Unable to bring out the budget in the stipulated time, the government has had to bring out an advance budget to meet basic expenditures. Finance Minister Surendra Pandey's prediction that this could lead to the downfall of the national economy has shown how weak our economy has become. For the third consecutive year, the budget could not be implemented in time. Two years ago, too, an advance budget preceded the regular budget and last year, it took almost five months to pass the budget. As a result timely allocation and spending of the budget for development projects could not take place.

With this arrangement, economic development and job opportunities brought about by development projects will dwindle but daily expenditure will continue. The prospect is similar to that of an industry which has no production but continues to pay salaries to its staff while incurring other expenditure.

If the government had presented its programs and policies on time, investors could have worked out the feasibility of investing in certain sectors. For aid, too, the government needs to show donors its budget and its expenditures of the past year. With an advance budget, getting foreign aid for new projects will be as impossible as continuing work on ongoing ones.

The political parties who have pushed the country into this state of uncertainty have no concerns for the development projects that are in limbo or the youth that are forced to leave the country for want of jobs.

Shouldn't the UCPN (Maoist), which proclaimed that all problems would vanish once Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned, take the responsibility for the missed economic and development opportunities? If only the Maoists had not created hurdles, this government would have presented a regular budget and at least some economic activities would have been taking place now. But it seems the Maoists do not have a care in the world whether the economic state of the country deteriorates or the poor have to starve, as long as it helps them to ascend to power.