Central bank at the centre of controversy

If Poudel wants to build a legacy for himself, he should fight for the bank’s autonomy.

The appointment of Biswo Nath Poudel on May 21 as the 18th governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank has finally put to rest a two-and-a-half-month tug-of-war between the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) to fill the post with their favoured candidate. Poudel’s predecessor, Maha Prasad Adhikari, completed his five-year stint on April 6. The Nepal Rastra Bank Act, 2002 requires the government to appoint a new governor a month before the term of the outgoing governor ends. But both the major ruling coalition partners wanted the coveted post for themselves, begetting dirty politics. In the end, the Nepali Congress won; however, deep down, more questions have been raised than answered.