Delay in govt formation affects decision-making process
KATHMANDU:
Delay in formation of the new government has stoked a crisis of sorts at various state bodies that frame policies for economic development, with many of them postponing decision-making process, which could ultimately hit the country’s development endeavours.
The National Planning Commission (NPC), the highest authority which frames development policies, for instance, has not been able to finalise the three-year plan as it has failed to receive detailed reports from most of the ministries, where officials have virtually stopped working citing imminent change of guard.
“They (the officials) say it would be waste of time to work sincerely at this moment, as the new government may not accept their proposal and incorporate totally new programmes in the three-year plan,” a high-ranking NPC official told The Himalayan Times on condition of anonymity.
The three-year plan is a crucial document for the country’s development as the annual fiscal policies, known as budget, are framed based on it. Although the government was supposed to introduce this document at the start of the fiscal year in mid-July, it had failed to do so at that time and had only made public an approach paper on the plan.
“We had thought the new government would be formed within a month of completion of election and we’d be able to finalise the plan within one and a half months of formation of the new government,” the NPC official said. “But it appears it will take longer to produce the final three-year plan.”
This is the same with the formulation of the Agricultural Development Strategy, a document which will provide a 20-year vision for development of the country’s agricultural sector that contributes to over 30 per cent of the GDP.
Early endorsement of the document is necessary as it lays plans for commercialisation
of the agricultural sector, as well as enhancement of the sector’s productivity and competitiveness. “But since most of the representatives of the farmers’ groups are waiting for the formation of the new government, we have not been able to work on it these days,” a high-ranking official of the Ministry of Agricultural Development said.
The country held the second Constituent Assembly election on November 19, or 50 days ago. But in all these days political parties still have not started a formal dialogue on government formation.
While the political parties are behaving as if they are least bothered about the country’s future, most of the ministers come to office just for the sake of it and do almost nothing. It is the same with officials.
“We actually do nothing these days apart from soaking up the sun whenever possible,” an official of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) said. But this does not mean they do not have any work. “We do have work but we do not want to do that now as the new government may set its own priorities,” official added.
For instance, a crucial plan to frame a policy for operation, management, supervision and regulation of all state-owned enterprises is currently in limbo due to the delay in formation of the new government.
“We have already prepared a draft of it and had decided to call top officials of all 37 public enterprises to a meeting. But we have shelved the plan for now, as the new government may formulate its own strategies on public enterprises,” a senior official at the MoF’s corporation coordination division said.
So much so, even foreign donor agencies are waiting for the new government to take the office. “Except for multilateral donor agencies like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank that follow their schedule, other development partners have put on hold their plans to extend support to the government,” said a senior official of the MoF’s international economic cooperation coordination division.
Source: THT
