During the SAC meeting, the members said the report prepared by the subcommittee fails to clearly spell the persons involved in the fraudulent deal for the purchase of APCs meant for Nepal Police (NP) peacekeeping mission in Sudan. They have suggested the sub-committee to talk to then Home Ministry officials before giving full shape to the report. [break]
The SAC is scheduled to hand over a report prepared by the sub-committee headed by Pradip Gyawali on April 23. Earlier, the subcommittee members had made a field visit to Sudan where Nepal Police´s peace keeping mission is based.
A SAC meeting held in Singha Durbar decided to submit the report a little later than scheduled so that suggestions from various quarters can be incorporated before giving it full shape. The SAC members, who were due to receive the report, are also scheduled to give their suggestions on April 20 after going through the report prepared by the sub-committee.
The sub-committee has concluded that police incurred a loss of over Rs 304.4 million by purchasing non-functional APCs. According to the report, Nepal Police spent Rs 237 million for the purchase of eight APCs and their spare parts in the beginning and an additional Rs 67.4 million in the last 20 months. The UN has refused to reimburse the expenses as the APCs were found to be non-functional.
Most of the SAC members on Friday stressed on the need to take stern action against those involved in the procurement deal. They maintained that the decision made by then Home Ministry officials not only tarnished country´s image but also put the lives of Nepal Police personnel deputed for peace keeping mission at risk.
Speaking on the occasion, sub-committee coordinator Gyawali said that the probe would be a test of whether the legislative body can help check fraudulent activities of the executive body. He said the sub-committee would talk to the then Home Ministry officials before arriving at a conclusion.
Home Minister Bhim Rawal, who was also present in the meeting, said the Home Ministry is committed to initiate action as per the directives of the prime minister.
According to SAC Chairman Ram Nath Dhakal, the committee is also summoning officials at Election Commission on April 21, officials at Public Service Commission on April 22 and officials from Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority on April 23 to learn about their recent activities. The committee is scheduled to review the progress of implementation of its directives and issue fresh ones on April 25.
Related story
Refusing to grant citizenship in name of mother is unconstituti...
