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Kathmandu,Thursday April 27, 2000 Baishakh 15, 2057.
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Strengthen delivery mechanism
As the government is engaged in
preparing the annual budget for the fiscal year 2000-2001, the public as well as elite
groups are equally eager to see what new and remarkable things the Nepali Congress’s
majority government may propose for the country’s overall development. This time,
unlike in previous years, the government plans to present the annual budget estimates well
in advance, that is, by May-end or early June instead of the usual time, that is mid-July.
Obviously, this decision must
have been made keeping in mind the fact that various government departments tend to
rush-spend the budget just before the fiscal year ends. Apparently, the money is spent for
the sake of spending it and also making commissions. There is no sincerity of purpose in
such work. It is therefore to be hoped that the announcement of a pre-poned budget will
effectively prevent such tendencies.
However, no one should be so
naive as to believe that the spending will now be more prudent and on genuine works just
because the timing of budget presentation has been advanced by a month or two. To achieve
optimum budget expenditure, the government must devise a mechanism to monitor the way
the budget is spent by various departments and corporations. There must also be in place,
stern punitive measures against those who misappropriate it.
The Finance Ministry solicited
suggestions from members of parliament on the forthcoming annual budget the other day.
This initiative is to be appreciated, for the suggestions should help planners understand
the development priorities of the constituencies our lawmakers represent, as well as what
they think are the national development priorities. Members of parliament are ultimately
responsible for deciding the fate of any budget presented to the House. Hence, it will no
doubt, be in line with democratic culture to incorporate their just concerns in the
government’s financial proposal.
In this connection, the
suggestion made by most MPs that priority be given to development works in the rural and
remote parts of the country can only be regarded as timely and appropriate. But their
suggestion that the fund allocated to each MP for development work in their constituencies
be increased from the present 500,000 rupees twenty fold to a whopping 10 million rupees
surely comes as a surprise. To say the least, this suggestion should not even be
considered for a good number of reasons including the scope for corruption that is
inherent in the disbursement system of such allocations. The way previous allocations were
used must also be a criteria for disbursing development funds. For one, without
transparency and accountability, the whole purpose of giving a certain amount of
development fund to the MPs will be defeated.
Finance Minister Mahesh Acharya
has said the forthcoming budget will stress on poverty alleviation, revenue increase,
decentralization and economic liberalism, the same things as last year’s budget.
These are indeed nice and pressing objectives. But objectives and programmes alone will
not achieve anything. What we need is viable and concrete measures for attaining those
objectives. And this imperative, the forthcoming budget cannot afford to ignore.
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