Kathmandu: For the last two months, the National Sports Council, the executive sports body of the country, has been without a member secretary. The absence of a member secretary, who is the chief of the Council, has not just affected its functioning but also the entire sports sector of the country.
Earlier, in October, the government sacked Ramesh Kumar Silwa from the position of member secretary of the National Sports Council. Tank Lal Ghising was appointed in Silwal’s place in November.
Ghising actively started doing his jobs. He even received a memorandum submitted by the Nepal National and International Players Association (NIPA), an umbrella organization of players. And pledged to fulfill the majority of their demands. But in December, the supreme court issued an interim stay order to reinstate Silwal.
If the Supreme Court continues the interim order, Silwal will remain in his position until the final hearing. However, if the Supreme Court upholds the Council of Ministers’ dismissal, he will be relieved of his duties.
This decision by the SC vacated the position of NSC’s member secretary.
Officials from NSC say that a lot of work is pending. Unless there is a member secretary in the office, those works can’t be done.
All the works related to infrastructure, officials’ salary, rent and electricity charges that are needed to pay on district offices have been affected due to the current situation, said Madhusudan Basnet, spokesperson at NSC.
All the works related to infrastructure, official’s salary, rent and electricity charges that are needed to pay on district offices have been affected due to the current situation, said Madhusudan Basnet, spokesperson at NSC.
The officials at NSC haven’t received salaries for the last two months, according to Basnet.
Likewise, the current fix has also affected the preparation of Asian Games and other national and international tournaments.
“We have already informed the Ministry of Youths and Sports about the difficulties that NSC and the sports sector has faced due to the absence of a member secretary,” said Basnet. “The ministry has said the issue will be resolved shortly.”
Likewise, the Nepal Olympians Association, an umbrella organization of Nepali Olympians, has also shown concern over the situation. Issuing a press release on Sunday, it urged concerned authorities to end the long-standing deadlock.
“The current situation at the National Sports Council is hampering the preparations for the ninth National Games, Asian Games, and 14th South Asian Games among others,” said Deepak Bista, President of NOA, in a release.
The release has requested the government and Ministry of Youth and Sports to find an alternative way until the final verdict is delivered.
“As the court is delaying to decide on the legitimacy of the Member Secretary,” the release states, “sporting activities and regular work at the sports governing body have been greatly affected.”
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