Briefs (Spotlight Weekly)

Crown Prince Paras and Crown Princess Himani being seen off at the airport by Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand as they left for Bangkok, Thailand

THE GOVERNMENT ON THURSDAY FORWARDED the report of Judicial Investigation and Probe Commission (JIPC) to the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) for further action. Ramesh Nath Pandey, minister for Information and Communication and spokesperson of the government, said that the government will also make public within a week the list of names of political appointees who did not submit their property details to the JIPC. The JIPC headed by Supreme Court Justice Bhairav Prasad Lamsal was constituted by the Sher Bahadur Deuba government a little over a year ago. The commission had submitted its report to the government one and a half month ago. The commission had investigated property details of 30,594 politicians, former prime ministers, ministers, members of parliament and civil servants. More than 11,000 persons have not submitted their property details, according to the commission. According to minister Pandey, the government will form a team under the convenership of the secretary at the Ministry of General Administration to study and submit necessary recommendations within 15 days on the legal basis for taking action against employees not in service now but who have not submitted their property particulars to the JIPC. Meanwhile, chief commissioner at the CIAA, top anti-graft body, Surya Nath Upadhyaya said that the commission would study the report and take necessary actions. "We are aware of our constitutional obligations. We will study the report and carry out necessary actions," he said.

A JOINT COMMITTEE HAS BEEN FORMED to resolve the differences between donor community and the government regarding the role of the Maoists in the Local Development Fund (LDF). The committee formed with the participation of the government and UNDP officials is expected to come up with mutually agreeable solutions. The differences between the two sides erupted on whether Maoists should be included in the implementation of development works through the fund. While the donor community has said that there should be Maoist representation in the fund, the government has rejected the notion. The concept of LDF was introduced to carry out development works in villages that were obstructed due to the absence of elected representatives at the local level at present. The fund is active in 60 districts and is coordinated by Local Development Officers at district level.

THE AUTHORITIES AT THE TRIBHUWAN University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) have said that they have made necessary arrangements for treating SARS probable cases if brought it. The hospital has put in place a separate Out Patient Department for dealing with patients showing symptoms of SARS. It has also formed a preventive and treatment committee to deal with SARS disease. Till now, not a single person has been confirmed of suffering from SARS in Nepal. Though there were some false alarms.

INDICATIVE OF THE HUGE unemployment in the country, thousands of youths queued for interview seeking employment opportunities in South Korea. Youths had come to Kathmandu after the government said it was sending 4000 Nepalese youths to South Korea for employment. The manpower agency responsible for the selection — the Moondrops Overseas Services — had called for interview for the selection of first phase in which it would be sending 800 youths. Thousands of youths turned up for interview at the Birendra International Convention Center leading to minor fracas with police having to lathicharge to control the mass.

NEPAL HAS BEEN ELECTED AS a member of the United Nation's Human Rights Commission. In an election held recently in New York, Nepal along with other Asian countries like India, Bhutan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia was elected to the post. Nepal will assume its responsibility as a member of the commission beginning January 2004. Earlier, in 1995 also Nepal was elected as a member of the commission. Nepal even went on to chair the commission towards the end of its tenure in 2000. According to Madan Bhattarai, spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nepal had garnered 39 votes this time.

AROUND 88 BUFFALOES BELONGING to local villagers were killed when the security forces of the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve opened fire at the herd of cattle in Tapeshwori Village Development Committee (VDC) of Udayapur district. The cattle herd were reportedly returning after drinking water in the reserve. While the local villagers accuse the authorities of killing their herds in the buffer zone area, the former deny the charge saying they opened fire after repeated warning and within the restricted area. The authorities claim only 40 buffaloes were killed. Local farmers have been saying that they have no alternative other than to take their cattle inside reserve area for water.

FOLLOWING THE CEASEFIRE AND indications of recovery in economy, the volume of the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), too, has increased. The FDI shot up by 34.5 percent in the first nine months of the current fiscal year as compared to the same period last year. According to the Department of Industry, FDI worth Rs 1.41 billion had entered the country in the period as compared to the entry of Rs 1.05 billion last year in the same period. But the number of projects approved has come down. This year, 48 new projects were approved compared to 57 last year in the review period. Likewise, the number of countries that sought for FDI too has shrunk. Last year, investors from 21 countries had obtained the approval while this year investors from only 13 countries have done so. Indian investors lead the flock with 15 projects under their belt with amounts totaling 618 million rupees. China is second with 9 projects with amounts totaling 134 million rupees. Israel, United States of America and South Korea are placed third, fourth and fifth. The FDI is focused at service, tourism as well as manufacturing sectors.