GDP growth expected to tumble to lowest in 14 years

By Prem Khanal

KATHMANDU, Dec 12 – The Nepali economy is expected to record the lowest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the last 14 years, thanks mainly to dwindling agriculture, manufacturing and tourism revenues.

The preliminary estimates put out by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) for the current fiscal year puts GDP growth at just 2.5 per cent, considerably lower than last year’s 4.95 per cent.

This is mainly because the agricultural sector, which contributes around 40 per cent to the GDP and comprises 76.1 per cent economically active population, is likely to grow at only 2.10 percent. Similarly, non-agriculture sector is also projected to expand at decelerating a rate of 2.76 per cent against a healthy growth rate of 5.6 per cent last year.

As a result, the CBS projects that the per capita income of Nepalis will grow nominally. As per the estimate, the per capita income is expected to grow by just 0.5 per cent to touch Rs 19,000 (about US $ 250).

The saving and investment rates are expected to register a slower growth rate due to the ballooning unemployment as a result of less-than-expected performance of the agricultural and labour intensive non-agricultural sector.

The CBS projection has also lowered the last year’s estimated GDP growth, from the initial 5.8 per cent to only 4. 95 per cent. Poor performance of the non-agricultural sector, particularly in the last quarter mainly due to Maoist-related violence dragged down the expected GDP growth.

The expected growth rate for the current fiscal year, which is also the last year of Ninth Plan, is in line to become the lowest GDP growth rate of the entire plan period. The Ninth Plan, which had set poverty alleviation as the only objective, is certain to miss its targeted annual growth rate of 6 per cent. Now, the average growth rate during the plan period will remain at 4.3 per cent. The budget for the current fiscal year has also expected the economy to grow at 6 per cent.

On the nine sector-wise performances of the GDP, hydropower, gas and water sector is expected to register a robust growth of 27 per cent as opposed to 11 and 15 per cent during last and year before last fiscal years. However, due to its low weight in the GDP, its sole in uplifting the growth rate will be limited.

Similarly, the low growth rate in the agricultural sector, which holds the heavy weight of 40 per cent, is mainly attributed to unfavourable monsoon, especially in the eastern region. Among the major monsoon crops, paddy is expected to register a negative growth rate, while the growth forecast for millet and maize are also nominal.

Similarly, propelled by sharp slowdown seen in the major exportable goods in recent months, manufacturing sector is projected to slide down to just 2 per cent growth rate against 3.60 per cent and 7.20 per achieved in the fiscal year 2000/01 and 1999/2000 respectively.

Likewise, the sharp decline in the tourism sector has been clearly reflected in the remarkably low growth rate of just 0.40 per cent in trade, restaurant and hotels whereas such growths in the last two fiscal years were 2.94 per cent and 6.8 per cent respectively.

On the other hand, the transport and communication sector is forecasted to register a slow growth of by 4.30 per cent mainly due to the shrinking industrial activities.

Similarly, finance and real estate sector’s growth is expected to be around 4.5 per cent. The low growth rate of finance sector is due to the continued excess liquidity condition of the banking sector and continued sluggish poor performances of real-estate. Similarly, community and social sector is also expected to surge by 1.2 per cent against 15.02 per cent recorded last year.

Govt preparing to bring anti-corruption Ordinances

By Binaj Gurubacharya

KATHMANDU, Dec 12 - The government is preparing to bring the two anti-corruption Bills, that had been lingering in the Parliamentary State Affairs Committee (SAC), through Ordinances.

A committee under the co-ordinatorship of Attorney General Badri Bahadur Karki is reviewing the Corruption Control Bill and Bill proposing amendment to the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) Act.

This Committee has already received recommendations from the CIAA and is expected to make the necessary changes and pass these Bills to the government so it can be forwarded to the Royal Palace for final announcement. It could come as early as next week.

Other members in this high-level committee include the Secretaries at the Home Ministry, Law and Justice Ministry and CIAA.

In an interview to The Kathmandu Post last week, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba had said he would bring the anti-corruption Ordinances.

These two Bill had been much awaited by both the government and the opposition, as an attempt to control the growing number of corruption cases in the country.

However, the marathon meetings in SAC failed to yield any results as the ruling members and opposition parties remained divided on whether court judges can be brought under the jurisdiction of CIAA when it comes to investigating corruption cases.

