Kathmandu, July 30
Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies,
Dilendra Prasad Badu, has said that Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) wouldn’t be
privatized.
Responding to the concerns of the petroleum
sector entrepreneurs at the 27th Annual General Assembly programme
of Nepal LP Gas Industry Association (NLPGIA) organised on Saturday, he
clarified that the government wouldn't privatize the state-owned petroleum
monopoly.
"Policy and systematic solutions
should be sought and implemented to facilitate the businesses in the sector. There
should be time-bound problem-solving initiatives," he said.
Likewise, Minister Badu maintained that while
creating any legal or policy instrument, all concerned stakeholders should
consulted in order to create ownership of the document.
"I have begun an initiative to address
the problems and challenges in the petroleum sector," he said.
According to him, the government is
concerned about the spending of a large amount of foreign exchange to import
petroleum products. The government has the first accountability to make the NOC
healthy and facilitate consumers with smooth supply while addressing the
problems of the petroleum dealers and transporters.
The minister demanded an explanation from
the state-owned petroleum monopoly about the current situation and possible
solution to the perennial crisis.
Shankar Shrestha, Acting President of the
association, said that they don't want the NOC to be privatized and it should
play a role of the guardian of the associated businesses like petroleum
dealers, transporters and LP gas suppliers.
The LP gas industries have been putting
their efforts to facilitate the consumers in getting quality products even
during the difficult times like the COVID-19 pandemic, earthquake and Indian
blockade, he maintained while seeking government support to the entrepreneurs
in the sector.
Gokul Bhandari, IPP of the association, and
many other businesspersons criticized the recent move of the government to
increase the rent at the industrial area. The rent is increased by more than
700 per cent recently.
Sushil Bhattarai, Deputy Managing Director
of the NOC, said that the petroleum monopoly has at times realized that some
genuine problems of the enterpreneurs couldn't be addressed.
However, it's only the NOC that is running
in losses, private businesses haven't suffered from the loss in their revenue,
he said.
This is an economic issue, NOC is a state-run
company and it will continue to serve people even incurring losses, said
Bhattarai.
Krishna Prasad Adhikari, VP of the
Confederation of Nepalese Industries, said that policy clarity is the primary
requisite for business growth. "The government has recently put its
efforts to facilitate and support the growth of domestic manufacturing and
other industries but the policies do not have the rigour," he said.
According to him, 52 Nepali companies
produce hand sanitizer but government ministries use imported material. Likewise,
Nepal Electricity Authority has been implementing a project to put electricity
cables underground but it is using imported cables.
Anjan Shrestha, VP of Federation of
Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), also stated that vague
policies have confused and troubled the entrepreneurs in Nepal. "The
government formulates policy without consulting the primary stakeholders, which
is unfortunate," he said.
Liquidity crisis and growing bank interest
rate has posed challenges for the entrepreneurs as the cost of doing business
has gone up significantly.
"Liquidity crisis used to stay for
about three months in the previous years but now it has stretched for about a
year and there are no signs of improvements. It has affected the private
sector," said Shrestha.
According to him, industry based on
complete domestic, or imported raw materials should be treated differently.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 31 July 2022.
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