Government lays plan to expedite spending

KATHMANDU, JULY 16:

The Ministry of Finance on Tuesday is giving authority to all the ministries to start spending the money allocated through the budget, to give impetus to its expenditure plan and ensure various government projects do not face cash crunch as in the past.

The step to expedite spending was announced a day after a full budget of Rs 517.24 billion was launched and amidst accusations that the government does not walk the talk when it comes to utilising allocated money.

“We get complaints of implementation part being weak. And we will make improvements in this regard,” finance minister Shankar Koirala told a press conference today.

Finance minister Koirala was referring to slow pace of capital spending that on one hand delays construction or completion of various infrastructure projects, while on the other hurts scores of daily wage earners who rely on these projects to put meal on their tables.

The government has allocated Rs 85.10 billion for capital expenditure for fiscal 2013-14, which would be used in 452 projects undertaken by the government.

Of these projects, 301 are Priority One (P1) projects, 129 are Priority Two (P2) projects and 22 are Priority Three (P3) projects.

As per the rule, different ministries can spend budget allocated for P2 and P3 projects without taking prior approval from any government body. But in the case of P1 project prior approval of the National Planning Commission (NPC) is required for implementation.

“To ensure there are no delays in implementation of P1 projects, we have asked different ministries to submit the projects at NPC within a week of getting authority to spend the budget allocated for them,” minister Koirala said. “We have also asked the National Planning Commission to approve projects forwarded by ministries within a week’s time.”

Although the latest provision means P1 projects can be implemented within two week of getting spending authority, past experience shows that not all ministries obey what the finance ministry says.

For instance, in the fiscal year 2012-13 the finance minister had issued similar instruction but very few ministries abided by it.

Source: The Kathmandu Post