The opposition said yes and at first even the lawmakers from the ruling Nepali Congress, including Chairman of the committee Hom Nath Dahal, agreed. However, the ruling side went against their earlier decision following pressure from the judiciary.

The debate had sparked a rift between the judiciary and the legislature after Supreme Court judges publicly spoke against SAC’s decision to bring them under CIAA’s judiciary.

Supreme Court judges were quoted as saying that such a move would reduce the status of the apex court and it would not remain supreme. The Constitution says judges can be impeached only through approval of two-third members of Parliament.

Though Prime Minister Deuba has repeatedly pledged to push these two Bills through Parliament, the Bill had been lingering in the Committee and the differences had even prompted SAC Chairman Dahal to quit from it just few weeks back.

The imposing of the state of emergency last month has made the situation worse with none of the parliamentary committee resuming their business even weeks after the holidays. It has almost become a tradition for the lawmakers to head back to the capital from their constituencies after the Dashain and Diwali holidays and begin work that the various parliamentary committees.

Not this year.

The state of emergency has led to all these committees to postpone their meetings to discuss and amend the proposed Bills pending at these committees. By this time of the year, the nearly dozen parliamentary committees should have been working at full swing preparing for the Winter Session.

The Winter Session, which is also called the working session, concentrates mostly on debating and endorsing Bills proposed by the government.

This year, however, none of these committees have even met once since the Budget session was prorogued few months back.

"At a time when the government has suspended most of the fundamental rights, it is the Parliament and the committees which should be actively playing the role of watchdog," said Bharat Mohan Adhikari, Chief Whip of the main opposition CPN-UML.

Adhikari said these committees have lot of work pending and it is about time that they cleared some of the works.

"We should be making the Parliament and the Constitution more active and strong at this time to show the Maoists that the system works," Adhikari said.

Even the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which has been the most active of the committees under the House of Representatives, has taken a break. PAC is chaired by Subash Nemwang of the CPN-UML, one of the few committees under the control of the opposition parties.

DoF to take over Leasehold Forestry Programme

By Kiran Chapagain

KATHMANDU, Dec 12 – The Leasehold Forestry Programme, one of the most effective poverty alleviation programmes in the country over the last eight years, will no longer remain as a project with the Department of Forest (DoF) deciding soon to institutionalise it under the department itself.

"The DoF took an internal decision on Monday to run the Leasehold Forestry Programme as a regular programme of the DoF from now on," said director of the DoF Dibya Deo Bhatta. "The step has been taken to make the project more sustainable on the long run."

The DoF has run this programme, which is currently implemented in 26 districts throughout the country, as a project since 1993.

"The DoF took this decision realising the fact that the programme could not get sustainability if run under a project," said Bhatta. "Furthermore, there is a possibility of the programme becoming ineffective after the termination of the project."

According to Shree Prasad Baral, an official at the DoF, a separate leasehold forestry section will be set up under the National Forest Division to look after the programme.

The decision is expected to minimise the expenses of the government, as the project is quite costly at present.

This programme was previously run under the Hills Leasehold Forestry and Forage Project (HLFFP), financed by International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which has been providing a soft loan since 1993, and the government of the Netherlands had provided the technical assistance.

The project is presently being run with the remaining assistance of IFAD, which comes around Rs. 250 million. But the DoF is looking out for other international and national non-governmental organisations and aid agencies to run the programme.

The Leasehold Forestry Programme was initially implemented in four districts - Makawanpur, Kavrepalanchowk, Sindhupalchowk and Ramechhap. It was later extended to six more districts. The programme has been extended in additional 16 districts in mid-hills from this year.

According to a highly placed source, the DoF is also thinking of changing the line agencies as the officials at the department believe that these line agencies have not been effective. National Agriculture Research Council and Agriculture Development Bank are currently supporting the Leasehold Forestry Programme as the line agencies. "We are just considering this aspect, it is yet to be decided," the source said on condition of anonymity.

Under this programme, more than 11,500 families living under the poverty line have received 700 hectares of degraded land - the open land which is not used neither by the Community Forestry Programme nor by the government - since 1993. The total area of degraded land in the country is estimated to be around 1.5 million hectares.

The DoF had, two months ago, brought out an evaluation report on the programme, which clearly stated that the programme has been proved to be one of the most effective projects aimed at poverty alleviation. The evaluation report also indicated that the programme has considerably helped improve the status of women in the project implementation area and has even improved the ecological condition of the degraded land.

