Newly issued FAP discussed

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KATHMANDU, Jan 24: In the second last pre-NDF (Nepal Development Forum) consultation meeting held here today, experts deliberated on the newly issued Foreign Aid Policy (FAP) by the government.

Presenting a paper on the policy, Dr Bimal Kiorala, Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, said that the policy has been brought to strengthen the government–donors relations to enhance the outcome of the donor-funded projects effective technology transfers.

He also said that Nepal is compelled to seek and accept aid to bridge the gap between revenue and expenditure. He added that conflicts in interest between the government and the donors do arise at times.

"In some cases, donors funding do not match the local demand, resulting in low outcome of the projects," he said.

He also said that cost and time overrun and the huge gap between the donors’ commitment and actual receipt are the some of the main problems faced by development projects. He also warned that soaring debt could one day bring a major problem to the economy.

Admitting that are some serious lackings resulting in the poor performance of projects, he said that government has come up with reform programmes aimed at optimal utilisation of resources by controlling misuse of funds.

Presenting the donors’ prospective on the FAP, Ingrid Otstad, Ambassador of Norway to Nepal, said that the donor community warmly welcome the policy that redefines the relationship between the government and donors.

She said donors’ participating in the consultations on the Tenth Five Year Plan (TFYP), the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), and the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) would promote transparency. TFYP, PRSP and MTEF are the main documents that the government would present at the NDF meet scheduled for February 4-7, 2002.

She also said that donors fully support the government documents and will review their assistance strategies in line with these frameworks. "The donors will take specific steps to eliminate corruption and misuse of funds in the donor-funded projects," she said.

Stressing that Maoist insurgency may be a reaction against poverty, unemployment, poor public services and corrupt practices in rural areas, she said the donors are considering for short-term support to the government.

Commenting on the paper, Dr Dilli Raj Khanal said that though foreign aid plays an important role in stimulating development activities, the government’s growing dependency on foreign aid in recent years is of prime concern.

He also said that the government has failed to control non-development public expenditure and urged for corrective measures in that direction.

He said that the government should speed up the decentralisation process to maximise the participation of the beneficiaries by involving them in the decision-making process.

Dr Shankar Sharma, Member of the National Planning Commission (NPC), expressed concern over the declining flow of aid and growing competition among the poor countries to attract aids from developed nations. He stressed that Nepal should concentrate on optimum utilisation of the available funds.

"Some of the projects funded by donors do not match with national priority while conditions set by them in some are unpractical," he added.

Kamal Thapa, leader of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, said that greater decentralisation is the best way to ensure proper utilisation of foreign aid. He also said that the government should also take step to correlate various programmes of NGOs and INGOs with the national priority projects.

Kenichi Ohashi, country director of World Bank, said that MTEF is a step taken in the right direction, which will speed up effective implementation of various anti-poverty programmes.

He also admitted that there have been some shortcomings on the donors’ part, particularly in institutional building. He also urged that the government should not undermine Technical Assistance as it brings valuable knowledge, which is often more important than money.

Speaking from the chair, Finance Minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat expressed satisfaction over the initial response of donors on the newly issued FAP.

"Nepal has high potential in IT"

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KATHMANDU, Jan 24: Kim Goodall, Vice Chairman of Temenos, a leading banking software exporter in the world, is in the capital to take part in CAN Info-Tech 2002 that was inaugurated by the Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba at the Birendra International Convention Centre today.

Goodall, who has worked as IT consultant in several companies from around the globe for 20 years before establishing Temenos jointly with George Koukis in 1993, talked to the The Kathmandu Post here today regarding the prospects and potential of IT sector in Nepal.

"Nepal has a significant potential for the growth of IT sector. It can take advantage of the modern technology from developed countries," he said. However, he adds, "Since the banking sector growth in Nepal is still at a young stage and that internet access is limited, the prospects of internet banking is not much in the short period."

But that does not mean that IT cannot flourish in Nepal. For a country that is landlocked, huge growth potential lies in other sectors of information technologies. And with the growth in these sectors, corresponding growth in the banking customers can be expected, he says.

