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From the Kathmandu Press: Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Many Nepali and English newspapers published from Kathmandu on Tuesday have published news reports about findings of the annual report of Office of the Auditor General which was submitted to President Bidya Devi Bhandari earlier this week. Top leaders of CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre have held a meeting about their parties’ unification on Monday after weeks and it has also received a significant attention on the front page of broadsheets.

Few other contemporary political, sociocultural and economic issues have also got featured onto the front page today.

Important

Auditor General’s report blames people’s representatives for corruption

File image: Auditor General Tanka Mani Sharma

Different newspapers have carried stories about different findings from the recent annual report of Office of the Auditor’s General.

Nepal Samacharpatra lead story for the day says local level governments were included in the central audit system for the first time today and the audit found that people’s representatives at the local level did not meet standards set for public spending, The report, hence, has directed officials to be accountable for financial discipline maintenance, the report quotes Auditor General Tanka Mani Sharma.

Naya Patrika reports that members of Parliament were also involved in misuse of government coffers. In the name of Constituency Development Programme, the lawmakers spent thousands of rupees haphazardly, the news story says, adding the Auditor General’s report has found out that some lawmakers bought bicycles for their cadres whereas some others organised yoga camps.

Nagarik, Republica, and Kantipur have also carried stories based on the report.

UML-Maoist merger bid gets momentum back

File: A meeting of UML-Maoist Centre Unification Coordination Committee

With a meeting between CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli and CPN-Maoist Centre Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal yesterday, the stalemate seen in the unification of two parties has finally ended, newspapers reports say. Gorkhapatra says the meeting ended on a positive note though its results were not immediate on the surface.

On the other hand, the two leaders also agreed to call a meeting of the Party Unification Coordination Committee today. Some newspapers claim that the meeting is likely to come up with key decisions for the unification.

On the other hand, the UML held a Standing Committee meeting yesterday and decided that the unification take place on April 22 as decided earlier after clearing off all misunderstandings, according to Naya Patrika and The Kathmandu Post.

Meanwhile, Maoist Centre Chairman Dahal’s personal secretary Jokha Bahadur Mahara told The Himalayan Times that “Major differences have not been sorted. Both the parties should be dismantled to create the new party, preserving the history of both parties.”

Gyawali won’t discuss Budhigandaki with China this time

File: Pradeep Gyawali

Foreign Affairs Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali has left for China on Monday upon an invitation from his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, according to newspaper reports.

Gyawali organised a press meet yesterday to inform journalists about agendas of his visit, during which he clarified that he would not discuss whether the government would award the contract back to the Chinese company, Gezhouba Group, according to The Kathmandu Post lead story.

Meanwhile, Gyawali will press the Chinese leadership to hold some high-level political visits from both the sides and implement past agreements, according to Nepal Samacharpatra and Rajdhani.

Ignored

Fuel prices go up again

The government-run sole fuel distributor of the country, Nepal Oil Corporation, on Monday decided to increase the price of petrol, diesel and kerosene, according to newspaper reports.

A snippet in The Kathmandu Post reads that petrol is Rupee 1 costlier whereas diesel and kerosene is more expensive by Rs 2 from Tuesday onwards. There is no change in the price of liquefied petroleum gas and aviation fuel.

Govt spending millions for scholarship of staff’s kids

File image: Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers

Annapurna Post lead story for the day informs that the government spends millions of rupees every year in scholarship of children of its staff in a bid to attract them to the government service. The expenses, however, have not produced expected results so far.

The government spent Rs 604 million in such scholarships in the last fiscal year whereas Rs 140 million has been allocated for this year, according to the report. So far, 2,877 persons have received such scholarships.

New policy bars lawmakers from businesses

The government has drafted a National Integrity Policy barring members of federal and provincial parliaments,, office bearers and members of the local government from doing other businesses and jobs, according to the anchor story in The Kathmandu Post.

The policy was drafted by the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers during the premiership of Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and it is not sure if the incumbent KP Sharma Oli government will endorse it as it is, according to the report.

Interesting

Nepal govt needs to create 658 job opportunities every day to end unemployment

A recent World Bank report has found out that around 35,000 people join the national labour market in Nepal every year. To cope with the rising unemployment, the government, therefore, should create 568 job opportunities a day and 240,000 a year, reports Karobar.

Meanwhile, the report predicts that the country’s economic growth will be restricted to 4.6 per cent this year.

Uterine, breast cancer test is free now

File: Ministry of Health

The government has decided to provide free service to women to test if they have uterine or breast cancer, the anchor story in Gorkhapatra reads. The announcement was made on Monday on the occasion of firth National Safe Motherhood Day.

Meanwhile, State Minister for Health Padma Kumari Aryal also announced that the government would do various special campaigns on the theme, according to the report.

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