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| Kathmandu, Friday July 18, 2003 Shrawan 02, 2060. |
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New budget : popular for
people, liberal for donors
Post Report
KATHMANDU, July 17 : The annual budget estimate
unveiled by Finance Minister Dr Prakash Chandra Lohani today has taken concrete steps of
reforms by putting a new acceleration in public-private partnership for development
activities and welding the periodic plan and annual programmes at the policy level.
But, though Dr Lohani has worked hard to label
reform-oriented tag on the budget, the strategy it has adopted to speed up rural
development through the extension of subsidies on the various agro-based sectors will sure
to face a cold-response from the donors.
In an attempt to channel the urban-centered
resources for rural development, the budget also announced the establishment of Nepal
Agricultural and Rural Upliftment Bank. However, to fend off criticism, Dr Lohani quickly
added that the bank would be established at the initiation of private commercial banks and
the government would just extend necessary supports.
Realizing the ballooning financial burden
emerging out of loss-making public enterprises (PEs), the budget for the first time
introduced a strict performance indicator for PEs, even provisioning punishment for the
chiefs of the PEs, whose performance is less than half of the target.
The budget has adopted ten working polices and
strategies to achieve the overriding objectives of poverty alleviation by enhancing
development activities in the rural areas through the effective mobilization of
private-public partnership.
Dr Lohani in his budget for the current fiscal
year also spoke about the growing tendency of misusing public savings form the bank and
pin-pointed that it is major challenge for the financial sector reform. The budget
stressed on the need to curb such malpractice, which has been disturbing conducive
investment environment for honest investors.
The budget dwells on polices and programmes to
promote public-private partnership by fostering private sector investment confidence,
which, in recent years, has plunged to the lowest level.
In this regard, the budget has taken some steps
to woo private investments, particularly in the development of road infrastructures, by
offering them incentives and other additional facilities, and schemes. The budget also
announced the establishment of Road Board Fund to carry out maintenance and expansion of
road network.
The fund would be managed through the revenue
generated while registering vehicles and surcharge imposed on the petroleum products. The
finance minister also announced policy measures to attract investments from the
Non-Resident Nepalis.
Apart form taking bold steps in stimulating
privatization or offloading government share of even big profit making PEs, the budget
also offered various concessions to promote exports.
Promotion of foreign employment was another
feature of the budget. The budget has also announced the establishment of a separate bank
named Foreign Employment Bank to expand the foreign employment opportunities by extending
low-interest and easy loans to, particularly to the rural people.
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