Kathmandu. CPN-UML lawmaker Prof. Dr. KATHMANDU: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Chairman Pushpa Raj Kandel has said that two deputy governors are sufficient in the central bank. During the discussion on the bill designed to amend the Nepal Rastra Bank Act, 2058 BS at the Finance Committee under the House of Representatives, Minister Khatiwada said that the NRB does not need many deputy governors.
He also questioned why the private sector needed more deputy governors. The bankers who participated in the meeting had proposed to increase the number of deputy governors from two to three. Lawmaker Kandel said that the incumbent two deputy governors were sufficient and if the representation from outside was deemed necessary, arrangement could be made to appoint one from within the NRB and another from outside.
In the meeting, he also raised questions about the lack of representation of women in the board of the NRB. Stating that the government has made it mandatory to have at least one woman in the boards of public bodies, he said it was regrettable that there was no woman member in the board of the NRB and the amendment bill also did not have this provision.
He said, “The Nepal Rastra Bank has issued a circular stating that there is minimum one woman on the boards of all the banks. But the central bank does not have a woman on its own board and it does not have this provision in the bill. Second, why do friends in the private sector need three governors instead of two governors? What’s the logic of adding that? Two people are enough, now one can be arranged from outside the area. One from the central bank is one from outside. We have said that we will form a separate authority of the cooperative. Its work is also being done, should it be strengthened and now it should be kept out of the jurisdiction of the Rastra Bank? First, we should have seen that the Rastra Bank is not able to do it. ’
Lawmaker Kandel said that the process to form a separate authority for the regulation of cooperatives has been forwarded and stressed the need of keeping the cooperative sector separate from the jurisdiction of the NRB. He reminded that the NRB was reluctant to take responsibility citing its capacity was inadequate when the demand for regulation of the cooperative sector was raised in the past. He said that it would not be appropriate to make arrangements to give the same responsibility to the Rastra Bank again when the cooperative is moving towards forming a separate authority after the crisis.
