'Economic benefits should be distributed to all people'

Kathmandu, Feb. 11: Former Prime Minister and CPN-UML chair KP Sharma Oli Sunday said that the economic growth of the country would be meaningless if the people failed to get the benefits emanating from such growth.

"The benefits of the growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) should reach the people, and at the same time, access of resources to the people should increase," Oli said while addressing the 37^th Annual General Assembly of the Management Association of Nepal (MAN). 

As envisioned by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the government should work to eradicate poverty by enhancing the people’s access to education, health services and economic opportunities, said Oli. 

According to him, Nepal, which needn’t be poor, has remained so because of the failure in the management and utilisation of natural and human resources. 

"The new government will create a base of development as guided by the constitution. There should be responsible and accountable government and representatives. Good governance and rule of law are the beauty of democracy," he said. 

Oli expressed serious concerns towards poor materialisation of the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

He said that the present situation that would force an investor to rush to various agencies and departments to get approval to run a business should stop, and business registration process should ease. 

Acting Secretary of the Natural Resources and Fiscal Commission Baikuntha Aryal said that the nation needed capacity enhancement in service delivery, institutional development and resource mobilisation at all the levels of the government – federal, provincial and local. 

He also urged one and all to change the mind-set in the political leadership and bureaucracy in terms of cooperation in the federal and local level. 

"The federal government should work to develop the capacity of the local governments but many in the central level think that the local bodies do not have enough capacity to run the government and mobilise the resources," he said.

"We must not forget that all the governments are implementing the federalism for the first time and everyone is learning."

However, he said that methods should be identified to make the local bodies self-reliant.

President of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) Hari Bhakta Sharma said that the bureaucracy must correct itself in order to create conducive environment for investment and business.

He also stressed the need for promoting entrepreneurs and businesses. 

Published in The Rising Nepal on 12 February 2018