All major national dailies published in Kathmandu on Thursday have given importance to the newly-launched Prime Minister Employment Programme. Some papers have also reviewed PM KP Oli’s one year in office highlighting the major positives and negatives of his tenure.
Here is a summary of important, ignored and interesting stories from the front pages of national broadsheets:
Important
Oli completes one year in office
Republica, Nagarik and Kantipur report that as Prime Minister KP Oli celebrates his first year in office. He is seen as a leader who is more of a talker than a doer. However, there are a few things that his government has done right. His second tenure kicked off on a high note where he launched an all-out attack on transportation syndicates and big contractors, while also taking steps to curb anomalies at I/NGOs, government offices and in the private sector. The Oli-led government has also made efforts to improve ties with neighbours India and China.
On the other hand, there are a lot of problems in the way he has led the government. The economy is perhaps the worst victim of Oli’s rule. Much-hyped projects like Budhigandaki and the Nijgadh International Airport have failed to make headway, and others like Tamakoshi Hydropower and Melamchi Water Supply Project are running far behind schedule while draining the already depleted national coffers.
Govt pushes IT bill to control social media
Republica reports that the government, in an apparent bid to control foreign social media operators in the country, has proposed a law making it mandatory for companies to register to operate in the country.
The Bill to Provision Information Technology states that the government shall prohibit the use of any social media site not registered in Nepal, after a certain period following the enforcement of the new law.
The bill registered by the Minister for Communication and Information Technology Gokul Baskota has proposed that the government shall order social media operators to remove any content in that is against government policy.
The government has proposed three years to five years in jail and Rs. 500,000 to Rs. 1.5 million in fines for offences related to electronic and social media. The bill will replace the controversial Electronic Transaction Act.
The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology has proposed a separate Information Technology Court in each of the seven provinces to hear cases under the bill.
Ignored
Authorities probe into fake rescue scam
The Kathmandu Post reports that key authorities that have been assigned to investigate into the multi-million dollar fake rescue scam are close to releasing details.
Three government agencies—Health Ministry, the Central Bank and the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police—said that the Prime Minister’s Office has ordered them to complete their investigation as soon as possible. The instruction to speed up the probe from the highest office in the government comes amid concerns that high-profile people have been involved in the scam and they have been derailing the investigation process.
Meanwhile, Traveller Assist, the international medical assistance company that has come under the CIB’s radar after aggressively courting—and threatening—the government and private companies in Nepal, has warned the Tourism Ministry that it will name all 10 people and 18 companies and release all of the evidence against them if they fail to take action by February 15.
Eight booked for graft
The Himalayan Times reports that the CIAA on Wednesday filed a corruption case at the Special Court against eight persons—two from the government service and six from the private sector—for causing a revenue loss of Rs 75.96 million during the customs clearance of imported goods.
The anti-graft body said the accused have been involved in causing revenue loss to the government by colluding for the purpose of clearing goods imported by a firm—Miteri International Traders, through Rasuwa Customs Office on July 31 last year.
Among those charged with corruption holding positions in the government include the immediate customs officer at Rasuwa Customs Office Pabitra Kumar Khadka and gazetted officer Diraj Kumar Thapa.
The anti-graft body filed the case against the two government staff, citing them as the main culprits in the corruption case, while the other six have been charged for acting as accomplices.
40 tons Nepali sugar unsold
Karobar reports that after farmers could not compete with imported sugar, around 40 tons of domestic sugar is left unsold and stuck in warehouses. As a result, industrialists haven’t been able to pay sugarcane farmers. To ensure that the farmers don’t suffer, domestic producers have asked the government to apply more tax on sugars being imported.
Interesting
Nepal reach Hero Gold Cup final
Nagarik reports that Nepal advanced into the final of the Hero Women’s Gold Cup after Myanmar defeated the hosts, India 2-0 in the crucial encounter at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Nepal made it to the final by beating Iran 3-0 and the host 2-1 whereas Myanmar beat both India and Iran 2-0 before qualifying to the final of the competition.
Nepal will take on the undefeated Myanmar team in the title showdown on Friday at the same stadium. Earlier, Nepal had suffered a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Myanmar.
Oli skips People’s War anniversary
The Himalayan Times and The Kathmandu Post report that Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Co-chairman KP Sharma Oli skipped the programme when the party celebrated People’s War Day on Wednesday at its headquarters.
This indicates that members of the erstwhile CPN-UML, which merged with CPN-Maoist Centre to form the NCP, were not supportive of the party’s decision to mark the People’s War Day. Several key members of the erstwhile CPN-UML remained absent from the programme, including Madhav Kumar Nepal, who said the party had never taken a formal decision to hold an event to mark the anniversary of People’s War.
NCP General Secretary Bishnu Poudel delivered a short speech, while Bamdev Gautam, also from the UML, left the venue even before the event started. Subas Chandra Nembang, Amrit Kumar Bohora, Yubraj Karki and Beduram Bhusal, all from the UML, however, attended the programme till the end.
NCP spokesperson said that KP Oli had given his consent to organise the event, but he could not attend the programme due to the government’s busy schedule.
Govt to allott hydropower shares worth Rs 102.28bn to public
The Himalayan Times reports that the government has said it will allot shares worth Rs 102.28 billion to the public to raise funds for constructing hydropower projects with total installed capacity of 3,479 megawatts. The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation stated that it planned to build 19 hydropower projects under its flagship programme — Nepal’s Water, People’s Investment.
According to the ministry, they have finalised all the details and will launch the programme on Thursday so that all Nepalis have a certain share in the country’s hydropower projects.
