April 18: President Ram Chandra Paudel on Thursday appointed Toyam Raya as the Auditor General of Nepal upon the recommendation of Constitutional Council.    

President Paudel appointed Raya to the post of Auditor General in accordance with Article 240 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal, reads a press release issued by Spokesperson for the Office of the Presidnet, Shailaja Regmi Bhattarai.

The post of auditor general had remained vacant ever since the then Auditor General Tankamani Sharma Dangal retired after completing his term on May 22 last year. After Sharma's retirement, the then Deputy Auditor General Rammaya Kunwar was given the responsibility of acting auditor general for one and a half months. After Kunwar went on compulsory retirement on August 7, Maheshwar Kafle got the responsibility.

Bamdev Sharma was given the responsibility of acting auditor general after Kafle went on mandatory retirement in late January due to the age limit.

The office was run by acting auditor general for around eleven months due to the delay in appointing an auditor general.

Due to the lack of leadership, the Office of the Auditor General has not been able to move forward with the strategic plan.

The Office of the Auditor General audits all federal and state government offices including the Office of the President and Vice President, Supreme Court, Federal Parliament, Provincial Assembly, Provincial Government, Local Level, Constitutional Bodies and Offices, Courts, Attorney General's Office, Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force. The purpose of the audit is to protect the public resources of the country.

The Office of the Auditor General also gives necessary suggestions and recommendations based on the effectiveness of government income and expenditure. The office submits and publishes the annual report of all government agencies to the President. The Office of the Auditor General has the right to see the accounting documents at any time to audit various agencies of the Central and State Governments. However, the lack of leadership has made the Office of the Auditor General weak in its role.

A meeting of the Constitutional Council held on March 31 had decided to recommend Raya, who was then the secretary of the National Statistics Office, for appointment to the post of Auditor General.

Some stakeholders criticized his appointment to the post due to a conflict of interest. As the secretary also has to audit the work done by himself, there will be a conflict of interest, say Transparency International and other organizations involved in anti-corruption watch. Transparency International has warned that this could disrupt good governance.

However, the MPs ignored this argument and approved Raya's recommendation. The previous Auditor General Tankamani Sharma was also appointed to the post after resigning from the post of Secretary. Raya, who is considered to be close to the ruling CPN-UML, has been appointed for a 6-year term with just 5 months left for his retirement.