SEBON chair appointment: Candidates who skipped interviews summoned again

Kathmandu, September 26 — The ongoing situation regarding the appointment of the Chairman of the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) continues to be complicated. The recommendation committee formed for this appointment called in three shortlisted candidates for interviews and professional presentations, but they did not show up.

The committee issued a notification fixing a new date for the interview and presentation for Krishna Bahadur Karki, Chiranjibi Chapagain, and Nabaraj Adhikari, who missed the earlier sessions. They have been summoned to the Ministry of Finance at Singhadarbar on October 4 at 10 AM. The interviews and presentations for two other shortlisted candidates, Muktinath Shrestha and Santosh Narayan Shrestha, have already been completed.

9 months of indecision

Ramesh Hamal's tenure as chairman ended on January 5. Following this, on January 18, the then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda led the Council of Ministers to form a recommendation committee for the new appointment. The committee called for applications on February 28, and 19 candidates submitted their applications.

The applicants included Chiranjibi Chapagain, Krishnaraj Pokharel, Santosh Narayan Shrestha, Nabaraj Adhikari, Gopal Prasad Bhatta, Neeraj Giri, Keshav Prasad Shrestha, Krishna Prasad Adhikari, Raghuraj Kafle, Muktinath Shrestha, Praveen Pandak, Suryaprasad Adhikari, Ramdev Yadav, Sitaram Thapaliya, Bimal Kumar Tiwari, Ramakrishna Khatiwada, Khagendra Katuwal, Mukti Aryal, and Krishna Bahadur Karki.

On April 7, the committee shortlisted five candidates for the interview and presentation process. However, this decision faced opposition as it appeared that party-affiliated candidates were favored over qualified ones. Although the shortlisted candidates were called for interviews that same week, the appointment decision was delayed until June due to disagreements among leaders of the ruling coalition.

On June 16, the three candidates were invited for a second interview. However, they boycotted this round, claiming the process was predetermined to favor specific candidates.

The Securities Board Act requires the recommendation committee to propose three names for the chairman position. With only two candidates participating in the process, a legal crisis emerged. The Attorney General’s Office was consulted and stated that three names must be recommended. Subsequently, the government dissolved the original committee and reformed it, appointing Uday Niraula as an expert member, along with the finance secretary and vice-chairman of the National Planning Commission (NPC).

Currently, the vice-chairman of the National Planning Commission and the finance secretary have changed, with professor Shivaraj Adhikari now serving as vice-chairman and Dr. Ram Prasad Ghimire as finance secretary. Only Uday Niraula remains from the original committee. The reconstituted committee has resumed the process initiated before the changes.

Given the current dynamics of the political coalition, the likelihood of the remaining three candidates being appointed appears slim. Both Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba support the appointment of Santosh Narayan Shrestha. As a result, it is uncertain if all three candidates will participate in the upcoming process. Additionally, there may be legal questions regarding how the reconstituted committee will proceed with the previous processes.