APCs sent to Sudan are 40 years old
It has made the mockery of international standard because of which the country's prestige has been lowered
Useful Links
» A new way to read online, exact replica of your daily and magazine
» For all you tweety fans out there!
» Allows you to find only those news from any date you choose!
» Search any news/ articles by author/ category/ date/ keyword
KATHMANDU, SEP 30 - It has been revealed that all the eight Armed Personal Carriers (APCs) and the spare parts the Nepal Police bought and sent to Darfur, Sudan, for the United Nations peacekeeping are 40-year-old. After an inspection of the APCs, the United Nations Mission In Darfur (UNAMID) found that the vehicles were manufactured in 1969.
In a report submitted by the UNAMID auto technician, it has been mentioned that the suppliers had tried to deceive by furbishing up fake plates on the APC engines, and obscuring the original date of manufacture.
According to the report, fake plates were fixed on the APCs so as to give the impression that they were made in various dates: 1986, 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1994.
"After the fake plates were removed it was found that all of them were made in 1969," the reported obtained by ekantipur.com mentions.
State Management Committee of the Parliament has formed a five-member panel led by lawmaker and UML politburo member Pradeep Gyawali to look into the Sudan embezzlement scandal. The government had allocated Rs. 500 million to dispatch eight APC along with spare parts. Maoist leader Bhim Prasad Gautam, Nepali Congress's Jagadish Narsingh KC, Madhesi Janadhikar Fourm- Loktantrik party's Ram Janam Chaudhari and Nepal Majdoor Kishan Party's Lila Nyainchyain are the members of the committee.
Coordinator of the panel Gyawali said UNAMID has provided the the report to the panel. He said the Nepal Police has not met the standard being adopted by Armed Police Force and Nepal Army within the country while buying the materials to be dispatched to Sudan.
"It has made the mockery of international standard because of which the country's prestige has been lowered," said Gyawali.
The equipment were bought two years back during the tenure of then Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula and then IGP of Nepal Police Om Bikram Rana. Rs 240 million was spent to buy the eight APCs and Rs. Six million was spent to buy spare parts. "Around Rs 30 million will not be reimbursed as the APCs and spare parts were found wretched," said a higly post officer at the Nepal Police.
The APCs are used to patrol in battle grounds and wars by carrying substantial amount of weapons and security personnel. This armored vehicle can withstand bullets and bombings to some extent. It has been mentioned that none of the eight vehicles lacks 'mountain' where the security commander can sit with telescope on top of it.
Posted on: 2009-09-30 10:43
Post Your Comment