NDC finalises the first federal periodic plan

Kathmandu, Apr. 4:

The National Development Council (NDC) has passed the concept paper of the 15^th Plan (2019/20 – 2024/25) with the long-term concept for 2042.

The first national development plan after the implementation of federalism and first five-year plan after a row of four 3-year periodic plans includes the roadmap to graduate the country to the developing one from the current Least Developed Country (LDC) by 2022, be a middle-income nation by 2030 and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

"This five-year plan will lay the foundation for higher economic growth and national prosperity. We have to work at a war-footing to improve the situation in education, health, governance, human development and infrastructure development in order to ensure a happy and prosperous life to our citizens," Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said while addressing the concluding ceremony of the 2-day meeting of the NDC, organised by the National Planning Commission (NPC).

PM Oli also chairs the NDC.

He said that he would not hesitate to take stern decisions for the development when required.

He said that all the institutions of three levels of the government should move ahead in tandem and create equilibrium to achieve the national development goals. "We have adopted a socialism-oriented economic system which is the best system in the world. When you combine justice to the prosperity, it becomes socialism," said the PM.

Political leaders, planning experts, representatives of the government of all three levels, private sector leaders and other stakeholders have tendered their suggestions on the concept paper which will be incorporated in the draft of the plan.

The plan will formally come into operation after getting approval from the Cabinet.

Vice-Chairman of the NPC Prof. Dr. Pushpa Raj Kandel said that although the planning body did not have sufficient human resources, it would put its efforts to submit the plan's draft to the Cabinet.

"I can't say exactly when will be able to send the document to the Cabinet, but we will try to make it early," he said while talking to the journalists after the NDC meeting on Thursday.

He maintained that there were challenges to implement the plan in the new federal structure since the new governance system is yet to get all desired institutions and sufficient resources.

"But it has got assurance from the PM and Finance Minister Dr. Yuba Raj Khatiwada for efficient implementation and resource management," said. Dr. Kandel.

Dr. Khatiwada said the implementation of the new plan would begin with the formulation of the budget for the next fiscal year 2019/20.

"Resource management is still challenging to achieve the development targets set by the draft of the 15^th plan but when there is a high rate of economic growth, we will have higher domestic saving as well," he said.

He said that the planning body will now make a functional, economic and SDG-based costing of the development plan which also has incorporated targets for the private sector's contribution as well.

Secretary of the NPC Laxman Aryal said that the new periodic envisioned creating macro-economic stability in the country and increasing the economic growth rate up to 10.3 per cent by the end of the five-year. Minimum average economic growth rate will be 9.4 per cent.

But he said that to achieve the set growth rate, the national pride projects should be completed in the next five years and import of agricultural goods should be limited to 20 per cent.

Former Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Parliamentary Party Leader of Nepali Congress Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar pointed towards the importance of national statistical system for the effective implementation of the development plan. He also suggested enhancing the capacity of the human resources to achieve the desired results.

Participants of the meeting has raised the issues like integrated settlement, smart city, socialisation of education and health services, reliable statistical system and resource backing for large infrastructure projects.

They have recommended developing a strong mechanism for monitoring and evaluation of the development projects.

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 5 March 2019. 

Country will move ahead with ambitious projects: PM Oli

Kathmandu, Mar. 3: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that the country now has political stability and policy foundation for the long-term development and will move ahead with ambitious projects.

“Therefore, the government will move ahead with ambitious development projects to lead the country in the higher growth trajectory. Without ambitious plans and projects in physical development, education and health sectors, we will lag behind,” Prime Minister Oli said while addressing the meeting of the National Development Council (NDC) in the capital on Wednesday.

He chairs the NDC.

“People have overcome the situation in which there would be a new government in every few months, and created a policy and political stability. The government with the majority mandate from the people will take a clear vision on development, and the plans will be formulated and implemented on the basis of that vision,” said PM Oli.

He urged one and all to participate in the mega campaign of national development. “This is not the time to have divisions in the name of politics or the like but to cooperate to support in the national development,” he said.

According to Prime Minister Oli, the international community is also interested to support Nepal in its development initiatives, which was reflected in the overwhelming participation in the recently held Nepal Investment Summit 2019.

He said that the government had the policy to increase the productivity of agriculture through mechanisation.

 “The mechanisation in agriculture will not curb employment but it will create new job opportunities. There will be transformation of employment,” he said.

PM Oli stressed on greater coordination among the three levels of the governments, and understanding and unity among the political parties for the balanced development.

He said that the 15^th plan of the country had created the framework of development for the next 25 years and given a clear development roadmap up to 2099 BS (2042 AD).

The 2-day meeting will give the final shape to the draft of the 15^th five-year plan (2019/20 to 2014/25).

Vice chairman of the National Planning Commission (NPC) Prof. Dr. Pushpa Kandel said that the development plan had set the national goals and targets for national development, giving attention to the ‘Prosperous Nepal, happy Nepali’ national campaign.

“It has incorporated the commitments of the manifestos of the major political parties. In the next 25 years, Nepal will be a developed country and its citizens will be prosperous and happy,” he said.

