Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
02KATHMANDU2189
2002-11-18 12:14:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Kathmandu
Cable title:  

NEPAL: CABINET EXPANSION

Tags:  PGOV PINR NP GON 
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UNCLAS KATHMANDU 002189 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR SA/INS
LONDON FOR POL - RIEDEL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR NP GON
SUBJECT: NEPAL: CABINET EXPANSION

REF: KATHMANDU 1931

UNCLAS KATHMANDU 002189

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR SA/INS
LONDON FOR POL - RIEDEL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR NP GON
SUBJECT: NEPAL: CABINET EXPANSION

REF: KATHMANDU 1931


1. (SBU) The interim Government of Prime Minister Lokendra
Bahadur Chand announced an expansion of its 9-member Cabinet
to 22 on November 18. The new names included no one from
either of the two largest political parties, the Nepali
Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal - United Marxist
Leninist (UML),and only one representative from the third
largest party, the National Democratic Party, also known by
its Nepali acronym RPP. The additions contain a similar mix
of former supporters of the partyless Panchayat regime,
members of small or new parties not represented in the
previous Parliament, and technocrats apparent in the first
batch of appointments on October 11. Of the 13 new names,
one is a member of the lowest caste, and two are members of
ethnic minorities. The Chand Cabinet now boasts 15 full
ministers and 7 Assistant Ministers.


2. (SBU) A list of the new ministers follows below. (Note:
Names of the Assistant Ministers will be sent septel.)

A) Ramesh Nath Pandey - Minister of Information and
Communications and General Administration. A former
journalist, Mr. Pandey was a minister during the Panchayat
regime. He was a member of the National Assembly (the Upper
House) in the previous Parliament, appointed by the King.

B) Devi Prasad Ojha - Minister of Education and Sports. Mr.
Ojha left the Communist Party of Nepal - Marxist Leninist
(ML) when it merged with the UML earlier this year. He is no
longer affiliated with any political party.

C) Narayan Singh Pun - A retired Army officer, Col. Pun is a
successful businessman who owns his own helicopter company.
A Nepali Congress MP in the previous Parliament, Mr. Pun left
the NC to form his own party, the Nepal Equality Party, to
contest now-deferred national elections. The Nepal Equality
Party platforms focuses on equal opportunity for members of
all ethnic groups, castes and religion. Mr. Pun is a
Magar--the ethnic group believed to constitute the bulk of
Maoist foot soldiers.

D) Badri Narayan Basnet - Minister of Land Reforms and
Management and Forest and Soil Conservation. Mr. Basnet is a
member of the National Democratic Party's Central Committee.
He had been a minister during the Panchayat era.

E) Kamal Prasad Chaulagain - Minister of Labor and Transport
Management. A former member of the UML's Central Committee,
Mr. Chaulagain resigned from the party just one week before
being named to Chand's Cabinet.

F) Kuber Sharma - Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Civil
Aviation. A former member of the Nepali Congress Central
Committee, Mr. Sharma now heads his own "Green Nepal" party
focusing on environmental issues.

G) Mahesh Lal Pradhan - Minister of Industry, Commerce and
Supplies. A former president of the federated Nepali
Chambers of Commerce, Mr. Pradhan is a businessman.

H) Deepak Gyawali - Minister of Water Resources. Mr.
Gyawali is a well-respected intellectual, writer and
consultant active in the field of water resources, known for
his sometimes iconoclastic views.


3. (SBU) Comment: The absence of any names from the two
largest parties--and the addition of only one from the Prime
Minister's own RPP party--indicates that the Chand government
continues to face an uphill battle in garnering mainstream
political support. Without broadbased political support, the
new government--despite the impeccable credentials of some of
its appointees--may find the task of governing increasingly
difficult.
MALINOWSKI