The long-delayed process for appointing a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the Tourism Board of Nepal is set to conclude next week. The process, which had been stalled due to a court order from the Patan High Court, is now moving forward following the court’s recent decision to lift the stay.
The delay occurred after board staff filed a lawsuit challenging the appointment process, resulting in an interim order that halted proceedings. However, the court recently dismissed the writ petition and allowed the process to resume. The lack of a CEO has impacted the board’s budget and annual programs, with the new fiscal year already underway for over a month without the board’s budget and programs being finalized. The board has been struggling with leadership issues since Dr. Dhananjay Regmi’s tenure ended.
According to sources, the CEO Selection Committee has scheduled presentations from 16 candidates for Monday, Bhadra 17. Following these presentations, interviews are expected to be arranged for the next day, with the board’s executive committee likely to finalize the appointment within the same week.
Currently, Dr. Dhananjay Regmi and Deepak Raj Joshi are the most discussed candidates for the position. Both are associated with the ruling Nepali Congress party and are reportedly close to Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, Badri Prasad Pandey. Other notable candidates include Hikmat Singh Air, Shraddha Shrestha, and Santosh Bikram Thapa. Additionally, Laxman Gautam, Navin Pokharel, Bijay Nepal, Rajaram Giri, Rajaram KC, Gyanin Rai, Gyaneshwar Singh Mahato, Surya Bahadur Ghimire, Deepak Bastakoti, Ramchandra Sedhai, and Thakur Devkota are also in contention.