But due to the lack of effective management and high expenses, the DoF has now decided to take over the project and run under its belt to make it more sustainable in the long run.

"Keeping the success of the project in consideration, the government is committed to carry out the programme at any cost," director Bhatta said, adding, "And the decision to bring this programme under the DoF has been taken to make it more effective and sustainable."

WB assistance for rural telecom

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Dec 12 – The World Bank (WB) on Wednesday approved a US $ 22.56 million credit to Nepal to help finance the Telecommunications Sector Reform Project (TSRP), a statement released by the bank here today said.

The Telecommunications Sector Reform Project supports the implementation of the government’s sector reform agenda. "His Majesty’s Government recognises the importance of telecommunications to be a key factor for the economic development, social inclusion, and enhancement of the welfare of the population," said Kenichi Ohashi, World Bank Country Director for Nepal.

Praising the government, Ohashi said the government of Nepal has taken some significant and irreversible reforms to dramatically improve sector performance.

The reforms are allowing virtually complete freedom for the private sector to provide all forms of value-added services, enacting the Telecommunications Act for fair competition establishing a regulatory agency and adopting a progressive National Telecommunications Policy, among others.

According to the WB, the TSRP has two main components. One is the institutional building component focused on strengthening policy and regulatory capacities necessary in the evolving multi-operator environment.

The second component supports the licensing of a private rural operator through a market mechanism to provide telecommunications services in 534 Village Development Committees (VDCs) in the Eastern Region, accounting for roughly 25 percent of all rural communities nation-wide, without any access to telephone services.

The WB statement also said that since such an investment is not commercially viable, the government is prepared to provide a minimum capital subsidy.

The government has introduced competition in basic, cellular, and value-added services and over 65 new operators have been authorised to provide value-added services, such as internet, paging, and data transmission.

WTO: Gateway to ensuring patent rights

By Rudra Sharma

KATHMANDU, Dec 12 Once the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights is enforced after Nepal’s accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Nepali Intellectual Property (IP) market will no longer be the same. Be it a software engineer or an author, or be it a singer, they all will have to honour IP rights. This will help ensure that patent-holders are not deprived of profits.

But it will not be enough to establish one’s right merely by possession—even in the case where property has been handed down from generations. For instance, Nepali folklore, handicrafts, and renowned brands like Palpali Dhaka Topi, Bhojpuri Khukuri, etc., do not become Nepal’s own if their patents or similar rights are not registered.

And Nepal will have to get on with the patenting process quickly enough if it is not to lose its indigenous property. "African countries can earn much more by selling their folk songs than with their traditional business of jute," says Pravin Ananda, an Indian IP expert. Now, with Nepal’s rich artistic and cultural heritage, not to speak of its bio-diversities, there’s a goldmine to be dug out there.

The fear is real that if the nation doesn’t go ahead with documenting and patenting its properties, it may lose them all. "Everyone must protect their treasures or utilities, otherwise they may lose them. Each country should have national legislation of its own to protect its traditional utilities," warned Lee Yuke Chin, a Malaysian IP expert who was here attending a national seminar on IP.

There are two schools of thought regarding the protection of traditional properties like folklore and handicrafts. The developed countries say that the existing patent laws are sufficient to protect the traditional utilities. But developing countries are seeking more comprehensive laws for the same.

"The WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) has formed an inter-governmental committee to look into the matter of protecting traditional utilities," informed Ranjana Abysekera, Senior Counsellor at the Cooperation for Development Bureau for Asia and Pacific, a wing of the WIPO.

Another WIPO official, who refused to be named, warned against waiting for international protection while not doing anything at the national level. He listed three steps for such protection mechanism: protection by legislation; by documentation; and by raising awareness. Explaining the last case, he cited that in a non-patent regime a singer might not be aware that he exercises a right over his songs.

Nepal does indeed have patent and copyright laws which were enacted 36 years ago, much before the globalisation era. Now it needs laws that can address the changes of globalisation and the Information Technology revolution that has followed.

There is a necessity to develop new regimes of laws that can cover all the traditional utilities, say government officials.

"Now we are trying to protect our traditional utilities through the existing laws. But we will be developing other measures too," says Madu Soodan Poudyal, Director at the Department of Industries.

