BIJAY DAMASE
January 10: The government has unveiled a 21-point policy priorities and common minimum program (CMP) without securing source of funding. This has added extra burden to the state coffers.

The CMP has provision such as providing social security allowance to the people at 60 years and to provide monthly allowance of Rs 1500 to menstruating women. However, there isn’t any source of funding for these provisions and will only add extra responsibility to the shoulders of the government.

The CMP prepared by a task force headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Bishnu Poudel was unveiled amid a programme at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers on Monday.

While announcing the programme, DPM Poudel said that a total of 6 million people including elderly citizens, Dalits, single women, people with disabilities, indigenous groups that are on the verge of extinction will get social security allowances within the next five years.

Similarly, all the women of menstruating age will get Rs 1500 annually to purchase sanitary pads.

The government has also adopted a policy to investigate cases of corruption irrespective of the statute of limitation. The CPM has stated that the government will investigate cases of corruption and abuse of authority.

The government also announced to revive the economy by implementing the industrial, financial and monetary policy in a coordinated way in order to address the problems seen in the decline in industrial productivity, liquidity crisis in the banking system, high interest rate, increasing trade deficit, low capital expenditure, declining revenue collection, pressure on foreign exchange reserves and a drop in the  share market.

Likewise, the common minimum programme of the government has also provisions to give to manufacturing industries that produce food, footwear, medicines, cement among other products within Nepal. In order to promote these industries, the government has announced to provide subsidies on tax, electricity tariff and loans to the private sector.

The government, through the common minimum programme, also plans to reduce trade deficit and discourage imports while there are plans to increase productivity of the goods for domestic consumption and improve the quality and standard of exportable items to promote exports.

There are also plans to revitalize the state-owned industries that are currently shut through public private partnership.

The new government also plans to step up infrastructure development for industries.

Another provision in the CMP is the concept of ‘time card’ for giving all types of permission to the industries from the starting point during the registration itself.

DPM Poudel also said that all kinds of problems related to the citizenship issue will be sorted out within six months. According to Poudel, the government is planning to reduce the expenses for purchase of vehicles and operating cost of office. He also made it clear that the federal and provincial governments will not open new bodies unless there is an exceptional situation. This is expected to reduce government expenses.

The Public Expenditure Review Commission formed by the government has stated that most of the government spending is incurred in day-to-day operations despite repeated pledges by successive governments to cut the current expenditure. The capital expenditure of the government is still quite high at present.

The data of the Ministry of Finance shows that the government has failed to manage financial resources to meet the capital expenses of late.

Therefore the government plans to issue ‘time cards’ to speed up government works.

The government said that the use of time card will remove the compulsion for the service seekers to stay in long queue.

Another priority area of the government will be digitalization of government services.

At present, people have to stay in long queues making driving license, passport and citizenship. In this context, the government expects to end such problem through the use of digital technology and time card.

The government has also set an ambitious plan of attaining 100 percent literacy rate in the next two years and to increase the standard of education in Nepal.

The CMP also has plans to improve the health sector while the the existing laws will be amended to make them labour-friendly, said DPM Poudel.

The CMP has also a vision to modernize the agriculture sector while it emphasized to take necessary measures so that no person will be compelled to live on the streets.

The concept of establishing a land bank, facilitating  procurement of fertilizers, fixing of support prices, energy development among others will also be prioritized by the government, said DPM Poudel.