HIMALAYAN SHERPA PLAY HONG KONG NEPALESE FOOTBALL TEAM IN BIRAT GOLD CUP FINAL

HONG KONG NEPALESE FOOTBALL TEAM PLAY HIMALAYAN
SHERPA IN FINAL OF BIRAT GOLD CUP

Kathmandu, 7 April: Himalayan Sherpa take on Hong Kong Nepalese Football
Players Team in the final of the Birat Gold Cup Football Tournament in Biratnagar Saturday.
The finalists defeated Three Star Club and Manang Marshyangdhi Club (MMC) to qualify for the final.
Nnnn

CLEAR SPLINT SURFACES IN UCPN (MAOIST) WITH RIVAL MEETINGS TO MAKE PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT DAY
Kathmandu, 7 April : In a clear indication of widening rift in the party, the establishment and the rebel factions of the UCPN (Maoist) on Friday held separate functions in Kathmandu and other parts of the country to mark the People´s Movement Day.

The party establishment held a mass gathering at Basantapur while the rebel faction led by Maoist senior Vice Chairman Mohan Baidya, in collaboration with other 11 fringe parties, organized a similar program at Shanti Batika on Friday afternoon.

The programs of the party establishment led by Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal were held in urban areas while the Baidya faction´s programs were held in all the 240 election constituencies.

Maoist Chairman Dahal was supposed to address the program in Basantapur but skipped the program citing health reasons. Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai and Finance Minister Barshaman Pun addressed the gathering. Party insiders said Dahal decided not to attend the program after learning of low participation of party cadres.



Similarly, Baidya and party Secretary CP Gajurel addressed the program at Shantibatika. So did Matrika Yadav, general secretary of the CPN (Maoist). The Badiya faction also burnt copies of all the “unequal” Nepal-India treaties, including the latest Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement, terming them anti-national.

Addressing the program, Prime Minister Bhattarai said he was confident about completing the work of constitution writing May 27 but added that the constitution would be a document of compromise with the Nepali Congress and the CPN (UML).

“It would not be the constitution that we want - a new democratic constitution. Neither will it be the constitution that NC and CPN-UML want," said the prime minister.
Bhattarai also told the party cadres that he and Chairman Dahal have not forgotten the sacrifices made by over 10,000 people who lost their lives and another 1,000 who were disappeared and injured during the conflict.

"Prachanda [Dahal] and Baburam have not tired, they are not losers and they have not forgotten the martyrs after entering Baluwatar [becoming prime minister]," the prime minister said.

Similarly, Baidya told his supporters that his faction represents the party establishment and the true party line. "The leaders who have dumped the party´s authentic ideology and political line have no right to call themselves Maoists. UCPN (Maoist) is our party," he said, indirectly accusing Dahal and Bhattarai of discarding the party´s original ideology.

He also accused Dahal and Bhattarai of “betraying the ´10-year people´s war and the sacrifice made by martyrs”, arguing that the 1990 movement was necessitated after the CPN (Marxist and Leninist betrayed the Jhapa movement of 1971.

Expressing his serious concern over allegations that his faction does not want peace and constitution, Baidya also expressed his commitment to peace and constitution.

"We want peace but not dead peace. We will fight for a people´s constitution until the last moment. If the parties betray the people we will continue our movement," he said, accusing the present government of dancing to the tunes of foreign powers.

"We had termed the Madhav Kumar Nepal government a puppet. The current government led by our party Vice-chairman Bhattarai is also a puppet government," said Baidya.
nnnn


TAINTED OFFICIALS REWARDED BY GOVT.
Kathmandu, 7 April 7 One of the four priorities of the current Baburam Bhattarai-led government is ´good governance´. Ironically, some ministries have been openly rewarding ´tainted´ officials,
Gani Ansari writes Republica..

The Ministry of General Administration (MoGA) has rewarded eight officials, who were involved in the preparation and approval of the transfer list of 1,809 civil servants. The controversial transfer list was prepared by section officers and subsequently approved by the under-secretary and joint-secretary at the ministry.

A four-member probe committee headed by former Secretary of MoGA Dharanidhar Khatiwada had recommended to the government to take action against the officials involved in preparing and approving the transfer list after the probe committee found that the transfers violated the existing Civil Service Act (CSA).

The committee had found serious irregularities in the transfers.

According to a member of the probe committee, the officials responsible for such controversial transfers have been appointed as local development officers (LDOs). "Those who were supposed to face departmental action as per our recommendations have been appointed LDOs," complained a member of the probe committee. The post of LDO is regarded highly lucrative.

The government on January 18 had formed the probe committee following widespread protests by various trade unions against the controversial transfers.

Officials said they issued transfer letters to 1,469 of the total 1,809 employees. Police personnel were deployed outside the MoGA due to fears that the transferred employees would resort to protests. "Amid tight security the MoGA has issued transfer letters to 1,469 civil servants by Wednesday," said an official on condition of anonymity.

Talking to Republica, Spokesperson for MoGA Kewal Prasad Bhandari said the ministry has canceled transfers of 336 government employees.

Similarly, transfer decisions of 166 officials have been rectified on the recommendation of the probe committee. The names of transferred officials, offices and their personal details were rectified as they were incorrect.
nnnn



________________________________________