Seven ministers missed the review meeting called on Thursday by Prime Minister (PM) KP Sharma Oli.
One deputy PM out of the two in Oli Cabinet, Upendra Yadav, is in America for over a week citing the UN General Assembly but the real purpose of his visit has yet to be known. Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali is leading the Nepali delegation for the General Assembly.
Forest Minister Shakti Basnet is also in America to take part in the convention to be chaired by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. Energy Minister Barsha Man Pun is in Japan on invitation of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to make investment arrangements for Nalsing Gad Hydropower Project.
Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai is in Canada to to take part in the general assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization being held in Montreal.
The ministers who attended the review meeting even talked about the vacant chairs during the meeting. "Whether the ministers went for programs they must attend or those where their attendance was not mandatory has to be talked," a minister confided with Setopati. "Some of the ministers have remained abroad for almost half of their term."
Even the ministers inside the country were not all present in the meeting.
Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada was in Rupandehi to attend an investment conference organized by Tilottama municipality while Water Supply Minister Bina Magar was in Kanchanpur to attend a program in her constituency.
The minister claimed that the review meeting was affected due to absence of ministers from some important ministries and PM Oli only gave instructions in principle in the review meeting. "He instructed us to not sit over files, and implement the programs included in the budget and the government's policies and programs, and tell him in case of any problem," the minister revealed.
