Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, February 25:

Dr Shankar Sharma, vice-chairman of the National Planning Commission (NPC), today said that governance and regulatory mechanisms are ‘nil’ in Nepal which makes it important that all of us join hands to work out effective strategies to redeem the situation.

He was addressing a gathering during the launching of a book entitled ‘Road Map of The Development of Nepal’ here today. Talking about development, he said that even during the on-going conflict, a number of projects are going on in different districts. The recent example being the 13 community projects being undertaken by concerned people in Rukum district, he said. He disclosed that effective poverty reduction strategy is needed to get budgetary support as per the 10th Plan. The government has already categorised projects and programmes, he said. Even the role of small farmers has been significant in development, Dr Sharma opined.

Prof Bishwambher Pyakuryal, president of Nepal Economic Association (NEA), lead commenter at the function said that to achieve a sound investment climate and economic growth, political stability and building investor confidence are important. “The current estimated liability of public enterprises stands at Rs 160 billion and there is no record of the investment made by the government on public enterprises, as per the book,” said Prof Pyakuryal. Poor governance by donors has led to the failure of projects such as Melamchi, said Prof Pyakuryal, quoting the book. He also said this is the reason why community-driven projects have faired badly.