KATHMANDU: Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat today warned that Nepal may not be able to rebuild the country at an accelerated pace if it fails to enhance fund absorptive capacity and address problems related to governance. READ ALSO: Govt plans mechanism to oversee reconstruction works before June 25 “The problem in the country is not lack of financial resources. But inability to spend the allocated funds on time,” Mahat said, addressing a national consultative workshop organised in Kathmandu today to gather recommendations on the draft report of the Post Disaster Needs Assessment prepared by the National Planning Commission (NPC). Citing the example of poor fund utilisation at the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), Mahat added: “The ministry was extended a budget of around Rs 34 billion for this fiscal year. But (even after 11 months into this fiscal) it has been able to spend only around Rs 16 billion.” This problem is prevalent not only in the health ministry, but many other government agencies. As a result, the government usually fails to make full utilisation of the annual budget. For instance, the government had created a spending plan of Rs 618.10 billion for this fiscal. But so far only 61.67 per cent of the amount has been spent. Since only a month is left for this fiscal to end, it appears a huge chunk of the budget will remain unspent. “So, we must enhance the spending capacity to expedite reconstruction works in the aftermath of the earthquake,” Minister Mahat said. Another problem, according to Minister Mahat, that the country needs to tackle is of governance. Once again citing an example of the MoHP, Mahat said: “The ministry’s administrative cost, which used to go up by 15 to 20 per cent every year, increased by around five per cent this fiscal year despite 10 per cent hike in salary of civil servants. This happened after the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority started cracking down on corruption in the ministry.” This, the minister added, is an example that administrative cost could be reduced if corrupt activities are controlled. “We should, therefore, be able to address this issue as well,” the minister said.