-By BMD

Despite some negative impacts of the scrapping of the permit system for rafting and trekking, entrepreneurs in other sectors of the tourism industry are optimistic that more visitors will be visiting Nepal this season.

"Although there is a tough competition in hotel business, we are doing well. Our hotel is fully occupied and the rooms are also fully booked even for the year 2000," says Mala Sharma, a sales executive at the Malla Hotel.

Similarly, Katak Bahadur Shrestha, chief administrative officer at Hotel Sherpa, said his hotel is also completely packed until November.

He informs that a lot of foreign visitors have been showing a good response for the remaining months of this year.

Hotliers even expect the forthcoming South Asian Federation (SAF) Games to give a boost to the tourism industry.

"The SAF Games has also helped the hotel business," Shrestha says.

Keshav Lamichhane, sales executive of President Travels (P) Limited that represents Gulf Air in Nepal, says that the flights from the Middle-East to Kathmandu have started to be full by 90 per cent from the beginning of September.

"They will be full until the end of January 2000. Most of the visitors visiting Nepal from Bahrain and other cities in the Middle East by Gulf Air are the transit passengers from the European and American countries," Lamichhane says.

He says that only 30 per cent of the total visitors coming to Nepal by Gulf Air are from the Middle-East countries.

"Of them, a few are Nepalese workers working in the Middle-East." However, Lamichhane says that there are very few passengers going to the Middle-East countries from Nepal.

The number of Indian visitors that decreased slightly for the past few months in comparison to the previous years, due to the recent crisis in Kargil and the elections in India, is also expected to go up considerably during this season.

But Narendra B. C., former general secretary of Trekking Agents Association Nepal (TAAN) and managing director of Backtrack Adventures (P) Limited, says the trekking business has slackened due to the government’s policy of scrapping the permit system.

B. C. says that the trekking business was very good in the previous years. "But it has started to dwindle now. I don’t think the trekking agencies will do well this year."

Similar is the complaint of Janakai Prasad Parajuli, managing director of Arun River Adventure (P) limited.

Parajuli says that the Maoist activities in some districts and the murder of a trekker from Luxembourg near Ghorepani of the Annapurna Circuit have tarnished the image of Nepal as a tourist destination in some the European countries.

"We had a very good response from some holiday visitors from Taiwan and Germany. But they cancelled their programmes, citing the cause of security in Nepal," he says.

He says that the foreigners consider the Maoist activities as equivalent to a civil war.

"The government has to do away with the Maoist insurgency and adopt appropriate tourism policies to promote tourism in the country," he says.

Auditor General's Report
Financial Indiscipline Increasing

-By Krishna Shrestha

Though the government has repeatedly said that it would give stress in economic discipline, the reality shows the different picture. The situation of economic discipline in government agencies in the last fiscal year was worse in comparison to fiscal years of the last five years. The government has violated norms introduced by itself in many cases. In short, economic indiscipline has increased rampantly

"It can not be said that the government has done nothing. Actions have been taken. Special committee was formed to clear the arrears. Definitely, the government tried to do something to maintain economic discipline but the report (36th annual report of Auditor General) shows that the efforts were not enough in curtailing increasing economic indiscipline that exists in the government sector," said Bishnu Bahadur K.C., Auditor General of the Kingdom of Nepal.

The report of Auditor General of the Kingdom of Nepal, which was presented in the House of Representative couples of days back, shows a gloomy picture of the state of economic discipline in the country. Prior to that the report, as per provision of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, was presented to His Majesty the King.

"The figure of arrears, which had declined in last couples of years, have increased in the latest report," said Auditor General K.C.

The total amount of arrears and irregularities in the government sector, as stated in this year’s report, has touched to Rs. 43.01 billion as against 35.81 billion stated in the report of the last year.

According to the latest report, the arrears in terms of rupees increased by 33.32 per cent in comparison with the arrears of the previous report.

Similarly, the report shows that advances given to employees and others have increased tremendously in last couples of years.

In the fiscal year 1993/94, the cumulative arrears of advances were Rs. 6.165 billion, which touched to Rs. 6.836 billion in the fiscal year 1997/98.

Likewise, figure of revenue arrears has also been increasing every year. In the fiscal year 1993/94, the revenue arrears was Rs. 3.128 billion, which touched to Rs. 10.593 billion in the fiscal year 1997/98.

