Implement Report

THE government has expressed its commitment to implement the report submitted to His Majesty the King by the High-Level Property Assessment Judicial Commission in March this year. The report, under the final stage of study by the government, is expected to go a long way towards discouraging the tendency of the public officials to amass wealth through unfair means. For this to happen, the implementation of the recommendations made by the high-level commission should be carried out with utmost caution so that those who followed its directives and filled up the forms given to them in an honest manner are not made to suffer unnecessary hassles. Moreover, the process should be free from any influences and prejudices, like Minister for Information and Communications Ramesh Nath Pandey, who is also the government spokesman, said. There are many people who apparently showed their earning which was not compatible with their positions of perks and privileges. Many others who did not fill up the forms pose another problem. Just publishing their names may not bring about the desired results.

The commission was formed more than a year ago with the objective of making the public officials accountable to the people, who expect them to perform their official duties as public servants and not abuse them for simply exercising power and getting rich overnight by abusing their positions. Spreading the net around the public officials alone would not eliminate corrupt practices which have plagued the country for a long time. Corruption has its tentacles reaching into different components of Nepali society and the public officials are only part of that pervasive menace. Businesses, social works and even family organisations in the private spheres have failed to live up to a standard of ethics that is desirable for our society to progress. In such a grim scenario, what the government would have done by making the commission report public and implementing it will be a significant gesture that all the corrupt could be brought to justice. This is the message that needs to go loud and clear to all those public or private establishments and individuals which abuse authority and resort to unethical and corrupt practices for getting rich quick. For this, legal action against those whose property documents are apparently false should be pursued in a firm manner. Failing to do this, the people, as the commission has rightly forewarned, will lose faith on such commissions formed from time to time.

Private Sector's Role

MINISTER for Labour and Transport Management Kamal Prasad Chaulagain, clearly emphasising the need of promotion of private sector, said that His Majesty's Government has adopted the policy of encouraging private sector's involvement in the national economy in general and transport sector in particular. Inaugurating the third general assembly of the Nepal Truck Transport Operation Management Committee in Kathmandu the other day, Minister Chaulagain said that the government, keeping its commitment for the development of transport sector, has constituted a high level task force for the improvement of the transport service and solve all structural as well as other problems being faced by the transport entrepreneurs. The role of private sector in the economic activities of a country is very important. The duty of the government is to facilitate the private sector for investment and providing services to the people. The real engine of economic growth and social development is the private sector's investment and participation. Without the active involvement and participation of private sector, the country cannot see economic growth and prosperity. Global experience has shown that countries that promoted private sector have made considerable progress in the economic and industrial sector. In view of this, the government has also given high priority to bring more private investment into Nepal's economic and industrial sector. Private sector has also played very key and important role in Nepal's economy. Tourism and transport are some important areas where private sector's investment and participation is more than in other fields. However, Nepal's transport sector is also not free from problems and difficulties. Transport entrepreneurs have often complained about their problems. The constitution of the task force is an attempt to compile the problems being faced by the transport entrepreneurs and resolve them based on the suggestions of entrepreneurs themselves. This is in line with His Majesty's Government to solve the problems in accordance with the wish of the people. Moreover, this is the age of competition. The real competition is possible only when private sector is stronger and more vibrant. At the same time, there are complaints from people about the services of the transport entrepreneurs. Thus, transport entrepreneurs need to pay equal attention to providing better services to the people. The government also needs to effectively monitor the services of the entrepreneurs and in order to improve the services in the transport sector, an effective coordination must be devised between the government and private sector.