Asset disclosures by Prime Minister Balendra Shah, Cabinet members paint a stark picture of privilege
KATHMANDU, APRIL 15
As the government made public the property details of Prime Minister Balendra (Balen) Shah and members of the Council of Ministers following a Cabinet decision yesterday evening, people have taken digs at the wealth that they have accumulated so far.
The office stated that in compliance with Section 50 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2002, the prime minister and ministers had submitted their asset details. According to the section, public officials must provide their asset information to the designated body or officer within 60 days of taking office.
The prime minister and ministers have disclosed their assets to the public 17 days after the government was formed. The ministers have disclosed investments worth millions of rupees in assets, real estate and stocks. The majority of them mentioned business, employment, ancestral property and self-employment as their sources of income.
The Prime Minister's Office has disclosed that Prime Minister Shah has a cash balance of Rs 14.6 million in his bank account. He has attributed the amount to Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Spotify and iTunes. According to the details, his wife, Sabina Kafle, owns 190 tolas of jewellery.
Similarly, the prime minister stated that there are five annas of family land in Kathmandu-9 in the name of his mother, Dhruvadevi Shah; 1.2 bighas in Dhanusha; and nine bighas in Mahottari in the name of his father, Ram Narayan Shah.
He also stated in his asset declaration form that he has four million Facebook followers, 1.2 million YouTube subscribers, and 500,000 X (formerly Twitter) followers.
Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle's assets include apartments and houses in Lalitpur, Dhulikhel and Bandipur, 45 tolas of gold, Rs 19 million in savings and Rs 35.5 million loan.
Shishir Khanal, minister for foreign affairs, owns a house in Kathmandu, land in Tanahun, 22 tolas of gold and approximately one million rupees in savings.
Biraj Bhakta Shrestha, minister for energy and water resources and irrigation, owns two houses in Kathmandu, 15 tolas of gold, 50 tolas of silver and approximately Rs 6.6 million in savings.
Sudan Gurung, the home minister, owns land in Dhankuta, Chitwan and Gorkha, as well as 89 tolas of gold and six kilos of silver, approximately six million rupees in savings and Rs 43 million in shares.
Sunil Lamsal, minister of physical infrastructure and transport, owns a house in Butwal, 30 tolas of gold, 50 tolas of silver and nine million rupees in savings.
Law Minister Sobita Gautam owns a house in Kathmandu, 15 tolas of gold, nine tolas of silver, one tola of diamonds, approximately one million rupees in cash and Rs 700,000 loan.
Sita Badi, minister for women and children, owns a house in Kathmandu, 18 tolas of gold, 15 tolas of silver and Rs 1.5 million in savings.
Pratibha Rawal, minister for federal affairs, owns a house in Kathmandu, 25 tolas of gold, Rs 2.4 million in savings and two million rupees loan.
Nisha Mehta, minister of health and drinking water, owns a house in Kathmandu, 30 tolas of gold, 50 tolas of silver and Rs 1.7 million in savings.
Sasmit Pokharel, minister of education and sports, owns two houses worth Rs 40 million and Rs 50 million in Kathmandu, as well as land worth Rs 110 million in five locations in Kathmandu valley and Morang, 25 tolas of gold, 100 tolas of silver, Rs 400,000 in savings, Rs 17.5 million in shares and Rs 7.5 million loan.
Khadak Raj Poudel, minister for culture and tourism, has purchased a house in Pokhara for Rs 26 million, has 11 tolas of gold, five tolas of silver, two million rupees in savings, 17,000 shares and Rs 13 million loan.
Bikram Timilsina, minister of information and communications technology, has a house and land in Kathmandu, four tolas of gold, 10 tolas of silver, one million rupees in savings and a loan investment of approximately five million rupees.
Minister of Agriculture and Forests Geeta Chaudhary owns five tolas of gold, 100 tolas of silver, Rs 125,000 in savings and 250,000 shares.
Gauri Kumari Yadav, minister of industry, commerce and supply, owns a house and land in three locations in Kathmandu, 180 tolas of gold, two kilos of silver, two sets of diamonds, one million rupees in savings, Rs 16.1 million loan and Rs 33.8 million in shares.
Ramji Yadav, minister of labour, employment and social security, owns 80 tolas of gold, 150 tolas of silver and seven million rupees in cash.
The eye-popping properties of sitting ministers have raised eyebrows, prompting people to take to social media and specifically troll them for jewellery. "Looking at the ministers' property details, I felt poor my self," wrote Victor Paudel, who is considered to be close to PM Shah and runs popular social media handle Routine of Nepal banda.
A number of internet users have used AI to make the prime minister appear to be wearing gold and the Cabinet to appear wealthy.
Following criticism of the asset details he disclosed yesterday, Home Minister Gurung responded on Facebook early today: "It is your fault that you die poor; it is not your fault that you were born poor. It is not a sin to make money without corruption before ascending to power. It is a sin to make money through corruption after ascending to power. Chetna Bhaya!"
Following the outpouring of criticism, the home minister later deleted the Facebook response. Gen Z activist Rakshya Bam responded by saying that a person's financial situation does not prove that their way of life is flawed.
"In reality, life is a struggle; one cannot say that the life one is living is wrong based on one's financial status," she wrote in her post.
"Today, more than 20 per cent of the people in our country are below the poverty line, and the state has given very few people the opportunity to build a financial status like yours," her post continues.
"Developing a high financial status is a dream for many people in developing nations. Due to the state's limited resources, it is neither possible to improve the people's financial situation nor do you have a realistic plan for doing so."
Former finance minister Rameshore Khanal wrote, "Asset declarations are often less reliable; in contrast, income statements submitted to the Inland Revenue Office and tax clearance records provide a more credible, transparent and verifiable basis for assessing financial integrity."
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shishir has stated that the sources of the ministers' publicly disclosed assets are clear. Minister Shishir, who recently returned from a visit to Mauritius, stated at a press conference at Tribhuvan International Airport: "The sources of income are clear. If someone wants to investigate, they are free to do so."
He claimed that it is normal for the ministers and lawmakers of his party, which was founded four years ago, to have income because they come from various professions.
Shishir recalled that his party has always supported good governance and that the RSP lawmakers had disclosed their assets even during their participation in the coalition government.