The government had made commitment that it would not take more than one billion rupees from Nepal Rastra Bank, the central bank of the, as overdraft. But the present report shows that the government had taken overdraft of Rs. 6.20 billion from the central bank by the fiscal year 1997/98, which is a direct violation of the commitment.

It is because of the increasing overdraft, the budget speech for the fiscal year 1998/99 had stated: "It is imperative that the His Majesty’s Government itself sticks to financial discipline. As such, Public Borrowing Bill will be presented to the House for the authority to convert overdrafts borrowed from Nepal Rastra Bank into treasury bills, to acquire overdraft not exceeding Rs. 1,000 million in FY 1998/99 and to raise internal borrowing by adding the overdraft amount with the limit of internal borrowing."

However, no concrete progress has been made till now. "One of the weakest part in financial administration is fund management," says Auditor General K.C.

The report states that it is because of the lack of proper management of the fund, the volume of revenue arrears has been increasing, which, as mentioned above has crossed Rs. 10.59 billion. The amount to be reimbursed concerning the foreign loan and grant has been increasing every year and has crossed Rs. 4.49 billion.

There is also no proper mechanism to calculate the government loans given to organisations whose terms have expired. The amount to be collected as income tax and royalty are big amounts but nobody seems concerned towards this.

"Foreign assistance and foreign loan are sectors, which should be taken seriously. But there are many examples of not including foreign assistance in the budget, which is a wrong practice," says Auditor General K.C.

"However, the Finance Minister Mahesh Acharya has announced a good thing of formulation of proper management mechanism of foreign aid and a process of incorporating foreign aid amount in the budget," says K.C.

Despite a dismal picture of the report the Auditor General is still seems optimistic and says, "Financial discipline can be maintained if serious steps are taken."

Auditor General KC suggests that the government should focus on major 10 ministries where the volume of arrears and irregularities are high, which are Works and Transport, Water Resources, Finance, Education, Health, Local Development, Defence, Agriculture, Housing and Physical Planning and Home. If the existing rules and regulations are followed and are amended if needed maintaining the financial discipline will not be a Herculean task.

Every year the Auditor General’s points and portrays the irregularities and shortcomings in the government’s handling of the financial matters. Governments have always turned a deaf ear. This time, too, the report may only be a subject to debate and discussion without much substance.

Will Nepal Take Part In Hannover Expo?

-By Our Correspondent

With the theme of "Together We Grow in the New Millennium", Nepal-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NGCCI), the first bilateral chamber of commerce and industry in the country, observed its eight annual general meeting amidst a function last week in Kathamandu.

It is said the this will be reflected in the programme activities of NGCCI in the year 1999/2000.

Germany is one of the largest trading partners of Nepal and the biggest market of Nepalese woolen carpets.

Inaugurating annual general meeting, Minister for Industry, Omkar Prasad Shrestha said the government has been working toward preparing long-term industrial perspective plan.

In the programme, German Ambassador to Nepal, Dr. Klaus Barth said, "For the year 2000, Germany is preparing a unique millenium event, the Expo 2000 in Hannover. Nepal’s participation, to my knowledge, is still hanging in the balance, although the design of the Nepalese pavilion has won high praise from the German Expo organisers."

The organisers want to keep the pavilion intact even after the fair.

He further said, "The German government has even offered to subsidize the infrastructral costs of setting up and running the Nepalese pavilion with a grant of DM 1.5 million, and also to supplement the cost of taking out a loan for setting up the pavilion in Berlin, after the Hannover Expo."

"It is now high time for the Nepalese side to decide whether or not the opportunity of offering 30 to 40 million visitors to have a look at the Nepalese goods is worth to share the cost of participation."

The problem could be the government failed to allocate any budget for taking part in the share.

Meanwhile, a government official said it may not be possible for Nepal to take part in the Expo unless it gets sponsors.

On the occasion the Best Exporter of the Year award was given to Paramount Carpets, which had exported carpet worth US$ 4.2 million to Germany.

Similary, NGCCI Achievement Awards were given to Meera Singh and Ram Kumar Thapa, and the NGCCI recognition award was given to Purna Man Shakya and Sheron Dorje. The prizes were given away by Minister Shrestha.

The annual report of the chamber was also presented at the AGM, and during the open house programme participating delegates expressed their assessment on the NGCCI’s past performance and furture programme.