Karnali Province Finance Minister Shah's Dual Role Sparks Controversy Over Athletics Championship Funding

Surkhet. The Nepal Athletics Association, chaired by Karnali Province's Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning, Rajib Bikram Shah, is organizing the '46th National Athletics Championship 2083' in Birendranagar from Friday. The competition will be held at the Birendranagar Stadium for three days: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. However, the interesting aspect is that the entire expense of the athletics championship, organized by the institution chaired by Shah, who is also the Finance Minister, will be borne by the provincial government. Finance Minister Shah himself announced this at a press conference in Birendranagar. His press release, signed as chairman, states: A total of 70 lakhs will be required to organize and complete the National Championship. We also inform that this expense will be borne by the Provincial Sports Development Council. The Provincial Sports Development Council falls under the Social Development Ministry of the Karnali Province government. Ghanshyam Bhandari of Shah's own party, Congress, leads this ministry. In the past, it has been a tradition in Karnali for the Finance Minister to hold a press conference one or two days after presenting the budget on Asar 1st to explain the budget's objectives. However, this time, Finance Minister Shah did not hold a press conference about the budget after presenting it. Instead, on Wednesday, he publicly announced the program for the athletics championship organized by the association he chairs, with the provincial government allocating 70 lakhs for the expense. After the press release signed by him was released, provincial assembly members and some ministers were surprised. A member of the ruling party said, 'It is against the principles of good governance for the same person to be in the policy-making and budget allocation level and for the organization led by that person to be provided with government budget.' In the press release, Minister Shah signed as 'Chairman' on the letterhead of the Athletics Association. On one hand, he has the responsibility as a minister to protect the province's treasury, and on the other hand, as the chairman of the association, he is taking funds from that same treasury, which is not considered good from a policy perspective, according to that assembly member. The press release mentions the organizing Athletics Association and the Karnali Province Sports Development Council in cooperation and coordination, with the co-organization by the Provincial Athletics Association Karnali. Mangal Bahadur Shahi, leader of the main opposition party in Karnali, the Nepali Communist Party (UML), stated that this is a matter for discussion. 'If the entire expense is to be borne by the provincial government, the Sports Council could have done it itself,' he said. 'It is not appropriate for the association chaired by the minister to be the organizer and for the entire expense to be borne by the government.' He stated that the opposition will raise this issue in the parliament on Friday. The press release mentions that there will be a competition in 28 events, 14 each for men and women, in the National Championship. 7 provinces and 3 departmental teams, making a total of 10 teams, will have 120 women and 120 men, totaling 240 athletes, competing for 28 gold medals. The provinces include Koshi, Madhesh, Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali, and Sudur Paschim, while the departmental teams include Tribhuvan Army of the Nepali Army, Armed Police Force APF, and Nepal Police Club. Winners will receive cash prizes of 15,000, 10,000, and 5,000, along with trophies, medals, and certificates. Furthermore, Minister Shah, as the chairman of the association, stated that there will be a total participation of 260 people, including 10 athletes, 10 coaches, and 10 managers from the 10 participating teams, along with 60 technical officials, making it 320 participants. The press release mentions that the food, accommodation, and travel expenses for the athletes, coaches, managers, and technical officials of all 10 participating teams in the National Championship will be provided, and that expense will be borne by the Council. Rabin Chand, Member Secretary of the Provincial Sports Development Council, stated that rather than focusing on the budget, the fact that such a large competition is being held in Karnali should be considered. 'The Finance Minister himself is the chairman of the association, and the association is the organizer,' he said. 'Our thinking is that other sports associations and organizations should conduct the competition, and we should facilitate it.' He stated that the event has been organized accordingly. When asked if there is no question of giving budget from the government to an association chaired by the Finance Minister himself, he replied, 'There are many such examples in other countries around the world. We should think about the fact that such a big competition is happening for the first time.' Chand also stated that the opening ceremony of the competition will be inaugurated by Karnali Chief Minister Yamlal Kandel on Friday. He also informed that former chief ministers and leaders from all parties have been invited to the inauguration ceremony.