Embassy can't afford billionaires' row

The 12a Kensington Palace Gardens property is no ordinary building, as it rests on the UK’s most expensive residential street, among the most affluent streets in the world. Kensington Palace Gardens, a short walk away from the British monarch’s palace, and London’s famous Hyde park, is also home to international celebrities, business tycoons and the diplomatic agencies of some of the world’s richest nations. To exemplify, the Nepali Embassy’s immediate neighbours are the Saudi royal family, the Sultan of Brunei and the French Embassy. It’s thus no wonder that these properties are bought and sold at an average of at least 60 million pounds (US$93.77 million). In fact, bids of 150 million pounds have reportedly been offered for the Nepali Embassy already. It is no wonder the building and stories surrounding it have come to create one political and legal controversy after another.

As a poor state, the Nepali government does not have adequate means for the upkeep of the property. The latest controversy has arisen over the embassy’s failure to pay the annual property insurance premium of 43,000 pounds. The property was given to Nepal by the British crown in 1938, on a very affordable lease, as a gesture of goodwill for the dedication shown by the Gurkhas in the British Army. One of the world’s prime properties thus came into Nepal’s hands for a measly 100 pounds annually for the first 25 years and then 1,000 pounds for the next 25-50 years. While that’s all fine, the maintenance costs are a killer. This year, the crown’s insurance surveyor refused to take the premium on the grounds that the building condition was too dilapidated, demanding refurbishment. But that would cost the Nepali government an estimated 800,000 pounds.

It is becoming increasingly clear that the state simply cannot afford the upkeep the building requires, and motions to sell it off have surfaced a number of times here in Nepal and in the UK. But selling the property, while the best way out of the mess, is where the real problem lies. Since the 1990s, various governments have tried to sell the property, which could rake in enough money to buy permanent homes for all of Nepal’s missions in Europe and perhaps beyond. However, steeped in a culture of corruption and greed, whether such a large transaction can be left to the hands of a few politicians and bureaucrats is highly questionable. Previous attempts by past ministers and bureaucrats point to suspicion. Such suspicion has discouraged other politicians and bureaucrats themselves from taking on the task, in fear that they’ll be accused of corruption.

While selling the property would be wise, we worry that such a huge transaction may occur beyond the purview of the Nepali citizenry, thousands of miles away. That’s why we have been bringing the issue to the surface time and again – to make sure that if the property is sold, it is done so transparently. Perhaps to this end, while the property is the Nepali’s state’s responsibility, the generous Crown Estate could push for transparent dealing with regards to it. An official property valuation would be a good place to start.