A high-profile administrative appointment at the Lumbini Development Trust has triggered intense public backlash after the government bypassed hundreds of legitimate applicants to select a minister's personal advisor for an executive role.
The cabinet appointed Santosh Pandey, a secretariat advisor to Infrastructure Development Minister Sunil Lamsal, as the Trust's new Member Secretary. The decision came despite an official open call that attracted applications from 209 qualified citizens. Records indicate that Pandey neither submitted a formal application nor participated in any phase of the competitive evaluation process.
Criticizing the decision, activist Ajay Sodari stated that the government has completely discarded its own commitment to open competition and meritocracy. Sodari highlighted that while qualified citizens follow formal channels and wait in line, individuals with political connections enter administrative posts directly, raising serious questions about governance and the rule of law.
This circumvention of established hiring protocols underscores systemic vulnerabilities in public recruitment, signaling that without strict institutional safeguards, transparent hiring standards remain at risk of being undermined by political patronage.