He assures that Nepal can also develop new software and export it worldwide. And If Nepal really does come up with new products, Temenos would be glad to support its marketing around the world, he says.

Temenos produces core banking applications that are used to launch new products and services to clients. The services also includes other integrated applications.

So much that some banks in Nepal are already using Temenos banking product – Globus. CAN Info-Tech, the largest IT event in the country, will be held for five days.

Web Card: A hassle free billing system

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KATHMANDU, Jan 24: Tired of being trapped in traffic jams while on your way to pay telephone bills? Or vexed by an excessively long queue at the electricity counter? Or raving mad that your taximeter exacted more fare than the water bill you came to pay for? Or...?

But now you can relax. No more will those things trouble you. The panacea has arrived. And that may prompt one to swear under the breath: what the heck and who gives a damn.

Web Park Nepal, an information technology (IT) company has found the solution. Web Park, for the first time in Nepal, launched Web Card, especially to ease the payment of electricity, telephone and water tariffs.

Web cards now is all set to change the way life is led. No billing hassles, no long tiring queues and no traffic jams. All that one needs to have is an internet access, and the rest depends on where the fingers click the keyboard.

Web Card is different from cash cards which does not require any bank guarantee. One can just purchase the card paying the desired amount. The minimum price of the card is set at Rs 1000 and one can buy high value card depending on their needs. The company charges Rs 300 one-time fee as registration charge.

The card can be bought within 24 hours of order from the company. The cardholders have to enter www.webcardnepal.com, go to utility box, specify the bill, fill the amount, click the detail box, feed one’s card number and user’s ID and password. Then one has to submit the detail and get it confirmed. Your payment is made.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba released the Web Card at the inaugural function of the CAN Info-Tech 2002 at the Birendra International Convention Centre (BICC) here today.

Apart from the said services, the company has said that it would expand the application of the card to other areas like restaurants, department stores and other utilities of daily life.

Udaya Mohan Shrestha, Managing Director of Web Park Nepal said that they have introduced the card with a view to facilitating the busy jobholders, housewives, and guardians. "Currently, the cards can be used to pay electricity, water, telephone and school bills staying anywhere, but we are planning to expand it to other areas and are negotiating with some firms."

The payments are made through internet, banks or cash depending upon the circumstances and the card holders can order goods and services required for which they have to pay delivery charge upon arrival of goods or services.

Rajan Pant, CEO of the company, says that the introduction of the card to the market would revolutionize in the existing mode of purchasing goods and services. He says that they have expected more than 50,000 customers within a year’s time.

Companies display new products at Info-Tech

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KATHMANDU, Jan 24: Various local information technology (IT) companies are vying with each other to display their new products and services during the CAN Info-Tech 2002, which kicks off at the Birendra International Convention Centre (BICC) Friday.

Most of the participating companies in the exhibition keep something secret for the event to surprise their customers. Mercantile Office System, a leading software developer, is going to release Pumori Plus III, an updated version of its online banking software Pumori Plus 2.0, at the event.

The new version incorporates new modules to be on a par with the latest technology available in the market while retaining its ease, modularity and robustness, states a press release issued by the company.

Pumori Plus III is an online real time banking system, which is currently installed in 11 banks and 7 finance companies of Nepal. The banking software is probably the first in Nepal to incorporate biometrics technology and smart cards for authenticating users for their access to database and software.

Pumori Plus III is now designed to take full advantage of new features and functions introduced to windows 2000 Networking Operating system and MS SQL 2000 RDMBS of Microsoft.

Similarly, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Asia’s largest IT consulting company, is going to release Personal Investment Manager, a new set of reengineered products from its E.X. business during the show.

Besides being the category leader in Nepal, E.X. has been a leading brand in the business accounting software market and has more than 100,000 customers worldwide, says a press release.

With advanced features like market downloads and alerts, the software is intended for all investors to enhance their efficiency. The E.X. range of products is distributed and supported in Nepal through its M/S Mazda International Computech, its distributor for Nepal.