In almost every Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli warns his ministers that they will be judged based on their performance and that he won’t hesitate to replace those who don’t perform. But in the 19 months since taking office, Oli has yet to punish any of his ministers, despite loud criticism from the public, the opposition and within the ruling party itself of the government’s failure to deliver on its promises.  Bureaucrats and party leaders believe that though Oli might want to take action against his ministers, the ruling party’s internal dynamics are preventing him from pursuing any drastic measures. “Though the Oli administration has a two-thirds majority, it is more like a coalition government as the ministers represent factions in the party and he is afraid of shuffling them,” said Bhim Upadhyay, a former secretary. “If he had dared to change his ministers, people might have had hope in the Oli government, but now, nobody believes he will deliver.” Time and again, there have been rumours that the prime minister would reshuffle the Cabinet by swapping out inefficient ministers, but after discussions with Co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Oli has not dared to make a change, according to party insiders. Oli recently appointed popular youth leader Yogesh Bhattarai as minister for tourism, culture and civil aviation. The berth had remained vacant since the death of Rabindra Adhikari in a helicopter crash on February 27. Party leaders were expecting more changes in the Cabinet when Bhattarai was inducted but that never happened. Oli has even signed work performance agreements with all of his ministers, who in turn have signed similar agreements with their secretaries. Despite the measures, the government’s performance has remained lacklustre. Instead, a number of the government’s moves has invited controversy, as with the Guthi Bill and the Media Council Bill, both of which were widely opposed by the public. Oli might appear strong as the leader of a government with a comfortable two-thirds majority in Parliament but within the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP), he is weak, according to party leaders. This is the reason Oli has not discussed the government’s performance in the party’s committees, as even ruling party leaders are not satisfied with the government.