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| Kathmandu, Monday May 13, 2002 Baishakh 30, 2059. |
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State
of emergency a compulsion: FM Mahat
Post Report
KATHMANDU, May 12
Finance Minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, addressing the 35th Annual Meeting of the Board of
Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Shanghai, China, said that the state of
emergency imposed in the nation last November was a compulsion rather than a choice.
Expressing serious
concern over the violence, destruction and terror unleashed by the terrorists, he said
that the state of emergency is only a temporary phenomenon, which will be brought to an
end as soon as possible.
He asked for support
of the ADB and the international community to bring the situation under control so that
normal development activities in Nepal could continue in full swing.
"The nation,
the people and the economy are badly affected…infrastructure like telecommunication
facilities, electricity plants, roads, bridges, government offices and banking
institutions have become the target of terrorist attacks," he said.
Finance Minister
Mahat also said that the extent of destruction of physical infrastructure by the
terrorists is estimated at US $ 250 million. He added that the immediate cost to restore
the damaged public facilities and services is estimated at over US $ 100 million.
Dr Mahat took the
opportunity to seek for financial assistance from the Bank and other donors to ensure that
social sector programmes are not affected. "We are in urgent need for flexible
economic assistance from the Bank (ADB) and our valued donors…," said Dr Mahat.
Also stating that an
increased security expense that has put the pressure on public resource management, Dr
Mahat urged the international community to consider debt relief measures.
"Our debt
servicing liability is growing very fast. About one third of our revenue is spent on debt
servicing," he said, adding that the current economic problem in Nepal is getting
more complex. "Revenue targets have gone down. Economic output, export, import,
tourism, investment and overall economic outlook have received setbacks," he said.
Nevertheless, Dr
Mahat said that Nepal, though being a late starter of development in the South Asian
region, achieved tangible progress in the socio-economic development front after the
restoration of democracy.
Minister Mahat also
expressed his commitment to the implementation of various poverty reduction measures
including channelling more domestic and external resources to the needy and poor people of
the grassroots level.
"We are in the
process of finalising the Tenth Plan/Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) with a sole
objective of reducing poverty. We believe that Tenth Plan/PRSP would provide a general
framework for poverty reduction strategy under which all stakeholders will assume their
definite and significant roles," he said.
The finance minister
also said that the government has initiated a number of measures to consolidate the reform
process, which mainly concentrates on the areas of civil service, good governance,
financial sector, private sector development and decentralisation.
Dr Mahat also
expressed his commitment to effective utilisation of resources in the face of grave fiscal
crisis. "We are determined to translate policies and reforms into concrete
actions," he assured.
In the same address,
Dr Mahat expressed strong support for the South Asian Sub-regional Economic Cooperation
(SASEC) programme being implemented under the framework of the South Asian Growth
Quadrangle (SAGQ).
He said that the
ADB’s initiative in promoting economic growth through regional and sub-regional
economic cooperation will open new opportunities for accelerating economic development
process in developing countries.
"Regional
economic cooperation can be a powerful tool for dealing with regional issues and reaping
benefits unleashed by globalisation…more efficient use of regional resources,
protection of environment and the expansion of trade will ultimately help reduce poverty
in the region," he said.
Dr Mahat also
expressed his sincere gratitude to the Government of Japan for creating Japan Fund for
Information and Communication Technology with a view to bridging digital divides in the
region.
Earlier in his address,
Dr Mahat extended his congratulations to Tadao Chino on his re-election to the post of the
President of the ADB for another five-year term.
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