Kathmandu, June 15, 2006

During the first nine months of the current fiscal year, total government expenditure has increased by 13.3 per cent as per Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).

While informing about the country’s economic outlook today, governor of NRB, Bijay Nath Bhattarai informed that the government’s cash-based expenditure during the nine months period increased by 13.3 per cent compared to an increase of 8.9 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.

He attributed the rise in expenditure to the uneasy situation in the country that has resulted in an increase in recurrent expenditure. Bhattarai said that total government non-debt resources increased by 11.2 per cent compared to an increase of 13.6 per cent last year.

The rise in foreign cash grants and classification of local authority deposits as resources contributed to a rise in non-debt resources, he said.

However, he said that low growth rate of non-debt resources was attributed to low growth in revenue mobilisation.

During the nine months of the current fiscal year, government’s revenue witnessed a marginal growth of 0.1 per cent compared to a normal increase of 11.7 per cent in the same period last year thanks to a decline in customs duties, corporate income taxes, decline in some other non-tax revenues including dividends, principal repayment as well as receipts of Indian excise refund, said Bhattarai.

Currently, the government’s budgetary situation is in deficit of Rs 6 billion excluding local authorities deposits with banks, said Bhattarai.

The overall government budgetary situation remained at a deficit of Rs 2.6 billion in the review period.

Home for cerebral palsy kids opened

Self-help Group for Cerebral Palsy (SGCP), an NGO supporting children with cerebral palsy, has built a new building for disabled children at Dhapakhel, Lalitpur, with help of a Dutch organisation.

The building was built in memory of a Dutch national Ben van der Stam, who lost his life in a PIA plane crash in 1992, while he was bound to Kathmandu to support SGCP and all the disabled children.

Cerebral palsy is a brain damage problem that results in several problems in the children in their daily activities and health like limited motor skills, speech difficulties and learning disabilities.

SGCP instructs and trains parents on how to help their children with cerebral palsy and the new building has facilities for training both parent and children, states a press release issued today.

According to Prof Dr Batuk Rajbhandari, chief of SGCP, a Dutch NGO - Holland Building, found in memory of Stam, supported to build the facility, where children with cerebral palsy can learn how cope with their illness.

Self-help Group for Cerebral Palsy plans to build a school for special education at the same plot.