Kathmandu, June 16
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has assured that the government would launch an investigation into reported financial irregularities in the country’s Covid-19 response.
Receiving a delegation of the main opposition party, Nepali Congress, at his official residence in Kathmandu on Tuesday, the prime minister said he was closely watching the expenses made in the process, assuring action would be taken if anyone was found to be embezzling any penny from the state coffers. He said the Nepal Army officials would not be spared from probing and action.
The delegation led by the party’s chief whip in the House of Representatives, Bal Krishna Khand, also demanded that the government expand the range of PCR tests, ensure well-managed quarantine facilities, and investigate into reports of irregularities.
The prime minister conceded that the quarantine facilities were not well-managed due to a high number of people returning from India. “This is not quarantine, but we kept all the people coming from India in one place,” he reportedly said.
The delegation also demanded that the government stop using rapid diagnostic tests to decide whether to quarantine people as its use increased the risk of community transmission. However, the prime minister did not say anything about it, according to a member of the delegation.
Oli also reiterated that Nepalis have stronger immunity.
