It remains to be seen whether this zeal shown by the government will bring about positive changes.
But there is one glaring problem in the Dahal Cabinet that begs attention: appointments of Bikram Bahadur Pandey as Urban Development Minister and Dol Prasad Aryal as Labor, Employment and Social Security Minister. They have been put in charge of the ministries where they have conflicts of interest. Pandey owns a construction contract company, notorious for delaying numerous development projects. The Urban Ministry has vital tasks such as monitoring development projects and taking action against defaulting contractors. With Pandey heading the ministry, there is the obvious question regarding his impartiality. How can citizens be assured that he will not abuse his position to advance his own business or that of his close circle? Similarly, Aryal, who has been given the portfolio of Labor, Employment and Social Security, is a former foreign recruitment agency owner. It is a well-established fact that foreign employment sector is one of the most corrupt in Nepal. As fraud and malpractices are rife in the foreign employment field, the country needs a strong minister who could strictly monitor and take action against unscrupulous agencies and their agents. But the incumbent labor minister himself is a former foreign employment agency operator. One cannot expect him to work for the interest of foreign job aspirants. Elsewhere in the world, potential conflicts of interest are a major point of consideration when someone is appointed to an important post. But successive governments in Nepal have been making controversial appointments. This is not limited to ministries alone. The current parliament also has a sizable presence of industrialists and construction contractors. Prime Minister Dahal, who is holding the prime minister’s office for the third time, should have known better when appointing ministers, as he had faced intense criticism in the past for protecting his landlord and a serial contract defaulter, Sharada Prasad Adhikari. With ministers leading the ministries where they have conflicts of interest and various interest groups trying to influence the law and policy making process, Dahal’s pledge to make citizen-friendly government agencies is already ringing hollow. It will do the prime minister well to keep a close eye on his ministers, because if one of them messes up, the blame will fall squarely on him.
