A delegation of Joint Tourism Coordination Council (JTCC) today today called on Prime Minister Sushil Koirala at his official residence at Baluwatar to apprise him of the rampant financial irregularities taking place at Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).

They also apprised the premier of the board’s failure in contributing to the development and promotion of tourism industry.

Responding to them, the premier said that any form of corruption was unacceptable to his government as his prime objective is to establish good governance and create a system of accountability in the country.

The delegation also handed over a copy of the memorandum – which they had presented to Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Bhim Prasad Acharya nine days back – to the Prime Minister.

The agitating tourism entrepreneurs also urged the government to appoint private sector representatives to the board of Nepal Tourism Board in the recommendation of tourism-related associations, apart from restructuring it in line with the earlier taskforce reports.

The board’s past programmes and activities were designed to serve vested interests of a handful, they blamed, asking the government to form a taskforce with private sector representatives and auditing experts to probe into the  programmes and expenditures of past five years.

Asking to remove the acting chief executive, they also requested the government to appoint the new chief executive immediately. The incumbent acting chief executive is one of the candidates for the post that will impact the selection process, they said.

The tourism entrepreneurs also met with with finance minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat and informed him of their campaign against financial irregularities at Nepal Tourism Board.

Meanwhile, Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FNCCI), Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC), Nepal Canyoning Association (NCA) and Restaurant and Bar Association of Nepal (REBAN), NTB’s board members Phurba Gyalzen Sherpa, Pampha Dhamala, Dhrub Narayan Shrestha and Tikaram Sapkota have already expressed their solidarity to the campaign to free Nepal Tourism Board from corruption.

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