One month after the appointment of its chief executive officer, the National Reconstruction Authority is struggling even to prepare the logo and slogan for the post-earthquake reconstruction campaign.

When Sushil Gyewali took charge of the authority eight months after the earthquakes, the first thing he decided was to have logos and slogan for the reconstruction campaign.

“We had wanted to finalise the logo and slogan immediately. Experts’ teams suggested re-issuing a public notice as they were not impressed by the submissions,” said acting Secretary Madhusudan Adhikari.

Last Tuesday, the Authority invited the public to submit logos and slogans for the campaign within 15 days. About 50 logos and slogans were submitted in the first lot. A five-member team headed by Nepal Academy Vice-chancellor Bishnu Bibhu Ghimire did not accept any of the entries and suggested calling for fresh ones.

“Since reconstruction is an issue of great importance, we want wider public participation. The process will be over soon,” said Adhikari.

After months of disputes among the major parties over who should lead the Reconstruction Authority, the government had appointed Gyewali as its CEO.

The authority announced the reconstruction campaign on January 16, the day when the country marked the National Earthquake Safety Day in memory of the 1934 quake that killed nearly 8,000 people. Actual reconstruction, however, has yet 

to begin in the villages as the authority lacks “exact information” on the damage of houses and infrastructure in the quake-affected districts. Trained engineers are deployed to the villages for a detailed damage assessment. Lack of staff has also largely affected its functioning at the central level while sub-regional offices are yet to be open at a time when thousands of quake-affected people have not got proper shelter. 

Senior government officials are reluctant to join the authority, expressing career concerns, while junior officials want to be clear about their pay and perks in the new office.