The State Affairs & Good Governance Committee of Nepal Parliament agreed to make amendments to the ‘Bill on Right to Privacy’ allowing public officials to disclose their property and related details issued by legal entities.

The government body took this decision unanimously to ask the public officials to disclose their records to public, informed the Sudarshan Khadka, Secretary at the Committee.

The latest move comes as a response to the widespread criticism over provisions in the Bill, which currently allows civil servants and government officials to keep their property & academic details secret and also has restrictions on taking photographs of public officials and events without approval.

However, the amendments to the Bill demand revisions in the two existing key laws i.e., Corruption Prevention Act and the Judicial Council Act.

Despite willingness of the Cabinet Ministers since 1990s, the Corruption Prevention Act has been safeguarding public officials from submitting their details.

Whereas, the Judicial Council Act allows disclosure only to the Judicial Council and not to anyone else.

Former minister Sher Bahadur Tamang had also proposed amendments to these two laws in line with the latest decision saying that would boost ‘transparency’ in the system.

Based on the current discussions, the Committee Secretariat will now prepare a new report based on the new amendments and will submit the same to the committee for further discussion.

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The Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs informed this to the Parliament on June 26, 2018.

As the reports say, the Ministry is planning to endorse a total of 110 new laws supporting the full-fledged implementation of the new Constitution by September 2018.

 “There are 110 laws that need to be enacted to ensure constitution implementation. Of them, 37 are yet to be drafted. Some of the issues will also be addressed by the Civil and Criminal Code that comes into force on August 17,” said the Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Sher Bahadur Tamang in a release.

Out of 110 laws, 73 have been drafted with some of them already endorsed and 37 laws are yet to be drafted with five of them still awaiting the addition of relevant rights.

The government is making moves to forward 25 of 73 drafted laws for Cabinet approval, which will further be endorsed in the Parliament.

“We have already issued theoretical approval to draft the laws to ministries, and the law ministry is continuously following up the issue with other ministries,” Tamang added.

The Law Ministry is expecting the other drafts by mid-July and is very serious about the set deadline.

 “If the ministries fail to complete the job within the given time frame, the Law Ministry may intervene or deploy additional human resources to expedite the drafting process,” says the Minister.

Constitutional Deadline Nearing…
In a move taking ahead the long-pending bills, the Government of Nepal has registered 16 out of 17 key bills pertaining to fundamental rights in the parliament on August 27, 2018.

The 17 new laws under consideration are going to make up the total 31 fundamental rights and duties as promulgated by Nepali Constitution.

Apart from these, ‘Right Against Torture’ is the only bill awaiting registration at the Parliament.

The latest move by the government comes in the wake of the constitutional deadline that mandates promulgation of all laws and bills before the midnight of September 19,2018, which otherwise will be ‘unaccepted’.

“There is only one fundamental law related bill registered in the Parliament. The government will register the remaining bills within some days,” Deputy-Spokesperson of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry Hum Bahadur KC said in a statement.

Some of the bills under process at the Parliament include: Right to Social Security, Right to Social Justice, Right Against Preventive Detention, Right of Victim Of Crime, Rights Of Child, Rights Of Women, Right To Clean Environment.

“The bills which were registered in the House are in the process of becoming laws,” informed Kesab Aryal, Deputy Spokesperson, Nepal Federal Parliament.

“Those bills registered in the Parliament were not drafted with proper discussion with related people. They should be discussed and corrected. It will be a disaster if the Parliament tries to fast-track the process. “These bills related to fundamental laws should not be passed without proper discussion,” comments opposition Nepali Congress lawmaker Gagan Thapa.

Now, it’s definitely a race-time for the government in view of the nearing deadline and growing critics from the opposition, before all the required laws are registered by the set deadline.

Meeting Constitutional Deadlines

Be it the timely local body polls,  followed by legislative elections, first parliamentary session and the formation of new government and recently, the announcement of Federal Budget for FY 2018-19, Nepal has been serious on meeting its new constitutional deadlines.

