Kathmandu. CPN-UML lawmaker Dr. Pushpa Raj Kandel has proposed to extend the tenure of the Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank to five years. Kandel said that if 5 years is not possible, then the term should be 4 years.

Speaking at the discussion on the report of the committee on the bill designed to amend the Nepal Rastra Bank Act, 2058 in the meeting of the Finance Committee held on Wednesday, lawmaker Kandel said that there was no uniformity in the discussions of the committee on the autonomy, coordination and government control of the Rastra Bank. He said that clear principles should be set whether to make the NRB autonomous, operate on the basis of coordination or keep it under ÷the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Nepal.

Kandel argued that the provision of extending the tenure of the governor to two more years instead of three years was not appropriate, arguing that such a provision could affect the autonomous decision-making capacity of the governor.

While studying the practice of different countries of the world, Kandel said that the term of the governor is four, five or more years, and Kandel said that it is an international practice that the term of the governor should be longer than the tenure of the political leadership. He said that there is a provision that the appointment can be done for 5 years in India and in other countries it is 4 to 8 years, and in Nepal too, a fixed term of 5 years should be maintained.

Kandel said that instead of submitting the annual report of the Rastra Bank only to the Ministry of Finance, there should be a provision to be directly accountable to the parliament. Admitting that coordination between the Rastra Bank and the Ministry of Finance is necessary, Kandel recalled that he supported the issue of the secretary of the Ministry of Finance being on the board of the Rastra Bank and the government can give instructions to the Rastra Bank. However, he said that the provision of 3 years and additional two years of the governor is not in line with other provisions.