Ignoring the commission´s suggestions to call the committee´s meeting three weeks before the fiscal year expired, the Ministry of General Administration (MoGA) had asked the commission to appoint an expert to the committee and attend the meeting on the last day of the past fiscal year (July 16). [break]
"We had asked the government authorities to call the meeting three weeks ago," said, Kayo Devi Yami, acting chief of the commission. "But the caretaker government sent us a letter asking us to appoint an expert and attend the meeting on the last day of the fiscal year. We were suspicious about the government´s intention and decided neither to appoint the expert nor to attend the meeting."
As per existing legal provisions, the commission needs to appoint an administrative expert to give full shape to the committee. PSC member Krishna Pokhrel is the chief and member Tika Datta Niraula is a member of the committee.
Yami claimed that the government´s intention to call the meeting on the last day of the fiscal year was not good. "We were tipped off that the meeting was aimed at promoting a few joint secretaries who completed requirements for promotion just a day before the last date of the fiscal year," she added. "We then decided not to attend the meeting to foil the mala fide intention of the outgoing government." She, however, denied to divulge the names of secretaryes who completed requirements just a day before the last day of the fiscal year.
The ministry had requested the committee to attend the meeting for the promotion of three joint secretaries to fulfill three vacant posts of secretaries. For that, the ministry had sent a letter to PSC on July 15, a day before of the proposed meeting.
Following Yami´s denial to appoint an expert to the committee, Pokhrel and Niraula boycotted the meeting.
"We decided not to attend the meeting after our chief didn´t appoint an expert to the SPC," Pokhrel said. "We skipped the meeting as it would have been unethical to participate in the meeting that didn´t have an expert."
At present, nine joint secretaries have been proposed for promotion while three seats are vacant. Joint secretaries Bishow Prakash Pandit, Som Lal Subedi, Arjun Karki and Dharani Dhar Khatiwada, among others, are on the race for promotion.
Three secretaries´ posts to be scrapped
Meanwhile, the government has decided to scrap three existing posts of secretaries. According to a source at the ministry, it has proposed scrapping secretary´s posts at the Prime Minister´s Office, Kathmandu Metropolitan City and Office of the Committee for the Management of Freed Kamaiyas.
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