New finance minister has made some good moves which in the long run will bode well for country’s economy

The Ministry of Finance has scaled down the expenditure target, saying that the government will not be able to spend resources allocated for the current fiscal 2017/18. The ministry has decided to bring down the target of expenditure from Rs 1,278.99 billion to Rs 1,082.99. The revised spending target during the mid-term review of the budget is 84.67 per cent of the budget unveiled by then finance minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara. The mid-term review has also slashed the growth rate from projected 7.2 per cent to six per cent because of reduction in paddy production caused by the floods and slackness in development activities due to three tiers of elections. According to the MoF, recurrent expenditure revolves around Rs 738 billion or 91.96 per cent of the allocation while the development expenditure target is expected to reach Rs 234.62 billion or 70 per cent. Resources allocated for principal and interest repayment of foreign loans and to inject capital in state-owned enterprises will hover around Rs 109.42 billion or 78 per cent of the budget.

Unveiling the mid-term economic review, Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada said he would compel the agencies to surrender the budget that have not started the work by mid-March. It means the government agencies that fail to start the development works by mid-March will be barred from spending the remaining budget in the last months of the fiscal. There has been a tendency to spend a large chunk of budget during monsoon compromising the quality of the work. Such a move will discourage all the agencies to spend money at the end of the fiscal. The surplus budget from such non-starter projects will be diverted to other areas which have made tangible progress. In yet another move, the MoF will make the social security allowances more systematic, removing chances of duplication to senior citizens, disabled and single women, among others. He has also directed the Financial Comptroller General Office to promptly release payments to contractors so that they can complete the work on time. The office usually issues cheque to contractors at the end of the fiscal, leading to delay and poor quality of the work.

The minister has also taken measures to control under-invoicing at the customs points. He has instructed the customs officials to revise the “reference price” of goods and ensure proper valuation so that the problem of under-invoicing can be resolved one and for all. The prevailing practice of under-invoicing has caused huge loss to the government in terms of customs duty and VAT. Customers have also been cheated by businessmen. He also stressed the need to bring in foreign capital to achieve higher trajectory growth of seven or eight per cent. The ministry, however, has to come out with sound economic policies to attract more foreign investment in select areas safeguarding the interest of domestic investors. It is a welcome move that the ministry will allow banks to bring funds from foreign banks in the forms of line of credit to attract foreign direct investment. If implemented, this move will encourage foreign investors to inject money in productive and service sectors. The most important thing is maintaining fiscal discipline and taking austerity measures.

Pressing for change

The International Women’s Day was marked in Nepal and across the world on Thursday. The Women’s Day this year followed a global movement for women’s rights, equality and justice last year. Campaigns and  marches including #MeToo and #TimesUp that started in the United States of America spread to other parts of the world to talk about issues ranging from sexual harassment, femicide, misogyny and intolerance to inclusion, equal pay and women’s political representation. In Nepal, men and women marched for the campaign #RageAgainstRape.

Nepal is in the phase of transformation. Women’s representation in various areas is growing. Women are speaking up. But there are still issues that leave us numb. Minor girls are falling victims of sexual abuse. Women are being deprived of access to justice. But the society is gradually changing. Some may argue a single day to celebrate women is not enough. No doubt, there’s a lot to do. But such a day provides a good platform to talk about the changes that we want to bring and the issues that have been plaguing women. This is a good day to remind all to respect women every day, every moment, round the year.