Nepal has fired the head of its earthquake reconstruction agency and named his predecessor to the job in a game of musical chairs that critics say is only making conditions worse for the survivors of the 2015 disaster.
Thousands of homeless people remain in temporary shelters after the 2015 quakes that left 9000 people dead and destroyed more than 626,000 homes, monuments and other structures.
Information Minister Surender Kari says Sushil Gyewali has been fired as chief of the National Reconstruction Authority tasked to rebuild after Nepal's worse disaster in history.
"We have changed the official because the reconstruction work was very slow and many victims are still left without any government assistance to rebuild," Karki said on Thursday.
"The changes will expedite rebuilding and the government will provide all help and assistance necessary for this," he said.
Gyewali's predecessor Govind Raj Pokharel, fired in 2015 when a new government took charge, has been reappointed to the post, Karki said.
Nepal is in the midst of a political crisis after it adopted a new constitution in September 2015 as an ethnic community of Indian origin opposed it saying their aspiration for greater say was not addressed.
The country, sandwiched between India and China, has had three new governments since the earthquake, causing delays in rebuilding.
Renaud Meyer, country director for the United Nations Development Programme in Nepal says he hopes the changes will not stall the process of reconstruction.
Officials said 61,000 houses had been reconstructed, 475,000 families had received the first instalment of nearly $500 in rebuilding aid while another 150,000 families have not received any assistance so far due to unexplained reasons.
Gyewali says he will seek legal action against his dismissal.