The long-term development vision has projected that the country will be attaining the growth of 10.5 per cent by 2042, and the contribution of agriculture, manufacturing and service sector would be 9 per cent, 30 per cent and 61 per cent from the current 27.6 per cent, 14.8 per cent and 57.6 per cent respectively.

“There will be no poverty by then while the multi-dimensional poverty rate will be 5 per cent which now stands at 28.6 per cent,” he said.

Likewise, the Vision 2042 aims at increasing the youth literacy to cent per cent, life expectancy to 80 years, universal electricity access and constructing 2,200 km of railways.

Secretary at the NPC Laxman Aryal said that the next budget and Mid-Term Expenditure Framework would be developed on the basis of this 5-year plan while the local levels would also align their budget and programmes to this document.

We have received suggestions from 3,100 experts and representatives of the governments and other organisations, he said.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 4 April 2019. 

Economy to grow by 6.2 pc: ADB

Kathmandu, Apr. 3: A recent projection of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) showed that Nepal’s economy would grow by 6.2 per cent in the current fiscal year 2018/19, and the growth would be sustained next year as well with 6.3 per cent.

The ADB, in its recent Nepal Macroeconomic Update, projected the stable growth outlook on the basis of strong domestic demand, fueled by a large budget allocation to the subnational governments and accelerated post-quake reconstruction.

“Challenges to smooth implementation of fiscal federalism and maintaining fiscal discipline at large could pose potential risks to the outlook. Nepal has the potential to achieve and sustain higher growth rate over a long period time if these challenges are addressed,” said Mukhtor Khamudkhanov, ADB’s Country Director for Nepal.

According to the multilateral donor, the agriculture sector is likely to grow from 2.8 per cent in the last FY 2017/18 to 4.5 per cent this year owing to good monsoon that is expected to boost paddy production to 5.5 million tons, a rise of 8.4 per cent from the previous year.

Similarly, the industry sector is expected to expand by 7.1 per cent this year buoyed by improved electricity supply and efforts to improve the investment climate.

Likewise, the service sector is expected to grow by 6.4 per cent with the expansion of wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants, and financial intermediation.

The update by the bank projected 4.4 per cent rise in inflation from previous year’s 4.2 per cent, partly reflecting somewhat higher inflation expected in India, stable oil prices, and higher government expenditures under the new federal structure.

Revenue collection has primarily increased on higher import growth and an improvement of the tax system. The budget as of mid-January 2019 is in surplus by Rs173.3 billion owing to strong revenue growth and a marginal slowdown in recurrent expenses.

However, it warned that the past culture of spending the capital budget in the end of the fiscal year could affect the quality of the development projects.

“Though capital expenditure has surged in the fiscal year through mid-February, its execution stands at only 22.5 per cent. This could again lead to a spending spree in the last month of the fiscal year, undermining the quality of capital projects,” read the update.

With rising trade and current account deficit, Nepal increasingly faces the risk of external sector instability. Data to mid-February 2019 show that trade deficit has surpassed net invisible earnings, widening the current account deficit to $1.5 billion, marginally up from a deficit of $1.4 billion in the year earlier period.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 4 April 2019. 

Radio Nepal gives voice to the nation: Baskota

Kathmandu, Apr. 3: Minister for Communication and Information Technology Gokul Prasad Baskota on Wednesday said that Radio Nepal had been giving voice to the nation and helping in the national integration.

“It is the institution that transmits the voice of the country and the government,” he said while addressing the 69^th Anniversary Programme of Radio Nepal here.

“Radio Nepal is not just a medium but a national voice to thread different people and their culture. It is the bridge that connects the nation with other countries,” he added.

He said that Radio Nepal had an important role and liability towards the society and pointed towards the need of institution’s administrative and managerial capacity enhancement.

Minister Baskota said that Radio Nepal would be transformed to a Public Service Broadcasting 

institution from next year and there would be some significant changes.

He directed the officials to use the latest technology, change the working style and manage human resources in an effective way.

Similarly, Executive Director of Radio Nepal Suresh Kumar Karki said that the Radio Nepal was fulfilling national responsibility of social change.

On the occasion, Karki presented the details of programmes and performances accomplished by the broadcasting organisation.

On the occasion senior singers Bhakta Raj Acharya and JB Tuhure were awarded with appreciation letters and a purse of Rs. 50,000 each.

Similarly, Suresh Lama, Balaram Samal and Anand Adhikari were awarded with first prize under singing, music and lyrics respectively at the National Modern Music Competition held on the occasion of the 69^th anniversary of Radio Nepal.

Likewise, former chairpersons of the Radio Nepal were facilitated on the occasion.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 4 April 2019. 

House panel directs NRA to complete house reconstruction this year

Kathmandu, Apr. 2: The Development and Technology Committee (DTC) of the federal parliament on Tuesday directed the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) to complete the rebuilding of the private houses damaged in the devastating Gorkha Earthquake 2015 within the current Fiscal Year 2018/19.

The committee drew the attention of the NRA and the government to its own policy to complete the reconstruction of the private houses within the current FY and asked the NRA to conclude it at the earliest.

