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NTB CEO selection body bounces back

The chief executive officer (CEO) selection sub-committee of the Nepal Tourism Board has resumed the appointment process after 18 months in limbo.

On Monday, the sub-committee asked the 12 sho-rtlisted candidates to make their presentations on May 6. The NTB had drawn up the shortlist in November 2011. According to a sub-committee member, interviews of the candidates will also be completed on the same day.

The NTB, which has been charged with promoting Nepal’s tourism in the national and international arenas, has been stumbling along without its head since the then CEO Prachanda Man Shrestha’s tenure expired on Oct 31, 2011.

“The NTB will get a new chief within less than two weeks,” said Dhurba Narayan Shrestha, a member of the sub-committee. The NTB has suffered several setbacks in its efforts to appoint a new boss due to a dispute among the private sector representatives.

Earlier, the three-member sub-committee had shortlisted 12 candidates, however, the process stalled after the terms of three of the five board members—Ganesh Simkhada, Nimi Sherpa and Agni Kadel— expired on Nov 30, 2011.

The process was further disrupted after the other two board members, Dhurba Narayan Shrestha and Rewat Bahadur Thapa, moved the Supreme Court complaining that they had been removed before their terms expired.

On Jan 4, 2012, the government had removed Shrestha and Thapa from their posts and appointed Pumpha Dhamala, Phur Gyalzen Sherpa, Tikaram Sapkota, Amar Bahadur Shahi and Shyam Sundar Lal Kakshapati as NTB board members from the private sector. The 11-member boa-rd consists of five representatives each from the government and the private sector, besides the CEO. The touris-m secretary chairs the board.

In September 2012, the apex court ordered the NTB to reinstate Shrestha and Thapa to the board and the CEO selection sub-committee. After the court order, Kakshapati and Shahi were out of the board of directors.

However, a tussle started among the sitting members who were divided into two panels—Dhamala, Sherpa, Sapkota and Shrestha and Thapa—who wanted their majority in the selection sub-committee.

Last week, a board meeting held under the chairmanship of the secretary of the Tourism Ministry Sushil Ghimire decided to settle the issue by inducting only two members in the selection sub-committee. As per NTB Act 1997 and Regulations 1999, it is required to form a three-member selection sub -committee to recommend candidates for the CEO post.

“It’s the board’s decision to form a two-member sub-committee,” Shrestha said, adding that it was a legal move. However, NTB sources said that it was neither legal nor wise to fast-track the selection process by appointing only two members. “The move also violates the NTB Act and regulation,” said the source. “Besides, it will not make the process transparent.” The selection sub-committee will shortlist three candidates after the interview, and eventually select one from among them for the top NTB post.

source:the kathmandu post,30 april 2013