Process to appoint Sebon chairperson resumes

The government has resumed the process of appointing a new chairperson for the Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) - the capital market regulator.

The recommendation committee formed by the Ministry of Finance has invited the three candidates, who were previously shortlisted for the position but failed to appear for the interview, for an interview and presentation session.

Issuing a public notice on Thursday, the committee notified the three candidates - Krishna Bahadur Karki, CEO of Nepal Stock Exchange, Chiranjeevi Chapagain, former chairperson of the Beema Samiti (now Nepal Insurance Authority) and Dr Navaraj Adhikari, executive director of SEBON - to attend the interviews and presentations at 8 am on October 4.

Out of five candidates shortlisted for the position, only Santosh Narayan Shrestha and Sebon's Executive Director Mukti Shreshta had attended the interview and presentation session conducted during the tenure of the then finance minister Barsha Man Pun of the CPN (Maoist Center). There were rumors that the other three skipped the interview after knowing that one of Santosh and Mukti would be appointed to the position. 

Since the recommendation committee was required to recommend three names, the appointment process became complicated when legal questions arose about whether only two could be recommended for appointment. The recommendation committee had even sought the opinion of the Office of the Attorney General on whether to proceed with the recruitment process.

Although the then Attorney General Dinmani Pokhrel had advised that there were no legal obstacles to making the appointment, the selection process was ultimately canceled due to disagreements within the selection committee. 

After the process was canceled, Santosh Narayan Shrestha, one of the interviewed candidates, moved the court against the decision and managed to get an interim order against the decision to terminate the selection process.

The Supreme Court has scheduled a final hearing into the case for January.

Sebon has been without a leader since the first week of January when Ramesh Kumar Hamal completed his term. The parliamentary Finance Committee last month directed the government to end the leadership vacuum by immediately appointing a qualified and suitable person to lead the stock market regulator.

Realizing that the leadership vacuum in Sebon was affecting the country's stock market, Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Paudel had recently sought fresh advice from the Office of the Attorney General. It has been learnt that the office has suggested to Paudel that the process can move forward.

People privy to the issue said the appointment process, however, will not be free from controversy. They say former finance minister Pun's statement that his government fell because he refused to bow to interest groups in the Sebon chairperson appointment will make the appointment process complex.