“We have learnt that the NRA is planning to conclude the reconstruction of the damaged private houses in the next fiscal 2019/20 which is against the government’s own policy and programmes,” said Kalyani Khadka, Chairman of the committee.

The Committee asked the reconstruction body to complete the rebuilding of the damaged rural roads, strategic roads and water supply projects, and hand over them to the concerned agencies including the local bodies.

“The archeological and cultural heritages and traditional settlements should be reconstructed with the traditional as well as their original looks. If they can be retrofitted, do so, and if they need to be rebuilt, expedite the process to begin the reconstruction works within two months from now,” read the decision of the committee.

Speaking at the DTC meeting, NRA Chief Executive Officer Sushil Gyawali said that the western part of the main building of the historic Singhadurbar would be retrofitted to preserve its original look.

“A recent study on the reconstruction of the Singhadurbar has suggested that the western part of the building can be strengthened with retrofitting. Therefore, we have decided to go ahead with the decision,” he said.

The study has concluded that there was no serious damage in the walls of the building and bricks were still strong, however some wooden items needed to be replaced.

Retrofitting is underway at the northern, eastern and southern part of the building which has been the headquarters of the government since Rana Prime Minister Chandra Shumsher.

Gyawali said that the Singhadurbar would be retrofitted according to the archaeological heritage conservation concept. The NRA has already received the design of retrofitting as well.

He informed the lawmakers that the old building of the House of Representatives was suggested to be demolished.

However, he solicited suggestions from them whether to demolish it and rebuild or retrofit. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recommended developing the old parliament building as the State Hall. Lawmaker Ganesh Pahadi said that it would be better to demolish and build an international level building than to retrofit.

Chairman of the Committee Kalyani Khadka directed the reconstruction body to give priority to the rebuilding of heritages like monasteries and address the compliant of the quake-affected families at the earliest.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 3 April 2019. 

NPC finalising 15th plan on Thursday

Kathmandu, Apr. 2: The National Planning Commission (NPC) will give final shape to the concept paper of the fifteenth Periodic Plan (2019/20-2023/25) of the country by April 4, Thursday.

The NPC is holding a 2-day national meeting of the National Development Council (NDC) in the capital to have a final discussion on the paper and incorporate the suggestions of the experts and lawmakers from the federal and provincial parliament.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli will chair the NDC meeting which is expected to witness the presence of the politicians and experts from various sectors.

Deputy-prime ministers and ministers of the federal government, vice-chairman of the NPC and members, leader of the main opposition party in the House of Representatives, chief ministers of the provinces and planning ministries and agencies, chairpersons of the house panels of the federal parliament, governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank, chief of District Coordination Committee, Representatives of the local governments and 25 nominated experts are the members of the NDC.

Earlier, the national planning body has completed the province-level discussion on the concept paper.

The development plan has set the national goals and targets for national developing giving attention to the ‘Prosperous Nepal, happy Nepali’ national campaign.

“In the next 25 years, Nepal will be a developed country and its citizens will be prosperous and happy,” said Vice-Chairman of the NPC Prof. Dr. Pushpa Kandel.

The plan aims at graduating the country to the developing one by 2022 and a middle-income nation by 2030.

Secretary of the NPC Laxman Aryal said that the next budget and Mid-Term Expenditure Framework will be developed on the basis of this 5-year plan while the local levels would also align their budget and programmes to this document.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 3 April 2019. 

Govt mechanism to hear workers' grievances

Kathmandu, Mar. 31

The government is launching a grievance-hearing mechanism to hear and address the problems and complaints of workers employed in the country and abroad.

The new instrument will be active from Monday, Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security Gokarna Bista said at the ‘Gorkhapatra Sambad’, a weekly conversation series of the Gorkhapatra Corporation, on Sunday.

He said that the ministry had long been planning to create a separate unit to look after the problems of the Nepali workers.

Although there is Hello Sarkar to listen to the complaints of people of all walks, and some ministries and other government agencies like Nepal Police and National Reconstruction Authority operate complaint hearing cells, the Ministry of Labour Employment and Social Security will run its own unit for the same.

“It’s not that the complaint registered at the Hello Sarkar doesn’t reach us. We have resolved many issues registered at it. But, we want to extend a quick response to the complaint, that is what workers want from us,” said Bista.

He said that the aim of his ministry was to run welfare programmes as much as possible for the benefit of Nepali workers in and out of the country.

“The Social Security Act was introduced for the same purpose. But, the act has created a win-win situation for all employment stakeholders: workers, employers and the government. It has not only improved the labour relations and made the labour unrest a thing of the past but also paved the way to attract foreign investment,” said the minister, commenting on the relations between labour rights and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

It is expected that the act will reduce the grievances and increase the productivity of workers.

Similarly, Minister Bista informed that the ministry was expediting the preparations for the management of the Employment Information System in order to keep track of the labour force entering the job market every year and identifying jobs for many of them.

“The government has already established Employment Information Centre in all 753 local units and is hiring Employment Coordinator. We plan to create the labour force required for the nation in the next decade,” he said.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 01 April 2019.