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Kathmandu Tuesday January 22, 2002 Magh 09 2058.
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Unrealistic assumptions, weak
implentation plague govt plans
Post Report
KATHMANDU, Jan 21:Experts, planners, high
government officials and representatives of the donor community today pointed out that
weak implementation is the core reason why the targets envisaged in the periodic plans
remain unachieved.
They also said that the past programmes targeted
towards poverty reduction has mostly failed due to the unrealistic assumptions made. They
also expressed doubt that the upcoming Tenth Plan will be able to fully achieve its
targets, arguing that the draft Plan fails to incorporate the past mistakes.
The experts were speaking at a pre-NDF (Nepal
Development Forum) consultation programme organised by the Ministry of Finance. A series
of such programmes on more than a dozen working papers are scheduled for the next few
days.
Today’s programme was the first of such
programmes where experts from diverse fields met to discuss on the Tenth Five Year Plan
and the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP).
Nepal will present the Tenth Plan and the PRSP
as its main documents at the NDF meet that is to be held from February 4-7 in Kathmandu
and Pokhara.
Speaking on the occasion, Finance Minister Dr
Ram Sharan Mahat said that after an in-depth homework, the government has decided to
implement the Medium Term Budgetary Framework (MTBF) and added that the new measure would
help to establish a close linkage between periodic plan and annual budget expenditures. He
also said that MTBF would be presented at the upcoming NDF meet as one of the main
documents.
Assuring the participants that their views will
also be incorporated in the final draft of these government documents, Dr Mahat added that
the main aim of such an interaction programmes was to ensure greater participation of
relevant experts in government’s strategic plans.
He further said that the MTBF has categorized
various development programmes on a priority basis and expressed the view that such
measures would help in ensuing the success of the projects through optimal utilisation of
resources.
Prithvi Raj Legal, Vice Chairman of the National
Planning Commission (NPC), said that all the objectives set in the PRSP have been included
in the Tenth Plan to ensure better outcomes, adding that special programmes have also been
designed in the plan.
"Though poverty reduction is the core aim
of the plan, women-centric programmes will be also implemented, which would help in
enhancing family welfare by improving health and education," he observed.
Dr Shankar Sharma, Member of the NPC, said that
Nepal has made some remarkable achievements in the post-1990s. "The human development
growth in Nepal is one of the highest in the world and highest in South Asia," he
said.
He also said that weak public resources
management and poor service delivery system are some of the serious problems plaguiong
Nepal, which need urgent corrective measures.
He said that soaring security expenditure has
compelled the government to adjust the tax rates. "Though there has been some
dissatisfaction over the government decision, it needs to be appreciated since the
government did not choose to go for higher internal loan," he stressed.
K P Sharma Oli, leader of the main opposition,
said that unless the government concentrates in curbing the growing financial indicipline,
the upcoming plan will also be a failed development strategy. He further pointed out that
the plan has not clearly mentioned how to fight against soaring unemployment, the root
cause of poverty.
Hridayash Tripathi, leader of Nepal Sadbavana
Party, stressed that the government should bring special programmes in the agriculture
sector to supplement its anti-poverty campaign. He also urged the government to
reintroduce subsidy in fertilizer and tubewells enable the farmers’ competitiveness
vis-a-vis the Indian farmers.
Bharat Mohan Adhikari, another leader from the
main opposition, challenged the government figures on poverty rate and added that a major
economic crisis is knocking the door. "However, we are sleeping without being
disturbed," he said.
Similarly, secretaries of the ministries of
agriculture, health, water resoureces, and housing and physical planning also expressed
their views on the occasion, showing commitments to effectively implement programmes and
polices adopted in the plan.
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