But the people at large are still unaware of the patent culture. "People here think that a patentable thing is required to be a revolutionary product," says Bisu Kumar KC, official at the Department of Industries. "But that is a wrong idea. Millions of patents are registered every year in developed countries. There are a lot of patentable things here too." But till now, around only 50 patents have been registered with the Department of Industries, says the official.

The country’s premier research body, Royal Nepal Institute of Science and Technology (RONAST), is a classic case of how the patent regime is yet to take root here. In its decades of existence, RONAST has only once approached the Department of Industries to register a patent. That was two years ago. But even so, nothing has yet come out of it.

That wouldn’t have been the case if a patent culture were in force. The time has come for Nepal to protect its indigenous properties, otherwise the Palpali Topi and the Bhojpuri Khukuri might have foreign labels on them!

Tinkune to have a garden--finally

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Dec 12 - The Ministry of Physical Planning and Works (MPPW) is on its way to acquire the shabby private land at Tinkune of Koteshwor, to transform it into a green garden, a government official said here today.

"The public notice has been published. We will acquire the land from next Sunday and work on the garden will follow immediately," said Dinesh Chandra Pyakurel, a secretary at MPPW.

The Ministry has promised to do "as much as possible" in making the garden ready for the SAARC Summit which is scheduled to take place on January 4, 2002.

The MPPW Secretary said that work on clearing the area will be complete by the end of the month.

On December 3, a Cabinet meeting had decided to acquire eyesore structures and land in the capital as part of the preparations for the 11th SAARC Summit. Some of the land that will now become public property are at Tinkune and Maitighar, while the Jamal-Tindhara road, among others, is to be widened. The open ground of Tinkune is now owned by scores of people, and usually leased for hoardings, and storing of construction materials.

"The Cabinet has decided to distribute compensation amounts of up to Rs 1.6 million per ropani. Probably we will start distributing the compensation to the locals from Monday onwards," said Pyakurel.

He said the government is now planning to formulate a development committee to systematically develop the area as an open park, with contributions from all the valley municipalities and other organisations.

"We will soon establish a fund for the purpose. There is also a plan to install a Buddha statue at the Tinkune park," Pyakurel said.

Mayor of Lalitpur, Buddhiraj Bajracharya, has proposed a huge Buddha statue in the area, for which former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala had promised land.

Officials said that acquiring private land to create public spaces started as early as 1974.

Bharat Shrama, an environment planner and former deputy general manager at the Department of Urban Development and Housing, said that the acquisition of the land is a "landmark achievement" since several governments have failed in their attempts. But he expressed the opinion that this should have taken place years ago.

"Had it been done earlier, the government could have saved millions of rupees, and the public also would have got (compensation) what they deserved decades ago," said Sharma.

Sharma added that open areas in a city are vital because it provides space for the city’s cultural and physical activities.

Government officials said the Tinkune land was priced at Rs 4,000 per ropani in 1974, but the acquisition attempt was not successful, and when revived in 1983, the price was put at Rs 80,000. But that too failed because the court disallowed it after a local plea.

Defence Ministry refutes news of Indian army’s presence in Nepal

KATHMANDU, Dec 12 (PR) – The Defence Ministry on Wednesday refuted a Nepali vernacular weekly news which quoted an Indian daily report which alleged that Indian Army had reached Nepal.

Today’s edition of Nepali Jan Astha weekly, referring to Rashtriya Sahara news said that Indian army was in Nepal. The Defence Ministry dismissed the news as completely baseless and false.

It also reiterated its earlier request to the press not to publish any news concerning the security agencies without getting it confirmed.

Meanwhile, the toll on the Maoists’ side in the clash with the army guarding a telecommunication tower in Salyan district reached 14 on Tuesday with three more "terrorists" being killed in the fierce gun-fight, said a statement issued today by the Defence Ministry.

On Sunday, the army had gunned down 11 Maoists who had attacked the repeater station at Kapurkot in Salyan district. Yesterday’s fight took place during the army’s search operation around the repeater station. The army also found some ammunitions and socket bombs.

The Ministry said that the army also arrested 20 Maoists at Tatopani in Myagdi, Kachchhe in Kavre and Bawa and Pakhapani in Rolpa districts yesterday.

‘Govt committed for accountable, transparent education policy’

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Dec 12 – Minister for Education and Sports, Amod Prasad Upadhyaya, said here today that the government is committed to draw up an accountable and transparent education policy through the seventh amendment to the Education Bill, which was recently approved by both houses of the Parliament.

