Nepali Times
From The Nepali Press
Royally spent



One justification for the February First move was that the political parties had failed to maintain financial discipline. But Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat's White Paper details how the royal regime not only failed in its financial responsibilities but pushed the country towards economic mayhem by spending tens of millions of rupees raised from taxes on poor Nepalis without any accountability. Besides extravagant foreign visits and expensive spendings of security forces, huge sums were spent on municipal elections and in other unnecessary areas. The royal government ignored the needs of the poor and neglected development. Now the present government faces a huge challenge to raise enough money to keep the country afloat.

The financial crisis raises the possibility that some development projects might have to be put off. The royal government's outrageous expenditures at taxpayers' expense should be discussed in parliament and those responsible should be penalised to ensure that such acts are not repeated. Such incidents illustrate that the economic powers of the home minister can be misused, so parliament should also discuss if these powers are appropriate. It should also ensure that government spending is transparent and that its non-budgetary expenditure is presented in parliament and released only after it is approved. The government has very limited time to find and allocate funds. The finance minister has said that he will soon introduce interim economic programs, which should be approved immediately and not subject to political hassles.



LATEST ISSUE
638
(11 JAN 2013 - 17 JAN 2013)


ADVERTISEMENT



himalkhabar.com            

NEPALI TIMES IS A PUBLICATION OF HIMALMEDIA PRIVATE LIMITED | ABOUT US | ADVERTISE | SUBSCRIPTION | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS OF USE | CONTACT