• TOPICS
KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 19
Old habits die hard, and it seems that our government can never change its sluggish ways of spending the capital budget.
As per a recent official report, the government has spent just 14.05 percent of the total capital budget of Rs 380.38 billion during the first half of the current fiscal year, following the same old trend of the previous year that saw just around 40 per cent spending throughout the year.
Let alone spending the entire budget, how does the government expect to use at least a satisfactory portion of the budget within the remaining time? As capital expenditure includes expenses made on infrastructure development, construction and other sectors that help generate real capital in the country, the amount of capital expenditure spent during the fiscal year reflects the real picture of the government's success in achieving its development target.
Year after year, the government seems to be in a deep slumber up until the end of the fiscal year. Only then will the government dramatically wake up and accelerate its developmental activities at the peak of the rainy season of June-July in Nepal.
The activities of digging, graveling, blacktopping and upgrading the roads and other constructions are then carried out intensively. Apart from the slush following the rains, the heaps of construction materials, including sand, iron rods and stones, scattered everywhere are a nuisance to the people.
Sometimes, the pits and ditches dug for various purposes turn into booby traps after they are filled with rainwater. Every year, news of innocent people meeting with fatal accidents after falling into them hits the headlines. Why are these woes of the people simply forgotten in winter?
It is widely speculated that there is a nefarious nexus among the politicians, contractors and bureaucrats in giving impetus to the development works at the eleventh hour so that they can blame the rain for the low-quality development works.
Carrying out development works late in the fiscal year during the rainy season just to spend the capital budget is most detestable. It gives rise to irregularities and malpractices, and never guarantees quality output. Yet, why hasn't any sincere effort been made towards terminating this practice by booking all the procrastinators and culprits for punishment yet?
If these developmental works were to be carried out regularly throughout the year, it would save taxpayers' money and win kudos for the government. Isn't it high time for the government to introduce a result-oriented mechanism to ensure the timely spending of the capital budget and push the country towards development?
A version of this article appears in the print on February 20, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
