Indifference Towards Loan Payment Rescheduling
Even though the government had given timeline to the willful defaulters to reschedule the payment of their loans with their respective banks, very few of them have shown interest. Only 34 applications have been filed with the Nepal Bank Limited (NBL) and Rastriya Banijya Bank (RBB) requesting for the reschedule. Of them, only 12 are completed applications. These two banks have 52 big willful defaulters and very few of these have made such application. At the budget announcement this year, Finance Minister had asked the willful defaulters to take steps to reschedule their loan payment within September 15. The government has warned that stringent measures will be taken against those defaulters who do not reschedule their payment with the banks. The government is under pressure from donors also to recover the huge amount of Non Performing Loans. Kantipur daily reports.
Indonesia Requests Nepal To Vacate Its Candidature
Indonesia has requested Nepal to vacate its candidature for the post of temporary membership of the United Nations Security Council for the year 2007/08. While welcoming Nepal ’s right to stand as a candidate for the position, Indonesia claimed that Nepal should vacate it in order to present a single voice from Asia . Indonesia is another Asian country that has filed its candidature for the same position. Earlier, Nepal , Indonesia and South Korea had announced their candidature for the position. However, South Korea vacated its candidature as a South Korean diplomat has already announced his candidature to the position of UN Secretary General. Current SG Kofi Annan is retiring in December this year. Meanwhile, in Havana , deputy prime minister and foreign minister KP Oli is busy lobbying for Nepal ’s candidature. He has been requesting representative of every nation to vote for Nepal . Oli is attending the summit meeting of nations of Non Aligned Movement (NAM) in the Cuban capital. The voting for the temporary membership of Security Council is taking place next month in New York . Nepal would require to bag two-thirds of votes from among 192 nations. In Kathmandu , foreign ministry spokesperson Yadav Khanal said that there is no possibility of Nepal vacating its candidature. “We are lobbying hard to win that position,” he said. In another development, during the meeting between UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in Havana , on the sidelines of NAM summit, the two leaders discussed the issue of Nepal . Annan is learnt to have clarified Dr. Singh about the nature of UN involvement in the peace process here. Nepal Samacharpatra daily reports.
SC Judge Jha Demoted
For the first time in Nepal ’s judicial history since 1990, Supreme Court judge Parmananda Jha has been demoted to the post of chief judge of appellate court two years after serving in the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice Dilip Kumar Poudel-headed Judicial Council (JC) took the decision on Friday not to extend Jha’s tenure citing a drug pedlar acquittal judgment passed by him one and a half years ago. “He has been demoted as he had decided the case in a wrong manner and without proper examination of the evidence,” a member of the JC said. The Himalayan Times daily reports.
Maoists Thrash A Businessman
Accusing him of standing in the way of their forced unionization in his enterprise, scores of cadres of the Maoists’ trade union barged into the residence of Dr. Heramba Rajbhandari and physically thrashed the 74-year-old agro-expert and renowned businessman. The patient of high blood pressure, Rajbhandari and his son Araniko were beaten in their residence in Satdobato by the Maoist cadres who even tried to abduct him. The Maoists later left his residence after a team of policemen and local people gathered there. Rajbhandari has been charged of not allowing the expansion of the Maoists’ trade union in his Nepal Dairy. Rajbhandari has been admitted to Bir Hospital . The family members of the victim have alleged the Maoists of physically attacking them despite their willingness to resolve the issue through dialogue. Meanwhile, the leader of Maoists’ trade union Shalikram Jamarkattel rejected reports that his cadres thrashed Rajbhandari. He accused that his cadres were first attacked when they went to Rajbhandari’s residence to understand about the issue of expansion of their organization. Leading dailies report.
CJ Rues Attack On Judicial Independence
In a blistering criticism against the government and the parliament, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Dilip Kumar Poudel said that the judiciary cannot remain independent if there is a sword dangling over the head of judges. Speaking at an interaction program organized by the Society of Judges, CJ Poudel said neither the executive nor the legislative had the authority of examining the verdict of judiciary. He made this remark referring to the efforts made by parliament’s Public Account Committee (PAC) to examine SC’s verdict on the case of bank defaulter. Likewise, CJ Poudel also took a strong exception to moves towards re-appointing the judges. Speaking at the same program, Home Minister Krishna Situala asked the judiciary to abide by the mandate of the people’s movement. Leading dailies report.
