Ministers use taxpayer money to take their spouses on extravagant international vacations

The KP Sharma Oli-led government is under intense scrutiny for work-related foreign visits made by government officials amid a financial crisis. Minister Sharat Singh Bhandari, already under fire for his appointment, took his wife on a trip to Madrid for a labor event, and other officials also brought their spouses on taxpayer-funded trips. Nepal is facing a budget deficit and difficulties in funding programs of significance, such as old age benefits, at a time when this has emerged. There is increasing public suspicion about how the government spends tax money and whether Prime Minister Oli will and can talk about this misuse of public funds and hold officials to account.