Speaking at an interaction programme on the implementation challenges ahead of the proposed Education Act (Seventh Amendment), Minister Upadhyaya said that it was the lack of a "sense of accountability" in the implementing authority after the 1971 education policy that has given rise to the problems besetting the education sector. The Minister assured that all the necessary rectification would be taken care of soon.

After 30 years of centralized exercise failed to produce the desired results in the education sector, it was imperative to build a more accountable education system on a decentralized basis, he said. "This Act is a new experiment. It has recognized that the education system has got to be accountable to the public and made transparent," Minister Upadhyaya added. He was addressing the closing session of the half-day interaction programme, which was attended by a broad spectrum of people from the education field, including association members of private and boarding schools as well as governmental and non-governmental representatives.

On the occasion, prominent educators, Dr Lekh Nath Belbasi and Dr Bijaya Kumar Thapa, presented papers on the forthcoming Act, while a dozen experts commented on their papers, mostly expressing skepticism about the implementation mechanism.

Commenting on the paper, Dr Tirtha Khania, a senior educationist, said that the new policy with its fees levied on students of the 10-12 age group, was a blow to all who have been lobbying for making learning free and compulsory especially at the elementary level. "I see conflicting ideas in the new Act. If the government was sincere in making elementary education free and compulsory, then why should it make an 11-year-old student pay fees," he asked.

Hari Thapa, Vice President of the Education Journalists Group (EJG), said that the outcome of the day’s discussions and deliberations would be forwarded to the offices concerned before the new Act becomes operational.

The interaction programme was jointly organised by the EJG and Action Aid Nepal.

Justice raps Info Ministry

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KATHMANDU, Dec 12 – A Senior Justice of the Supreme Court today said that the Information Ministry should not have issued a directive to the journalists over their rights to disseminate information freely.

"If the media censor continues, then it would have a negative effect upon independent journalists," said Justice Laxman Prasad Aryal talking to The Kathmandu Post. "For the general people to realize that there is a civilian rule, the government should not be censoring the media".

"The government should limit the rights only to the extent necessary of," said Justice Aryal. The justice said that only those rights deemed necessary should be suspended, but the government should give a lot of consideration while doing so.

Justice Aryal further said that the directive regarding the media censorship should have come from the agency that declared the State of Emergency, and not through any other agency.

Aryal expressed his discontent over the government promulgating the ordinance on terrorism along with the declaration of emergency. He said that the government can bring about ordinances any time, but it should not have brought the ordinance as a supplement to the declaration of emergency. Government had promulgated ordinance on terrorism declaring the CPN-Maoists and its sister organizations as terrorists on the day emergency was declared.

According to Aryal, all this happened as the government had no experience on the State of Emergency. Aryal even said that the emergency should be ended soon. Justice Aryal, however, expressed his satisfaction over the Prime Minsiter saying that he will not let the power be misused during the emergency period.

2 killed, 24 injured in road mishaps

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BUTWAL, Dec 12 - At least two people died instantly and 24 others sustained injuries, five of them seriously, when two passenger buses travelling from opposite directions collided head-on on the East-West Highway in Chanrauta, Kapilvastu and Biratnagar on Wednesday, police said.

Police in Chanrauta said that the two buses plying on the highway from Kathmandu to Krishnanagar and Krishnanagar to Kathmandu (Na 1 Kha 495 and Lu 1 Kha 2347 respectively) collided with each other this morning.

The two passengers who succumbed to their injuries have been identified as Bhanu Prakash Upadhyaya, 45, from Gurchihawa village of the Shivanagar VDC and Hajibullah from Krishnanagar VDC of Kapilvastu district, according to a local telephone operator in Chanrauta.

Police said that all the injured people are undergoing treatment at Lumbini Zonal Hospital in Butwal. Police have started investigation about the reason of the collision.

Meanwhile, a report from Biratnagar said that eight people, including a bride and a groom, travelling in a taxi were injured after the vehicle met with an accident in front of the Biratnagar Dairy Corporation Office today, police said.

Condition of the three injured, including the bride, is reported to be critical. Police said three of the eight injured are undergoing treatment at Dharan-based B P Koirala Memorial Hospital, two in the Kosi Zonal Hospital and the rest in a hospital in Siliguri, India. The taxi was returning from Rajbiraj after completing a wedding ceremony.