News of CK Raut’s decision to rename his party has been covered by all major newspapers published on Tuesday. The government’s promise to publicise the Girish Chandra Lal-led probe commission’s report as soon as possible has also received significant attention in the newspapers.
Here is a summary of important, ignored and interesting stories from the front pages of national broadsheets:
Important
Government promises to make Lal commission report public
The Himalayan Times and Republica report that Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal has decided to end its obstruction of proceedings in the House of Representatives after the government promised to make public the Girish Chandra Lal-led probe commission’s report as soon as possible.
RJP-N leaders, for the third day in a row, had obstructed the meeting of House on Monday. RJP-N leader and lawmaker Laxman Lal Karna said Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal convinced RJP-N leaders that the government was serious about the issue. Quoting the minister, Karna also said the government had received direction from the Speaker too in this regard.
US urges Nepal not to return Tibetan refugees
Kantipur and Republica report that the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has expressed hope that Nepal would uphold the principle of non-refoulement principle in case of Tibetan refugees.
In his congratulatory message to Prime Minister KP Oli on the completion of the first anniversary of assuming office as prime minister, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has urged Nepal to become a part of the Indo-Pacific strategy unveiled by the US to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region saying the strategy is in the interest of Nepal.
A US Secretary of State, sending a congratulatory message to a Nepali Prime Minister on the anniversary of the assumption of office is rare. Foreign policy experts describe this as an indication of the US attaching importance to its relations with Nepal.
Oli accused of plotting a coup
The Himalayan Times reports that coordinator of Naya Shakti Party-Nepal and former prime minister Baburam Bhattarai has accused Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli of trying to stage coup by amending the Security Council bill. The bill was registered at the Parliament Secretariat for amendment. He said the army could not be deployed even during massive disasters in the country without a meeting of the security council, but the new bill had a provision that gave the prime minister the right to deploy the army. Bhattarai said PM Oli was taking the country on the path of totalitarianism.
However, Nagarik reports that the bill has been withdrawn from the Parliament after strong protest from opposition party Nepali Congress.
Ignored
Parties unclear on appointment of officials at transitional justice bodies
The Kathmandu Post reports that the fate of the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission established to investigate war-era crimes and human rights violations remain undecided as neither the government nor political parties have reached any conclusion.
Meanwhile, the chairman and a member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, one of the two transitional justice bodies, have already resigned from their positions.
A legal expert closely involved in the process said the parties are undecided whether to appoint members and chairpersons first or amend the Act as per the Supreme Court verdict and collect feedback from the victims before starting the selecting process.
People, who have a close understanding of the process, say it could take at least a couple of months for the selection process to complete and that the commissions would remain without leadership at least for a month even if a recommendation committee is formed within a few days.
Provision discouraging foreign investments
Nagarik and Republica report that as the parliament meeting on Monday endorsed a bill that bars foreign firms from contracting out manufacturing of their primary products to Nepali firms, experts and some lawmakers have said the provision will discourage foreign investors.
The global trend shows that multinational companies enter a new market first through contract manufacturing, which allows the companies in the new market to produce for the multinational companies. Later the parent companies or multinationals themselves come into manufacturing if they feel confident, but the same thing has been restricted by the new legal provision.
Speaking at the parliament meeting, which endorsed the bill, on Monday, lawmaker and NC leader Gagan Thapa said that barring contract manufacturing will badly affect manufacturing companies with foreign investments. But the bill was endorsed despite opposition from some MPs.
Interesting
Middlemen affecting license form submission
Rajdhani reports that middlemen have been causing a problem when it comes to license form submission. The transport office has started online form submission, however, the middlemen have been booking all the spots and selling it to service seekers who pay up to Rs 1000 to submit their license forms. The government has assigned a specific quota for online form submission which has created a problem for service seekers.
Electricity output to double
Arthik Abhiyan reports that Nepal’s electricity output is expected to double in the next fiscal year when another 983 MW will be fed into the national grid. The expected increase in energy generation is almost equal to the maximum annual production of 1,027 MW.
Energy Secretary Dinesh Kumar Ghimire told the parliamentary Finance Committee on Monday that 23 projects, including the 456 MW Upper Tamakoshi, were on track to come into operation by the next fiscal year and put out 983 MW. The Upper Tamakoshi is expected to come online by November and will fulfil Nepal’s energy requirement during the dry season, Ghimire said. This fiscal year, 18 privately funded hydropower projects are scheduled to roar into life.
Anti-graft body to probe stock trading software deal
Naya Patrika reports that the CIAA is preparing to investigate possible corruption in the procurement of the software used to operate the Nepal Stock Exchange’s automated online trading system as it has been repeatedly crashing and disrupting trading, raising doubts about its quality.
According to the anti-graft body, it decided to launch a probe into the deal after receiving a complaint last week.
Stating that constant technical glitches had hit investor confidence, three investors—Kumar Sitaula, Madhav Gautam and Ishwor Gurung—filed a joint complaint asking the commission to conduct an investigation. The Nepal Stock Exchange bought the software from Indian vendor YCO for Rs190 million.
