Questions Raised After Government Announcement Posted on Prime Minister Walendra Shah’s Personal Social Media Page
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Prime Minister Walendra Shah has faced criticism for publicly sharing government information on his personal social media page.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Walendra Shah announced through his social media platform with 4.7 million followers the refund of the equality tax imposed on private education and health sectors from the budget.
While many have supported the announcement, some have expressed concerns that sharing official government details on a ‘monetized’ personal page, which generates income, is inappropriate.
In response to a query, the Prime Minister’s Secretariat stated that as the decision is yet to be formalized, the Prime Minister used his personal page rather than the official office page to announce the tax refund.
Allegations Raised Against the Prime Minister
Typically, the Prime Minister’s Office and Shah’s Secretariat have utilized the official Facebook page of the Prime Minister’s Office, which has 143,000 followers, to release government decisions. The Secretariat also disseminates official decisions and announcements via WhatsApp groups.
However, on Tuesday, when a significant government announcement was made on the Prime Minister’s personal page, it sparked commentary and debate.
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The Prime Minister’s post garnered over 300,000 reactions and more than 44,000 comments within 24 hours. Facebook’s policy provides monetary benefits based on post reach and engagement.
Monica Niraula, a Gen Z campaigner, argued that posting public notifications and earning money through Facebook constitutes a form of corruption.
“If major public information is published via that page and money is made accordingly, is that not policy corruption? That is my question,” Niraula stated.
Prime Minister Shah’s declared asset details after being elected included earnings of NPR 14.6 million from Facebook and other social media platforms.
His asset declaration lists savings in banks attributed to incomes from Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Spotify, and other platforms, reinforcing suspicions regarding revenue generated from his personal page.
Niraula explained that for a Prime Minister who rose to power with the support of the established Gen Z campaign on good governance issues, posting government notices on a personal page is inappropriate.
“The Prime Minister’s institution is the highest executive institution of the country. The post appears designed like an advertisement,” Niraula observed.
“How appropriate is it for a person in a public office, who is not even allowed to accept gifts, to publish public notifications and earn money?”
Some journalists have accused the government of bias towards private media for not allocating official advertisements.
Yuvraj Ghimire, editor of Desh Sanchar Dot Com, also questioned the release of official government information via social media.
“Government information and policy matters should be released only through appropriate and relevant media,” Ghimire said.
“The Prime Minister’s Office itself has an official Facebook page for such announcements. Since this matter is related to Parliament, it should not have been announced through a personal account.”
Ghimire points out that the current government style seems to be avoiding dialogue with journalists and opposition members, instead relying on individual channels for information dissemination.
‘Primary Channel Should Have Been Governmental’
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Pravesh Subedi, head and researcher at Digital Media Foundation, states that if government information is posted on social media, the primary channel should be governmental.
“The Prime Minister’s Office and other government bodies have their official social channels. Priority should be given to those channels, and then personal pages can be used to extend reach,” Subedi explained.
“It is unclear whether there was an intent to generate income, but for credibility, official social media must be prioritized first.”
Some have cited the example of former American President Donald Trump, who used personal social media for important announcements. Yet, Gen Z campaigner Niraula argues that using this example does not justify evading ethical questions.
Subedi noted that Nepal lacks clear policies or guidelines regarding social media use by government officials, which has contributed to the current situation.
“There is no international standard on what is allowed or not on social media, and locally we lack a clear distinction or guidance between personal and official accounts,” he added.
He advised government officials to exercise personal discretion on social media usage.
While politicians may remain active on their personal social media even while in office, Ghimire and Subedi observe that heads of governments in most countries use official social media accounts for governmental affairs.
Response from the Prime Minister’s Secretariat
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Prime Minister’s communication officer Surendra Bajgain denied allegations that the Prime Minister posted the tax refund announcement on social media to earn money.
“Since the decision is pending cabinet approval and after consultation with the Finance Minister it was told to remove the post, the announcement was temporarily posted on the Prime Minister’s page for wider dissemination,” he explained.
“Because the formal decision is still pending, we have not posted it through official channels.”
Bajgain said that since becoming Prime Minister, Shah posts infrequently on social media and mostly shares personal content.
“There was no intent to post on the personal page for monetary gain. We had not even considered such an idea,” he added.