Airing Discontent

The apex private sector body is dissatisfied with the performance of the six-month old government

By A CORRESPONDENT

Office-bearers of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) blamed the government on Sunday of being indifferent toward the problems being faced by the country's industrial and business community. Addressing a press meet, President of the FNCCI, Pradip Kumar Shrestha said that the national economy had failed to pick up even after six months of the formation of a majority government. The business leaders had earlier blamed political instability for poor economic performance of the country.

Shrestha said that the government did not heed to a range of recommendations made by his organization in the past. Replying to a question over the controversy related to the privatization of the state-owned Butwal Power Company, he condemned, what he said, lack of transparency in the privatization process being pursued by the government. The government should maintain transparency, make the process time-bound and fulfill the promises it makes, said Shrestha. He also demanded that the government privatize even the well-run enterprises instead of selling loss-making entities only. The government should not keep itself away once the privatization of a certain company is over. "The government should continue to back-up the privatized entity," he added.

Meanwhile, the five-month-old executive committee of the FNCCI has decided to organize Millennium Round of Events that will focus on policy debate and other activities in various sectors. Such events will cover activities related to export, water resources, tourism, agriculture, financial sectors and WTO, among others.

Shrestha also informed that the Federation would also prepare strategy paper "Vision 2000" to guide the economy in the first decade of the next millennium.

In the press conference attended by the FNCCI vice chairmen and executive members, President Shrestha said that the government had failed to live up to the expectation of the business sector.

"During the formation of the government, we had adopted a lot of positive decisions to kick start the troubled economy but the majority government of Nepali Congress has failed to take the necessary initiatives," said he.

First Vice President of the FNCCI, Rabi Bhakta Shrestha said the government has failed to quell the crisis of confidence that separates the private sector and the government. Without a fruitful cooperation between the business community and the government, we cannot achieve economic progress, said Shrestha.