On/Off the Record

By P.R. Pradhan

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel is in tension since the government couldn’t meet the revenue target even after widening the taxation umbrella. The government, on average, is borrowing loans worth two trillion rupees each month as it failed to collect the targeted revenue but was unable to reduce the non-productive sector expenditure.

Due to the lack of funds allotted for capital sector expenditure, the factories producing construction materials are unable to operate in full phase. This has created a serious recession in the domestic economy. When industrialists are not taking loans from banks, the reserve at the banks has inclined. Due to the failure to increase development sector expenditure, such a situation has been witnessed.

The main reason is that the nation adopted an expensive political system, paying salaries, allowances, and other facilities to around 40 thousand elected representatives and their aides. It has increased general sector expenditure. It is sure that if we continue practicing the present political system, the nation is going to be bankrupt soon. The government has encouraged using digital currency, but on this also it has imposed VAT. The nation aims to increase the foreign tourist arrivals, but it has imposed VAT on the air tickets. Nepal has become an expensive destination, and even the Indian tourists chose Singapore and Bangkok instead of visiting Nepal due to the expensive air tickets. Such a practice has contributed to the economic recession further.

Now, political leaders who advocated for federalism by introducing seven provinces and 753 local bodies have failed. Maoist Center’s Chairman, Pushpakamal Dahal, is now advocating for a directly elected executive chief to end present anomalies. Dahal is talking about the American model where the elected senators cannot become ministers and the president nominates professional experts as secretaries (ministers). In this way, Dahal believes that corruption in the country can be controlled. We believe that in Nepal like small and economically weak countries, a directly elected president can be harmful. To control corruption, the anti-corruption body should be made autonomous and powerful. The present coalition government, led by the two largest parties, has been formed with the agenda of amending the constitution. Understandably, the largest parties have also felt that the present system is non-functional. Meanwhile, Province Chief of the Lumbini Province, Krishna Bahadur Ghartimagar, addressing a function in Butwal, remarked that for the success of federalism in Nepal, there should be only three provinces and less than 500 local bodies. Ghartimagar, who became the Province Chief from the NC quota, opined that the National Assembly should be removed and the posts such as Vice President, among others, should be scrapped away. Ghartimagar’s idea is to cut down unnecessary economic burdens for the country, which is justifiable.

First of all, the government should try to reduce unproductive sector expenditure by increasing capital expenditure. It is possible only after either reducing the number of provinces and local bodies or scrapping the federal structures. Operating the system by taking debts is nonsense. First of all, the nation’s economy should be strong and self-reliant. The economy should be based on domestic production. Heavy taxation should not be imposed on citizens.

The 2015 constitution was written by the Westerners and imposed in Nepal just to destroy a sovereign and independent nation’s rich culture, civilization and economic structures. The Indo-Western theory is to keep Nepal-like countries permanently poor and rely on their “kind” support. Therefore, it is obvious to strengthen the domestic economy at any cost. We have seen many countries with rich natural resources engaged in conflict and civil war. They are unable to harness their rich natural resources following the foreign powers’ conspiracy. Nepal should take lessons from the collapse of these countries in conflict, as our country is also very rich considering the god-gifted enormous natural resources; unfortunately, we are unable to harness them.

One thing the Nepalis should be convinced that foreign powers don’t come here to build our country. We, the Nepalis, should build our nation ourselves. To make the nation prosperous, this political system should be scrapped as soon as possible, introducing a system suitable for the country. In this regard, we still advocate for the revival of the 1990 constitution, in which all the political powers will have the space.

Source : https://www.peoplesreview.com.np/2024/11/20/non-functioning-system/