KATHMANDU, March 6: Opposition parties have demanded an explanation from the government on why the Ministry of Energy assigned a zero score in the performance evaluation of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Executive Director Kulman Ghising, slamming the alleged efforts from the ruling coalition to remove him from his post despite commendable work.
At the start of Wednesday's House of Representatives meeting, main opposition party CPN-Maoist Center’s Chief Whip Hitraj Pandey, representing the opposition parties, demanded that the government provide an explanation on the zero score assigned to Ghising.
“At a time when most public institutions are running at a loss and the NEA is operating at a profit, having consistently improved, ending load-shedding across the country, what is the government trying to achieve by repeatedly seeking clarifications from him? An explanation on this matter is urgently necessary,” he said.
Zero evaluation marks to Ghising, speaker directs govt to respo...
Rastriya Swatantra Party lawmaker Manish Jha warned that removing Ghising would have negative consequences on the bureaucracy. “If we remove Ghising, who has elevated the NEA and ended load-shedding, we will discourage many promising individuals like him," he said.
Rastriya Prajatantra Party lawmaker Gyanendra Shahi warned the ruling coalition that the opposition would rise both in parliament and on the streets if Kulman is removed. “The conspiracy to remove the person who brought Nepal from darkness to light and helped the NEA earn over Rs 11 billion in profit in just six months will spark protests in both parliament and on the streets,” he said.
After the opposition parties' warning, Speaker Devraj Ghirmire directed the Minister of Energy to provide information regarding the assignment of a zero score to Kulman Ghising.
Speaking with journalists during the inauguration of the Dumre Cultural Festival in Tanahun on Tuesday, Minister Khadka had claimed that the government did not engage in any manipulation to remove Ghising from his position.
“Why should the government intervene to remove an employee?” He said, “The government can discharge an employee when needed and can also retain employees as required.”
Upon being asked about why the NEA was given a zero score in the performance evaluation, Minister Khadka responded, “What happens when a student is absent for an exam? The same thing happened here. They could not receive the score because they failed to submit their work performance on time.”
