KATHMANDU, Jan 3: The parliamentary sub-committee to study the wide-body aircraft purchase scam has stated in its report that the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) should investigate the matter further and file cases against the ministers and officials that it has charged.
The report has listed a series of flaws in the procurement process, including: preparing estimated costs of the planes based on the price quoted in 2008, not following due procurement process, signing procurement decision breaching the procurement bylaws, and paying the amounts even after knowing that there were serious flaws.
Likewise, the report prepared by Public Accounts Committee member Rajendra KC states that the government should recover the commission money provided by Airbus as per rule from the HI Fly X Ireland Limited, the supplier of the airbus to Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC).
“The Ministry of Finance should also investigate the matter of loan security issued to the NAC, as the latter has already been found not using the loan issued on the government guarantee as per the 55th report of the Office of Auditor General,” said the report.
Likewise, the report’s recommendation to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation to amend bylaws, which have already been identified as contrary to the Public Procurement Act 2007 by the Public Procurement Monitoring Office.
Likewise, the other directions to the Employment Provident Fund, the financing institution to purchase the aircrafts, are that the Fund has neglected the issues mentioned in the Auditor General’s report that said the procurement process was flawed while issuing loans to the NAC to purchase aircrafts.