Kathmandu, June 5:

Though the cabinet headed by prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala was formed on May 2, two crucial ministries namely industry, commerce and supplies and water resources are still remain vacant.

Officials at the ministry of industry, commerce and supplies expressed their ire to The Himalayan Times, requesting anonymity, that despite being an important ministry, the government still has not appointed a minister to look after the management of industry, commerce and supply. This has resulted in major decisions remaining on hold.

Interestingly, senior officials at the ministry of industry, commerce and supplies have no delegated authority which has further hampered work related to industry, investment and international trade.

Even the cabinet has not delegated power to the industry secretary, said a source. It is, according to ministry officials, sure to drag down the GDP growth further in the current fiscal year.

Japan has sent a proposal to MoICS to identify exportable products’ list for Japan and agreed to give aid to Nepal at the earliest possible under the WTO framework, but due to delay in the decision making process, it has been stuck at ministry’s cupboard, disclosed officials. Even decisions regarding duty free access being provided by China to 500 Nepali products is in limbo.

Ministry officials were of the view that, even general managers to 12 public enterprises have not been appointed yet which has created a bottleneck. They acknowledged the fact that officials have not been fully delegated authority to take decisions.

Prithvi Raj Ligal, former vice-chairman of the National Planning Commission (NPC) urged the government to expand the cabinet as crucial ministries are without ministers which is adversely affecting policy decisions and hurting issues related to the forthcoming annual budget.

The industry minister is supposed to ‘direct and give’ a new vision as to how the industry, commerce and supply management can be made productive, says Ligal. He also said that the supply management is stuck currently in various districts.

Chandi Raj Dhakal, president of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), expressed displeasure over the lack of a industry minister at a time when PM Koirala is visiting India, the biggest trading partner of Nepal. He said that it is a crucial visit for Nepal in the changed context, when we have to discuss a trade treaty again. He talked about the lack of actors in the current government to take up economic issues ‘rightly’.

Rewat Bahadur Karki, former economic advisor to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that despite talking big about making Nepal a transit point, the absence of a minister at this point of time is hurting Nepal a lot.