The selection process of the chairperson of the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) is halted again and become uncertain following the sudden illness of coordinator of the selection committee Prof Dr Shivraj Adhikari.
National Planning Commission (NPC) vice chair and coordinator of the selection committee of SEBON chair Prof Dr Adhikari has been hospitalised due to dengue fever, which has resulted in the postponement of the interview process until further notice, according to the Finance Ministry.
Finance secretary Dr Ram Prasad Ghimire confirmed that the interviews could not proceed as Prof Dr  Adhikari remains hospitalised. “The coordinator of the selection committee has been hospitalised, and how can the interviews proceed until he recovers? It now seems unlikely that an appointment will be made before Dashain,” he remarked. Dashain holidays are set to commence from next Wednesday.
The Finance Ministry had scheduled interviews for the remaining three short-listed candidates for Friday (today) morning at 8 am, but the unexpected health issue of the selection committee coordinator has left the appointment of the SEBON chair uncertain again, according to the Ministry.
Incumbent Executive Director of SEBON Dr Navaraj Adhikari and the Chief Executive Officer of the Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) Krishna Bahadur Karki arrived early at the Ministry for their interviews today, though third candidate former chair of Insurance Authority Chiranjivi Chapagain was absent, again.
Last time, these three short-listed candidates Adhikari, Karki and Chapagain ‘boycotted’ the interview, as the then government led by Puspa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and finance minister Barshaman Pun were accused of red tape, and was ‘fixed to appoint another candidate Santosh Narayan Shrestha’ and the whole process was just a show off.

Today’s unforeseen circumstance has also failed the Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel’s plan to appoint a SEBON chairman before the Dashain festival. Poudel had promised the investors to appoint the chair of the regulator of the capital market by Monday, after the recommendations from the selection committee today.
The selection committee had struggled to recommend three names to the Cabinet, from the five short-listed candidates, as only two candidate appeared for interview last time too.
The capital market regulator SEBON is without a chair since last 10 months, after the immediate past chair Ramesh Hamal retired on January 5. The then government, on January 17, formed a selection committee led by the then vice chair of NPC Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha. The committee had Finance Secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini and Prof Udaya Niraula as members.
As per the mandate, the Shrestha-led committee on February 28 invited applications from interested individuals. Responding to the call, some 19 candidates had submitted their applications, from which the committee short-listed five candidates, Dr Nabaraj Adhikari, Chiranjivi Chapagain, Krishna Bahadur Karki, Mukti Nath Shrestha, and Santosh Narayan Shrestha for interview.
However, only two candidates, Mukti Nath Shrestha and Santosh Narayan Shrestha, appeared for the interview. Sources inside the Finance Ministry claimed that both Shresthas were backed by the then ruling party CPN-UML, whereas Adhikari, Chapagain, and Karki were regarded close to the CPN (Maoist Centre), the then prime minister Prachanda’s party.
After only two candidates showed up for the interview, the recommendation committee informed the remaining three candidates, Adhikari, Chapagain, and Karki, to reappear in the interview and fixed a new date. But the three remained absent for the second time too. As per the Sebon Act, it is compulsory to recommend at least three names to the Cabinet for the final selection.
When the committee failed to recommend three names even after the second round, the Shrestha-led committee sought legal advice from the Office of the Attorney General. Though the then Attorney General Din Mani Pokharel gave green signal to appoint the chair, dispute among selection committee members fuelled by the political tug-of war between the CPN-UML and the Maoist Centre, led to the cancellation of the whole process.
After the cancellation of the appointment process, one of the candidates Santosh Narayan Shrestha moved to the Supreme Court seeking intervention. The apex court issued an interim order preventing the cancellation of the appointment process. Though, the issue still remains under judicial consideration, with a hearing scheduled for January, the incumbent Finance Minister Poudel, also due to pressure from different quarters, had scheduled the interview of the candidates for today.
On one hand Finance Minister Poudel is under pressure to expedite the appointment process of the SEBON chair, and on the other former Finance Minister Brashaman Pun has accused the government of corruption of some Rs 5 billion in appointment of SEBON chair.
It is no secret that the chair of SEBON has all of a sudden become very important for different interest groups due to second Stock Exchange licence. It is also no speculation that the interests of the various business groups is due to competition among them to get the licence of the second Stock Exchange, and Pun’s accusation cannot be ruled out.
Poudel, if failed to complete this process, will be the third Finance Minister, who could not appoint the chair of the SEBON, which has been earlier also blamed for the change in governments too.

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