Reports related to the government’s poor economic performance has been highlighted by most national newspapers today along with the likelihood that Samim Miya Ansari will be appointed the head of the Muslim Commission even though the Parliamentary Hearings Committee (PHC) on Tuesday failed to endorse his nomination.
Here is a summary of important, ignored and interesting stories from the front pages of national broadsheets:
Important
Govt falls flat as economy shows no sign of improving
Kantipur, Karobar and Arthik Abhiyan report that Nepal’s economic performance will remain average over the next four years as there was no signs of improvement in key economic indicators during the first year of the incumbent government.
Agricultural output, which the finance minister aimed to double in five years, has not shown any indication of growth, while imports of major crops have seen a whopping growth over the past year. On the spending front, the government has managed to spend only Rs 55 billion, or 17 per cent, of the Rs 313 billion allocated for development works in the first half of the current fiscal year.
Minister for Finance Yuba Raj Khatiwada brought down spending target to Rs 265 billion (84 per cent) in the mid-term review of monetary policy. Such revisions would hover between 80 to 85 per cent in recent past years. Overall budget spending in the review period remained at 28 per cent.
Minister Khatiwada attributed low spending to slow progress in the release of payment for completed works. Delayed payments has remained one of the key problems of government agencies. It not only affects project execution but also creates a liquidity crunch in the financial system.
Khatiwada is still hopeful that Economic Procedure and Fiscal Responsibility Bill, will bring positive changes. Among others, the bill aims at curb anomalies like delaying payment of completed works and stopping budget allocations for unprepared projects. The finance minister also blamed the delay in the endorsement of some key laws as one of the factors that affected the economic performance of the government.
Ansari likely to head Muslim Commission without MPs’ nod
Republica, The Himalayan Times and The Kathmandu Post report that Samim Miya Ansari, who was nominated by the Constitutional Council as chairperson of the National Muslim Commission, is likely to be appointed to the post even though the Parliamentary Hearings Committee (PHC) on Tuesday failed to endorse his candidacy.
The PHC meeting remained indecisive as lawmakers from the ruling Nepal Communist Party were divided among themselves. According to parliamentary regulations, if the PHC doesn’t take any decision on a candidate recommended by the Constitutional Council, the candidate will automatically become eligible for the position once 45 days elapse from the date the committee receives the recommendation letter.
Government rules out international community’s role in transitional justice process
The Kathmandu Post reports that the government has ruled out any kind of international mediation to conclude the remaining tasks of the transitional justice process which has been dragging on for more than a decade. Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali told the media on Tuesday during a regular press briefing that at this stage Nepal does not feel any need to seek international assistance and support to complete the process.
However, the government’s failure to amend the laws in line with the 2015 Supreme Court verdict, which struck down some provisions granting amnesty to serious human rights violations, and international obligations, has made conflict victims increasingly concerned. Conflict victims have also been demanding that the transitional justice process be made victim-centric. Nearly 16,000 people died in the 1996-2006 Maoist “people’s war”, which left thousands of people displaced and around 1,300 disappeared.
Ignored
Temporary ban on solo paragliding after two die in three days
Republica reports that the authorities have placed a temporary ban on the solo paragliding in Pokhara. Four paragliding accidents have been recorded in Pokhara in the past three days alone. Along with the two deaths, two paragliders were injured. All four accidents were associated with solo paragliding.
In the past four years, paragliding accidents have claimed eight lives. All these accidents, except one, involved solo paragliders. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the regulatory body, has announced a 15-day ban on solo paragliding ‘to prevent more accidents’. CAAN’s Pokhara office has blamed solo pilots’ carelessness for the accidents.
Pathak’s statement to be taken by CIAA
Nagarik reports that CIAA will be calling its former commissioner Raj Narayan Pathak to record his statement regarding a bribery case in which he has been implicated. The investigation team formed under CIAA co-secretary has decided to call Pathak to record his statement. The investigation team includes CIAA’s co-secretary and under-secretary and a police DSP.
700 illegals set for 3rd-country resettlement
The Himalayan Times reports that the government is preparing to grant exit permits to around 700 illegal immigrants for resettlement in third countries. According to Secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs Prem Kumar Rai, a proposal to grant exit permits to at least 167 illegal immigrants has already been forwarded to the Cabinet. Illegal immigrants include around 300 Rohingyas and around 400 African national who will be resettled in third countries by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
The home ministry shall seek the consent of the finance ministry to waive visa fees and penalty slapped on illegal immigrants before tabling the proposal in the Cabinet. The Department of Immigration issues exit permits to immigrants once the Cabinet approves the home ministry’s proposal.
Interesting
President to leave for New York, ex-king leaving for India
Gorkhapatra and Nepal Samacharpatra report that President Bidya Devi Bhandari will be going New York to attend a program hosted by United Nations on Women Empowerment. She will be addressing the 63rd meeting of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women on Tuesday.
Similarly, former king Gyanendra Shah will be visiting India later this month. He will be going to India with his entire family. They will be visiting West Bengal and Sikkim during the visit and will also go to Delhi and Mumbai. Sources say that even though this is a personal visit, they will also meet with high ranking Indian officials during their stay.
IRD sues 24 firms for evading Rs 1.75b in taxes
Kantipur and Republica report that the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) on Tuesday filed a case against 24 business firms accusing them of evading taxes amounting to Rs 1.75 billion by registering fake companies and producing fake invoices. The scam was exposed after two illiterate workers—Parmeshwar Sah and Jaya Kishor Sah—were arrested on charge of evading taxes. Firms were registered in the name of the illiterate workers and taxes were evaded by producing fake invoices, it was revealed after investigation into the two arrested.
Call for investigation in the UK and the US after reports on World Wide Fund for Nature
The Kathmandu Post reports that while the response about WWF has been actively supporting paramilitary forces accused of abusing, torturing and murdering scores of people in national parks across Asia and Africa and received worldwide attention especially in the UK and the US the response in Nepal has been lukewarm.
While readers have reacted with shock and anger over the Post’s report which focused on how WWF Nepal’s staff on ground lobbied for the release of park officials charged with the murder of an indigenous man, no government official or public figure in Nepal has come forward with a statement on the issue.
