HEADLINE NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

PM's address to the nation
Transform cease-fire into permanent peace: Chand

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Feb. 3: Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand has said a promising endeavour has begun for restoring lasting peace following the announcement of a cease-fire by the Maoists and the government.

In his address to the nation this evening, Prime Minister Chand said cooperation and understanding among all the political parties and civil society were essentials in transforming the present cease-fire into a permanent peace. "I am hopeful that the government will receive all cooperation from all the political parties and civil groups."

The Prime Minister said that the government was not mulling to remain at the helm of the nation's affair forever. "It is eager to transfer power to an elected government by fulfilling all its responsibilities," he said.

He reiterated that since the Maoists decided to announce a cease-fire, reciprocating the government's policy to end the Maoist problems through dialogue, the government has dropped the tag 'terrorist' on the Maoists. The government has also withdrawn red-corner notices issued against some Maoist leaders and rewards given to informers providing information leading to the arrest of the Maoist activists.

Prime Minister Chand, in his 12-minute speech, elaborated on the compulsions of history that force one to make major decisions. He urged all to forget past bitterness and differences to solve the existing problems in the larger interest of the nation.

"Time has come when a historical decision must be made in a nation's life. The exact time has come to take such decisions, forgetting our past bitterness. We should rise above individual, party and group interest, and give priority to the nation's immediate needs and long-term interest. Therefore, let our thoughts and action be guided by the Monarchial culture and the values attached to multiparty polity," he said.

Chand made it clear that differences and competitions are but natural components of democracy and asked that the Institution of Monarchy and the multiparty polity be the guiding force of all political activities. "We should make the Institution of Monarchy a symbol of national unity and our central meeting point to resolve all our differences through dialogue."

"We must turn to our glorious history to inspire our thoughts and actions to transform our lifestyles by committing ourselves to Constitutional Monarchy and a multi-party democratic system."

He said there was no doubt that multiparty system is the best system in the world, and no one should raise questions about it. Both His Majesty the King and the people's expectations and commitments, therefore, are centered on the system, though works were not undertaken as desired by the people in the 12 years of multiparty democracy. He pointed out that the government is busy institutionalising Constitutional Monarchy and multiparty democracy.

The government has taken the five Royal directives on running the state affairs as well as the emphasis given by His Majesty the King in the Royal address in Biratnagar on January 3 on making the national economy market-oriented, providing good administration and transparency and a corruption-free, law-abiding society as the national agenda, he added.

Chand's government was formed through a Royal Promulgation made in accordance with article 127 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal-2047.

During his televised speech, Chand further shed light on the government's achievements in a very short time. According to him, the government has already implemented its anti-corruption strategies to eradicate all kinds of corruption to give the people a sense of good governance.

The government has established a National Awareness Centre to implement its anti-corruption strategy effectively, and the government will cooperate with all constitutional bodies and government authorities involved in anti-corruption drives, Chand said.

With a view to bringing about broader economic reforms, the government has enacted and implemented "The Economic Reform Programmes, 2059." After its implementation, some indication of reforms in the economic front, as indicated by the increase of the World Bank's assistance from minimal to base level, has been noticed. "We are hopeful of encouraging bilateral and multilateral assistance from our donor agencies in the future," he said.

A mid-term expenditure framework (MTEF), poverty alleviation strategy and poverty alleviation fund will be established very soon to effectively implement the Tenth Plan, that has made poverty reduction its main objective, Chand added.

The government has already launched immediate relief programmes for the people affected by poverty as well as by violence through income generating programmes such as by providing employment and creating opportunities for self-employment, he said.

Chand said the Public Service (Implementation, Monitoring and Inspection) Ordinance-2059 has come under force to monitor if public services provided to the people are impartial, swift and economical.
As per the provisions in the Local Self-Governance Act-2055, the government has already started programmes to devolve power to the District Development Committees in order to effectively execute the decentralisation process, he added.

Prime Minister Chand said that as per Nepal's foreign policy, important steps are being taken to make Nepal's relations with its neighbours and other friendly nations more close and strong through mutual understanding and cooperation.

Highlights of the PM's address

v Government confident of cooperation from all the political parties and civil groups to transform the present cease-fire into a permanent peace.

v All should forget past bitterness and rise above individual, party and group interest and give priority to the nation's immediate needs and long-term interest. Institution of Monarchy and Monarchial culture should be symbols for national unity and central meeting point to resolve all differences.

v There is no doubt that multi-party system is the best system in the world. No questions should be raised about it.

v Government has taken the five Royal directives to run the state as well as the emphasis given by His Majesty the King in the Royal address in Biratnagar on making the national economy market-oriented, providing good administration and transparency and a corruption-free law abiding society as the national agenda.

v Government has implemented anti-corruption strategies to eradicate all kinds of corruption to give the people a sense of good governance.

Other Stories