The Sushila Karki-led government set up by the Gen Z movement has been so inept that it has thus far failed to even fill its Cabinet. It hasn’t been able, moreover, to recapture many convicted criminals that escaped during the protests, and to retrieve much of the weapons and ammunition stolen from the security forces. Nor does it have any concrete plans and strategies to lift the morale of the security forces, the police in particular, even though the elections planned for early March next year are drawing close.

The government has, however, proven efficient in reproducing some of the corrupt practices of the previous party governments. In many ways, it has acted against the spirit of the Gen Z movement spearheaded by young and angry students on September 8 and 9. Some of the recent revelations about Prime Minister Karki’s cases of cronyism and nepotism are deeply disturbing.

Office full of friends and family

On Sunday, news broke of a shocking case of cronyism and nepotism at the heart of the Karki administration. According to the report, after Karki was sworn in as our first female prime minister, her chief private secretary, Adarsha Kumar Shrestha, appointed his wife, Sunita Shrestha, and a number of his close relatives and friends (from the same caste) to the office.

Isn’t it deeply ironic that the same Karki government hastily withdrew 11 ambassadors to various countries, even in contravention of the court orders, simply because they were political appointments made by the previous government? And is it not more ironic even that a government formed through a movement against corruption continues the corrupt practices of the past?

While the appointment of afno manchhe is nothing new in the corridors of power, the poignancy of this case can hardly be exaggerated. If this is not a serious misuse of state power and breach of trust, what is? Many conspiracy theories notwithstanding, the Karki government was put in place by an unprecedented anti-corruption movement of young, frustrated and angry students and other people in major towns of the Himalayan nation.

Despite her age, Karki was deemed a suitable person to lead the country in such a crisis for her popular image as an apparently uncorrupted and clean justice of the Supreme Court. So much so that one of the leading figures of the Gen Z protests, Sudan Gurung, bowed down and put his head on her feet after she took the oath of office. Now people’s trust in her is eroding fast due to many visible and hidden scandals.

Responding to media queries, the controversial chief private secretary Shrestha has defended the appointment of his family and relations to the Prime Minister’s Office by stating that they were chosen to ensure the confidentiality of the esteemed office. Isn’t that what party leaders have done all along, to conceal their corrupt practices?

In any case, Karki’s secretary Shrestha’s comment is both hilarious and dishonest. And it projects a negative image of the secretaries and other civil servants, somehow undermining their integrity and reliability.

Madam Karki and the entire council of ministers must understand that this is an extreme case of cronyism and nepotism witnessed at the highest level. They cannot pretend not to have known anything, or hope that the issue will somehow evaporate over time.

The PM and other ministers must trust government administrators. They must maintain confidentiality even with their immediate families. They must build a strong and strict system of maintaining government confidentiality and secrecy. That is the professional way of doing things, instead of swarming the nation’s highest office with one’s family and friends.

Disreputable attorney general

As I write this column, some leading Gen Z figures, including Sudan Gurung and Rakshya Bam, have publicly condemned the government and have reportedly planned to express their despair with the PM in person. This is a good initiative. But many other scandals have been mysteriously overlooked.

One of those very disreputable cases concerns the Attorney General Sabita Bhandari. She has been accused of seriously abusing her authority and thus damaging the reputation of the Karki government by dismissing a serious legal case involving Hope Fertility Centre. The Centre has been suspected of illegally harvesting the eggs of teenage girls.

The police wanted to charge the Centre for its suspected illegal activities in a court of law, which Bhandari blocked. She has wrongly claimed that there is no legal provision to bring the establishment to justice. This seems to be a lie.

The real reason she wants to kill this case again seems to be nepotism, cronyism and personal financial interests. The attorney general herself reportedly owns 23 percent of the shares of the company. Besides, her daughter and other friends work there.

The police investigators aren’t happy about it. Media outlets have been speaking out against this blatant misuse of state power, not least in today’s highly charged political atmosphere. But, PM Karki and her Cabinet are silent.

This is very uncharacteristic of a government that claims to have been trusted by the youth movement and that proclaims to restore the democratic system and the rule of law. What we see here is clearly a rule of flaw.

Disturbing silence

If this government is different from the previous ones, it must take responsibility for its weaknesses and mistakes. It must correct its ways and stop all acts of nepotism and cronyism. Why is it that members of the traditionally elite castes always get an opportunity at almost every level of government?

I find the silence of government ministers very disturbing. Who do they fear? Do they not have more freedom than the ministers selected by political parties?

This level of corruption—nepotism and cronyism in particular—at the highest level of government may not matter much for the older folks with no further political ambitions. But it does not bode well for the ministers like Kulman Ghising who aspire to lead new political parties and return to power. The people wish to see more unrest among government ministers on these matters. Simply trying to deliver in certain areas of your ministries is not enough; your integrity is tied to that of the entire government.