London mission in trouble, again
Anil Giri
The Nepali Embassy in London has once again courted fresh problems after failing to pay its annual insurance charge of 43,000 pounds sterling (Rs 58 million) for the year 2012. As the December 2012 deadline for the insurance fee has come and gone, Aviva, the local insurance party, has warned that it will terminate the insurance pact with the Nepali Embassy if it fails to submit the premium before May 1.
The Nepali Embassy had failed to pay its insurance premium for more than five months last year too, resulting in embarrassment to the Nepali staff and government.
The embassy building in London is considered the most expensive property that Nepal owns abroad but has not been properly maintained for long. There are outstanding requests from the London mission for 4.5 million pounds for repair and maintenance work. The Ministry of Finance only released 200,000 pounds a month ago for maintenance. The embassy had repeatedly written to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) asking that the insurance be paid but the MoFA has passed the buck to the Ministry of Finance.
“We do not know what will happen if we fail to pay back the insurance due,” said an embassy source in London. In recognition for the dedication shown by the Gurkhas in the British Army, the British government, in 1938, had handed over the building’s lease to Nepal.
According to a bilateral agreement, Nepal would pay 100 pounds annually as lease amount for the first 25 years and 1,000 pounds for the next 25-50 years.
Govt panel undecided over selling property
A cross-ministerial panel headed by Nepali Ambassador to the UK Suresh Chandra Chalise has sought another 45 days to submit its report on whether the embassy building should be sold or retained. Earlier, the government had given the panel a month’s time to visit the premises and prepare its report. A preliminary report was prepared by another team led by Joint Secretary at the MoFA Ambika Luitel and forwarded to London to accommodate suggestions from the Nepali Ambassadors to Germany and Belgium—Suresh Man Pradhan and Ram Mani Pokhrel respectively—who are also members of the team. Technical details, domestic law provisions and the ramification of selling the property were mentioned in the preliminary report, along with an interim order from the Supreme Court halting the sale of the property , by the Luitel-led team.
Located on London’s most expensive street, the Kensington Palace Gardens, the five-story embassy building, filled with ancient art and sculptures, could fetch 300 to 500 million pounds if sold through a competitive bidding process, according to MoFA officials.
Published on: 29 April 2013 | The Kathmandu Post
GET IN TOUCH