Kathmandu, November 9:

Senior economists and leaders from the business sector today strongly stressed on the need for economic restructuring of Nepal in a post-conflict period as the nation awaits economic revival after years of fumbling and feeble performances.

Prof Dr Bishwambher Pyakuryal, president of Nepal Economic Association (NEA), today stressed that political parties and the Maoists need to move towards effective economic restructuring in a bid to boost national economy.

Prof Pyakuryal was speaking at a programme entitled ‘Role of the Private Sector for Economic Development, Economic Policy and Impact to the Private S-ector’, organised by the National Business Initiative.

The economic policies adopted by Nepal in the 1990s need a serious review if we are to build a new Nepal and move strongly towards economic revival of the country, said Prof Pyakuryal. The people are looking for a change, economically as well as in the service delivery aspect, as Nepali politics takes a new turn, he said. “We need to move ahead with common goals for developing our own economic models.”

UML Lawmaker and former finance minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari also stressed on ‘reconstruction and rehabilitation’ for sustained economic advancement of the country, placing a great emphasis on the private sector.

Adhikari said that investors are getting more interested in a changed political context. We need to create an environment of peace and stability, he added. In the recent past, conflict has affected the business sector and employment greatly, which now needs timely correction, said Adhikari.

Dr Prakash Chandra Lohani, former finance minister and co-chairman of Rastriya Janashakti Party (RJP), commented that big businesspersons who have access to politicians and top administration have exploited scarce resources of the country and are delaying repayment of loans to the bank. This sort of ‘financial monopoly’ should be abolished if we are serious to give service to people and give a boost to economic development, said Lohani. Political will is needed to initiate effective action against defaulters who always delay on loan payment of money that is really a sum of poor people’s deposits, said Lohani.