Kathmandu, July 22

Stakeholders have said the country needs to foster an environment of social justice and social security while vying for protection for the people.

Speaking at a conference held here today titled ‘On the path to universal social protection in Nepal’, Finance Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada mentioned that the state needs to enhance the capacity of every individual in the society.

“Social protection is a universally accepted concept in both capitalistic and socialistic societies,” he said, adding that the government has been engaging in dialogue with all concerned stakeholders for timely adoption of social protection programmes.

Stating that development becomes scattered when members of society are exploited or vulnerable, Khatiwada further said, “Hence, social justice is a prerequisite for development.”

While the Constitution has a provision ensuring the right to housing for every citizen, two million shelters need to be built to fulfil the provision. “Building homes for the homeless is part of social protection, but the government is unable to take on this task at the moment due to lack of funds.”

According to Minister Khatiwada, the government aims to make the country a welfare state in the medium term, where social justice and social harmony are ensured.

Mahesh Prasad Dahal, secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, said that enrolling the informal sector workers in the social security schemes is proving to be quite challenging.

He further said that while the labour ministry wants to combine all social protection-related schemes in one basket, the related ministry is not providing the necessary support. “As we are solely responsible for conducting all social protection-related programmes, the related ministry needs to cooperate with us.”

But, Chandra Kumar Ghimire, secretary at the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens, differed with Dahal’s statement and said inter-governmental agencies are not consulting each other for the execution of social security-related programmes. “There is duplication and overlapping of the government’s plans and policies, so all stakeholders need to coordinate and cooperate.”

Meanwhile, Shree Krishna Nepal, joint secretary at the Ministry of Finance, said sustaining social protection scheme is always challenging. “A number of social protection schemes have not been implemented due to insufficient financial resources.”

He also highlighted the need for related ministries to come up with sustainable financing options for social security programmes.

One study has said 4.5 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product needs to be invested in social protection for its sustenance, while Nepal has invested only 3.5 per cent of the GDP for its social security programmes.