An investigation committee has submitted a report to the government concluding that there were major irregularities and legal errors in Nepal Television’s equipment procurement.
Investigation Committee Exposes Procurement Irregularities
An investigation committee has submitted its report to the government, pointing out serious irregularities, legal errors, and decisions that created unnecessary financial burden in the procurement of equipment and services by Nepal Television in previous years.
The ‘Investigation Committee on Procurement of Nepal Television’s Digital Transmitter, Audio-Visual and Graphics System, Playout Automation, and Online Platforms, 2083’ handed over the report to Minister for Information and Communications, Dr. Bikram Timilsina on Wednesday. The report highlights that several decisions were made against the rules, showing legal weaknesses and illegal activities.
Unrealistic Digital Target and Budget Misuse
According to the report, the roadmap for converting terrestrial television broadcasting in Nepal into a fully digital system, which was prepared with the help of International Telecommunication Union (ITU), was too ambitious and not practical. Because of this, the target for digital switch-over has not been achieved yet.
The committee also found that budget received under ‘Archive Digitization’ in the fiscal year 2079/80 was illegally used in the fiscal years 2080/81 and 2081/82 to purchase audio-video equipment. Opening LC (Letter of Credit) using this budget to buy equipment was declared as an irregularity.
The report also mentions that the Nepal Television Board of Directors allocated Rs 4 Crore 87 Lakh from internal sources without getting prior approval from Ministry. This decision added extra financial burden on the organization. Also, the digital platform service contract made for five years ended in 2024, and now Nepal Television is running this service under its own management.
Errors in Graphics System and Contract Tampering
The committee concluded that there was legal error in the tender evaluation for the graphics system. The contract was awarded to a bid that failed technical specifications. Also, a consortium proposal was accepted even though it was strictly forbidden in the bidding documents, and mandatory rules about price proposals were ignored.
Staff and officials involved in evaluating bids, making agreements, and payments did unauthorized and illegal works against the bid documents. The report also found that an already archived procurement contract was later tampered to make Soheto Singapore Pte Ltd a party on October 4, 2018. Based on this modified contract, LC was opened and payments were made.
Suggestions and Action Recommended
To avoid such problems in future, the committee suggested to review current digital terrestrial television roadmap. They recommended to make practical plan covering terrestrial, satellite, fiber, and OTT systems, and give priority to local suppliers for equipment available in Nepal to increase competition.
The committee stated that the irregularities and illegal acts mentioned in the report are fit for investigation under Prevention of Corruption Act, 2059. They have recommended to forward the case to Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) for necessary action under Section 14(1) of the CIAA Act, 2048.
The Ministry of Information and Communications had formed this four-member investigation committee on Ashad 1 under leadership of Dr. Sudip Bhattarai to study the complaints about transparency in NTV’s modernizing process.
Before this, the ministry had also done another investigation regarding satellite bandwidth purchase of Nepal Television. That committee had already submitted a report showing financial misuse of more than Rs 20.5 Crore, and ministry already sent that report to Prime Minister’s Office and CIAA for further study.
AI Disclaimer: This article was originally published on https://bajarkochirfar.com. It has been translated with the help of AI. For the best understanding and accurate facts, we recommend reading the original Nepali version.
CORRUPTION, Nep
