The parties must not hold the House to ransom any more for meeting their demands
After nearly a month of obstruction by the opposition, business resumed in the House of Representatives (HoR) on Wednesday after the government agreed to form a commission to probe into the gold smuggling cases that have rocked the country in recent times. The probe commission, to be formed under the Commission for Inquiry Act, 1969, will begin work from September 22 and look into all gold smuggling cases that have taken place in recent months and years. They include the 100 kilo, nine kilo and 33 kilo smuggling cases that created quite a stir in the media due to the alleged involvement of high-profile people, including ministers. It will then submit a report with recommendations for legal amendments to put a stop to gold smuggling. The CPN-UML has justified the obstruction of the House proceedings since July 26, saying although parliamentary regulations do not allow it, it is necessary to get the government to meet demands. Since the general elections held on November 20, the House has endorsed just one bill criminalising usury - on July 16. The first session, which was prorogued on April 30, was spent on merely allowing the lawmakers to put forth their views on different topics.
If the government were to give in to the demands of the opposition eventually, it could have agreed to form the probe commission then, which would have allowed the House to function without losing weeks of precious time. One of the reasons for the government dillydallying in forming the high-level commission was because this would mean a mistrust of the investigating agencies. There are a number of pressing issues that need to be discussed in the parliament, and it is only hoped that the parties will not hold the House to ransom any more to meet their demands.
The previous tenure of the House was punctuated by frequent disruptions, including two dissolutions, which did not allow it to function fully. The agreement to form the probe commission could, however, turn out to be a pyrrhic victory for the UML, given that in the House meeting on Wednesday, lawmakers from the ruling parties demanded a probe into the Giribandhu Tea Estate, Yeti and Omni scandals, in which the UML leaders are alleged to be involved.
It is apparent that gold by the tons could not have been smuggled through the Tribhuvan International Airport or other customs points undetected for years without the involvement of influential people in the government and the parties. Since much of the yellow metal is not consumed within the country, it means it is smuggled out of the country, namely India. This affects bilateral relations if Nepal is being used as a conduit to smuggle gold for nefarious purposes.
The involvement of foreign nationals makes the scam even more sinister. The latest 100-kilo gold smuggling case apart, Nepal has been rocked by two other big scandals - the fake Bhutanese refugee scam and the Lalita Niwas land grab case. However, the investigation into these latter cases has been lackluster with the investigating agencies giving powerful people a clean chit. If the commission to probe into the gold scam were to go the same way, it will defeat the very purpose for which it was formed.
Trade deficit
It is nothing new that Nepal's trade deficit, especially with India, has been growing every year despite the government's efforts to minimise it to a desirable level.
The country has been sustaining its economy because of the remittances sent by migrant workers.
Nepal's exports can barely sustain the import of petroleum products, let alone other goods such as food, medicines and services. As per Nepal Trade Statistics unveiled by the Department of Customs, the country's trade deficit stood at Rs 115 billion in the first month of the fiscal 2023-24. The country's trade gap had narrowed by 2.28 per cent compared to Rs 142.76 billion in the same period of previous year. However, Nepal's export saw a whopping drop by 8.65 per cent to 13.52 billion in the review period. Petroleum products were the top import commodity.
Nepal will witness an even wider trade deficit in the months to come as the economy continues to revive to a pre-pandemic level. As Nepal spends a lot of money on importing fossil fuel, the only way to cut its consumption is to switch to electric vehicles and export surplus energy to India and Bangladesh at competitive prices. The ongoing trade deficit cannot be narrowed down unless we explore new areas of export.
A version of this article appears in the print on August 25, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