Upper Tamakosi To Be Awarded To Foreign Investors
The government has determined that the financially attractive Upper Tamakosi project cannot be built on its resources. Even though studies have shown that this project could be the most economical one, the government has decided to accept foreigner as main investors in it. Companies from Norway and India have already shown interest to invest in this project. The meeting held at Finance Ministry on Wednesday concluded that the government would have to give guarantee when gathering domestic capital for the project – a move anticipated to draw huge criticism from multilateral donors like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The multilateral donors have been opposing the practice of state providing guarantee, which they claim is against the policy of financially strengthening public enterprises. Sources said that the meeting, which was attended by the Finance Minister, State Minister for Water Resources, Secretaries of Finance and Water Resource Ministry, and governor of Nepal Rastra Bank, concluded that the only viable option for developing the project is to invite foreign private investor. Earlier, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) had been working to gather domestic capital from Employees Provident Fund (EPF), Citizen Investment Fund, Rastriya Beema Sansthan, commercial and development banks to invest in the project. The NEA and the institutions had even reached informal agreement about the investment. The 309-MW Upper Tamakosi project will be located in Dolakha district. It would need the total investment of Rs 28 billion. The cost of generation of electricity from this project is estimated to be Rs 1.12 per unit compared to average of Rs 6.5 per unit that NEA is currently charging its customers. Kantipur daily reports.
Business Community Threaten Agitation
Stating that there is no environment of doing business in the country, the business community has threatened to unleash countrywide agitating stopping all business activities. Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, president of the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Chandi Raj Dhakal said, “There is a situation in the country where we cannot conduct our business and industries.” The business community have accused the Maoists of launching terror in the name of extortion and unionization. They have accused the government of failing to provide a business environment. The FNCCI is holding an extensive conference in Birgunj from Monday to decide about their agitation. Nepal Samacharpatra daily reports.
WB Can Provide Rs 30 Billion If There Is Political Settlement
The World Bank (WB) can provide Nepal with Rs 30 billion of assistance in next two years if there is political settlement and stability. The vice president of World Bank’s South Asia section Praful Patel said Nepal , too, can obtain assistance at the level of African nations in poverty alleviation efforts. This amount is more by Rs 5 billion compared to what Nepal got as support in last two years. “The amount can be further increased in consultation,” Patel said. He advised Nepal to move ahead with second phase reforms in financial sector, among others. “Strong action should be taken against the willful defaulters for the purpose of financial sector reforms,” he said. Patel added that although the government has introduced various acts, implementation has been weak. “There are acts and laws. But in the absence of their implementation, the government’s credibility has suffered,” he said. Patel complained that none of the commitments made three years ago regarding the action against willful defaulters have been fulfilled yet. Likewise, Patel stressed on maintaining macro-economic stability. He expressed concern over the slow pace of reforms in some sectors and the continued government subsidy in petroleum products. “We are watching how the reforms unfold in the coming days,” he said, adding that Nepal could even get budgetary support from WB this year if the IMF gives continuity to its poverty reduction program here. Kantipur daily reports.
SAC Starts Discussions On Military Act
The State Affairs Committee (SAC) of the House of Representatives has initiated discussion over the proposed Military Act from Thursday (September 14). The parliamentarians, Speaker, ministers, and army officer all took part in the discussion on Thursday. During the discussion, the participants agreed to make the proceedings of Military Court transparent in all cases except those related with national security, public good and when there is a need to protect victim’s rights. The discussion was also held about the issue of subjecting cases in which civilians are involved to civilian courts. The participants also talked about the need to legally protect human rights. The panel also discussed about the need to make the Army Welfare Fund transparent. The discussion, which is a first time in history when elected representatives are framing the Military Act, will continue on Friday. Leading dailies report
PAC Decision To Review Sc Verdict Kicks Off Controversy
The Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives decided on Wednesday to examine the reasons for the Supreme Court verdict on Mahalaxmi Sugar Mills bank loan defaulting case has sparked a confrontation between the MPs and the legal experts. The MPs said they would investigate the issue, as the verdict violated the rule of law and lacked public accountability, while the lawyers warned them not to interfere in the independence of judiciary. The lawyers advised the MPs to initiate impeachment process against the particular judge if they found any judge involved in any irregularity. Shambhu Thapa, president of Nepal Bar Association, said the PAC action was an attack on the independence of the judiciary. He challenged the MPS to promulgate a separate act with a provision to review the SC verdicts by the House. “If you promulgate such an act to review the verdict, the apex court can examine even that decision,” Thapa said. MPs, on the other hand, say the verdict was a hurdle in recovering Rs 1.38 billion bank loan from the Mills. In January, a division bench of justices Arjun Prasad Singh and Badri Kumar Basnet had issued the verdict scrapping the decision to blacklist the Mills owned by businessman Binod Kumar Chaudhary. General Secretary of the NBA Madhav Baskota said, “We had participated in Jana Andolan seeking judiciary’s independence and we would never tolerate any attack on judiciary’s independence.” Former president of NBA Harihar Dahal said the parliament could impeach any judge involved in corruption but could not examine the apex court verdict. Attorney General Yagya Murti Banjade and senior advocate Sindhu Nath Pyakurel also condemned PAC action. PAC chairman Chitra Bahadur KC said they would even initiate action against judges involved in irregularities. “This may be a final verdict of the apex court but people can raise question, as irregularities occurred in this case,” he said. The Himalayan Times daily reports.
