PM KHANAL, SUSHIL KOIRA;LA MEET AHEAD OF EMERGING POLITICAL CRISIS

PM KHANAL, SUSHIL KOIRALA MEET

Kathmandu, 19 May: Prime Minister Khanal assured main opposition NC President Sushil Koirala Thursday he prioritized the peace process and constitution drafting,
Khanal drove to Koirala’s residence to deliver the assurance.
The government chief and UML party Chairman Khanal asked reporters following the meeting not to have suspicious on his commitment to peace and constitution drafting.
MJFL Chairman Bijaya Kumar Gachedhar earlier Thursday morning asked main opposition NC President Koirala not to change a party policy to support a government proposal to extend the tenure of the constituent assembly (CA) by another one year after 28 May.
The support will push the country crisis, Gachedhar told Koirala.
Parties are formalizing their official positions on the future of the constituent assembly after 28 May with only nine days remaining for the CA tenure to end.
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RPP, RJP UNIFICATION BEING PUBLICLY ANNOUNCED

Kathmandu, 19 May: The merger of RPP led by Pahsupati Shumshere Rana and Rashtriya Janaskahki Party (RJP) steered by former Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa is being announced in the capital later Thursday with the unification of the Kathmandu units.
Merger meetings in 60 other districts is being announced Friday.
Thapa launched RJP when Rana attempted to impose party diktat on a government he was leading during royal rule.
Unification efforts started more than three years ago.
RPP and RJP have eight and three seats respectively in parliament/constituent assembly.
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RPP-NEPAL REGISTERES PROTEST NOTE IN PARLIAMENT

Kathmandu, 19 May: RPP-Nepal Parliamentary Party Leader Chandra Bahadur Grung registered a protest note at parliament secretariat Wednesday against a government proposal to extend the tenure of constituent assembly (CA) by another one year after 28 May.
Government registered the proposal at the secretariat 12 May.
RPP-Nepal note says the there’s no valid and principled basis for the tenure extension and is untimely.
“The amendment proposal to the interim constitution shouldn’t be presented in parliament to ensure the right of people to participate in the peace process and constitution drafting by electing representatives in elections for a fresh mandate,” the note said.
The note said no work was done to draft a constitution by extending a mandate one year earlier.
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MAN WHO SLAPPED MAOIST LAWMAKER FREED ON BAIL

Kathmandu, 19 May: Coffee shop owner Prem Prakash Debkota, who slapped Maoist lawmaker.Jhakku Prasad Subedi, was freed on a Rs. 7,000 bail imposed by Kathmandu district administration.
The incident happened 24 April in the capital outskirts.
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UN STOPS FOOD AID TO WEST NEPAL

Kathmandu, 19 May: The UN is to stop distributing food to nearly a million people in remote western Nepal because of funding shortfalls, threatening a major health crisis, a spokeswoman said Wednesday, according to AFP,
The UN World Food Progamme says 41 percent of Nepali people are estimated to be undernourished.
But WFP says it does not have enough funds to supply food.
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NEW SECURITY STRATEGY FORCAPITAL





Kathmandu, 19 May: Metropolitan Police Range (MPR), Hanumandhoka, has come up with a new security strategy to maintain law and order and bring criminal activities under control in the capital city, Purusottam Khatri writes in The Rising Nepal
MPR has named this new strategy ‘Pocket and Area Search’ operation which will function round the clock in the capital.
The pocket and area search will be carried out in every cranny, nook and major hub of the capital city.
The Nepal Police Headquarters has issued circulars to all regional, district, unit, and other police posts across the country for not granting long days’ leave to any police officer and personnel at a time when only 10 days are left for the deadline to promulgate the new constitution.
Police said at this time anything could happen anywhere anytime. "Our security administration must remain alert towards any untoward incidents," Kedar Rijal, Superintendent of Police (SP) and chief of MPR told The Rising Nepal.
"We have alerted and deployed our

manpower to check and monitor the
situation of the valley from all police sectors, circles, police posts and area police offices," SP Rijal said.
Currently, there are altogether three police ranges, seven police circles, 39 metropolitan police sectors, three area police offices and 19 police posts.
In the Kathmandu city alone, about 2,200 policemen are carrying out their work either by direct deployment in the field or by handling administrative and other responsibilities.
SP Rijal said that the pocket search operation was an operation of deployment of security personnel in financial transaction areas, banking sectors and big shopping centres of the valley.
During their duty, security personnel will be in both civil and official uniforms.
Apart from this, security personnel with their available security vehicles called Control Room Vehicles (CRVs), Quick Response Teams (QRTs), motorcycles and bicycles would always be in a standby position and respond instantly, SP Rijal said.
"Separate police teams are also keeping an eye on public areas, small shops, and markets where there is a large number of people gather," Rijal said.
Similarly, area search operation is another priority list of the security personnel. The area search operation is a task of deployment of security personnel in major junctions, nooks and cranny of the capital city where there is also possibility of serious and organized crimes taking place.
"Area search operation helps us in nabbing gangsters and youths involved in different criminal activities, illegal drug trade, illegal weapons and burglary cases," Rijal said.
Surprise checks will also be given a prime focus in several hotels, guest houses and restaurants, casinos, discotheques, dance bars and massage centres.




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NRB TO BOOK ERRANT BANKERS FIRST
Kathmandu, 19 May: In a major strategy shift in dealing with problematic banks, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has announced that its immediate priority would be to initiate criminal proceedings against those engaged willfully in destroying the financial health of banks and financial institutions (BFIs), rather than averting any financial meltdown of the institutions concerned, Milan Mani Sharma writes in Republica.

In the past, the central bank´s first priority used to be to safeguard the health of institutions, and that would overshadow the issue of punishing promoters and officials flouting banking rules and engaging in financial irregularities.
“We have decided to change the sequence of our action,” said Governor Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada. “Now we will bring the axe down on people engaged in irregularities and financial crime, and take steps to correct the health of BFIs after handing over the wrongdoers to the police department concerned,” he added.

The central bank decided to change its approach mainly after it realized that its corrective actions alone were not contributing to rooting out wrongdoing by BFI directors and chief executives. It now argues: wrongdoing tendencies will not fade away unless the wrongdoers are punished.

“Another reason for attacking the wrongdoers first is they will abscond if they get even a small hint; institutions, on the other hand, remain put,” said Dr Khatiwada.

Going by the existing Banks and Financial Institutions Act (BAFIA), the central bank can at most fine and sack officials involved in financial crime. For more stringent punishment, as provisioned in the Banking Offense (Punishment) Act, NRB needs to hand over the case to Nepal Police for further action.

However, Dr Khatiwada said lack of proper and timely action against wrongdoers in the past has allowed financial criminals to walk free.

“If people against whom we sought action for bankrupting financial institutions or engaging in lending and deposit-related irregularities are still walking free, it´s because of our own wrong priorities,” said Dr Khatiwada.

NRB has so far sought legal action against the promoters and senior officials of Nepal Development Bank, Cottage and Small Industry Development Bank, Gorkha Development Bank and Nepal Share Market and Finance (NSMF).

In the case of the first three, the central bank had enforced corrective action and moved on to penalize the wrongdoers only later. In the case of NSMF a few weeks ago, it froze the bank accounts, assets and passports of the former executive chairman and members of his family, and handed the case over to police for further action.

“We will now move on to get a realistic picture of NSMF and take corrective action soon,” said Dr Khatiwada.

Despite the reorientation in its approach, Governor Khatiwada agreed that there was an urgent need to improve coordination between NRB, the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Home and Nepal Police to get positive results.
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