfer and promote officials at various offices under the ministry. "Chaudhary wanted to dole out millions to near and dear ones by way of financial assistance from his ministry. But his attempt aborted after Sharma refused to oblige," sources told Republica.
According to Prof Bhatta, a mechanism limiting a minister´s jurisdiction over daily administrative activities is urgently needed. "Ministers´ interventions in the regular business of ministries are rampant," he said, adding, "This must be stopped at the earliest."
Similarly, Mo. Aftab Alam has been pressing Secretary Dinesh Hari Adhikary to take some controversial decisions even though the government is only a caretaker one. Source at Mministry of labor and Transport Management said Adhikary has been flatly refusing to award big projects and transfer and promote officials as per the minister´s wishes. "Our secretary´s stance has saved us from taking controversial decisions," a senior official at the ministry told Republica.
NC ministers Minendra Rijal and Bal Krishna Khand, however, have no rift so far with the secretaries at their ministries.
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