President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Thursday appointed Navin Kumar Ghimire as the chief of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority.

President Bhandari administered the oath of office to Ghimire at Sheetal Niwas on Thursday evening, after the Parliamentary Hearing Committee (PHC) endorsed his nomination.

“The PHC unanimously decided to endorse the nomination of Navin Kumar Ghimire for the post of CIAA chief commissioner,” said Committee Chairman Laxman Lal Karna.

The Constitutional Council on September 5 recommended Ghimire to head the anti-graft body. The PHC had set aside September 9-17 to receive complaints against him. However, no complaint was registered against him. Most of the PHC members read it as a good gesture but a few of them suspected that fear factor could have been the reason too.

During parliamentary hearing on Thursday, Ghimire vowed to control corruption, no matter of what proportion, during his two-year term. “Corruption must be tamed in order to achieve good governance and prosperity. I will work towards this end as the CIAA chief,” said Ghimire. He also spelt out capacity enhancement of the corruption watchdog as part of his agenda, particularly by using technology to improve investigation.

Asked if new constitutional provisions had hindered the commission’s activities, Ghimire said the constitutional body was working by separating “corruption” from “immoral acts”. After the new constitution removed “immoral acts” from its jurisdiction, a mandate given by the Interim Constitution, the anti-graft body has been urging the President in its annual reports to restore the power.

Lawmakers had asked him how he would curb widespread policy-level corruption. They urged the anti-graft body to press the government to make all financial transactions through the banking or digital payment system to curb corruption. Ghimire had presented a 16-page plan of action. He identified construction sector and land revenue offices among corruption-prone areas.

Ghimire was appointed a CIAA commissioner on April 2, 2015, after retiring as the home secretary. He had been in charge of the CIAA since February 14 as its acting chief, following the retirement of Deep Basnyat. He will lead the anti-graft body for the next two years.