KATHMANDU, OCT 16 –
The Cabinet on Thursday appointed Mukesh Kafle as the managing director of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). A hydropower engineer by training, Kafle has sat on the NEA’s board for the past four years.
The Cabinet’s decision to name Kafle follows the Supreme Court’s ruling in July that the appointment of the then managing director Arjun Karki as a fill-in was illegal. Kafle had filed a petition at the apex court arguing that he should be appointed to the NEA’s top post as he was the second choice behind the then managing director Rameshwor Yadav in an open competition. Yadav had been suspended after being found guilty in a procurement scandal. Since Kafle has been appointed in place of Yadav, he will be assuming the position of the NEA boss for around three years and four months. The term lasts four years. Since Yadav had served around eight months, Kafle will get to head the NEA for the remaining period.
Kafle said that his major priority would be ending load-shedding. “There are many issues that need to be dealt with. However, the major issue is the severe power crisis the country is facing, and I will be working to eradicate it at the earliest possible,” he said, adding that the state-owned power utility would expedite construction of the Chameliya, Rahughat and Tamakoshi hydropower projects, among others, to address the issue. Apart from this, the NEA boss will give priority to the development of transmission lines. According to him, the unavailability of adequate transmission lines might pose a challenge in the endeavour to make Nepal free of load-shedding, and this is why their development will be crucial. “The other challenge for me will be getting the NEA out of the financial mess it has been put in,” said Kafle. “This can be done by improving the NEA’s management and boosting staff morale through several initiatives.”
Source : The Kathmandu Post