The latest decision by Nepal Government comes as part of its efforts to meet the constitutional provision, which mandates endorsement of all the laws by the midnight of September 18.

Moreover, there are also 375 old laws awaiting amendment to comply with the constitutional requirements.

As per the new constitutional provision, any law should be amended and endorsed within a year of the formation of the Federal Parliament, in absence of which, they will be deemed redundant.

To fulfil this urgency, the government has already commissioned a special panel to identify laws that need amendment.

“We need to do research to draft laws related to the rights of Dalits and women, right to employment and the right to shelter. Even if the study takes more time, we’ll make sure that the fundamental rights are ensured, and relevant details will be added through amendment at later stages. However, we will not miss the deadline,” affirms the Minister.

Meanwhile, regarding the laws pertaining to local and provincial bodies the government had already forwarded sample laws which are already under the process of enforcement.

Besides, the Law Ministry is planning to present the transitional justice bill in the Parliament.

Also Read:

• Nepal Policy Update: Key Bills Passed, Others On the Way

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According to a latest update, the country is gearing up for its first fully-digital cabinet meeting in Kathmandu on July 26, 2018.

Towards the move, the government has already distributed laptops to all the concerned cabinet ministers participating in the meet.

As the officials enter Cabinet Hall at PMO, they will receive separate usernames and One Time Passwords (OTP), through which they get to know the agenda of that particular cabinet meeting.

As part of security measures, the Cabinet Secretary will generate fresh usernames and password for the Prime Ministers and other ministers for every Cabinet meeting.

PMO has put in place a special software that can send and receive relevant documents and meeting agendas to all ministries, electronically.

This software, upon full-fledged implementation, will also provide public an access to view cabinet meetings.

The latest move is as a result of the PM Oli’s strong commitment to bring in digital governance across the government functioning.

Current Scenario
In the current system, PM will first approve the Cabinet and then the PMO forwards the same in individual letters and relevant documents to all the respective ministers in papers.

Each Minster may get from hundred to thousand pages of papers based on agenda of the meeting and their numbers, says a PMO official, citing the current system.

According to Kunwar, the new software will reduce the manual operations and help ministers keep track of their cabinet discussions on a regular basis.

‘Get Updated’: Oli to Ministers
As part of the digital move, the Prime Minister has made strict mentions asking his cabinet to stay updated with using the digital devices, especially the laptops.

In this regard, PM already issued a serious warning asking PMO to dismiss any minister lacking awareness on laptop usage.

Concerned over the lack of related skillset among ministers, the PMO’s IT Department has already announced their readiness to train the ministry officials with computer skills.

I have already said in the Council of Ministers meeting that we will make the office paperless within six months. The meeting’s programmes and agenda will be discussed using laptops, said PM Oli at the 12^th general convention of the Nepal National Teachers Organization in Kathmandu on May 30, 2018.

The software was installed at the PMO two years ago, however couldn’t be fully-functional in the erstwhile government.

“We aim to dispatch Cabinet meetings’ agenda to ministers electronically in the early days of the new fiscal year beginning mid-July,” PMO said in a statement earlier.

Later than never, let’s hope the Oli administration will drive Nepal’s digital governance efforts towards expected results!

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In a landmark step, the newly-formed Oli-led Nepali Government is unveiling the country’s first federal budget for FY 2018-19 or FY 2075-76 (Nepali year) on May 29, 2018.

Nepal’s Finance Minister Yubraj Khatiwada will reveal the budget at a joint meeting in the Nepali Parliament on the aforementioned date at around 4 p.m.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Federal Parliament of Nepal Krishna Bahadur Mahara announced this officially on May 27, 2018.

As per the Nepali Constitutional mandate, the Nepali Government is supposed to unveil the budget in a joint parliamentary meeting on Jestha 15 (May 15-June 14 as per the Western calendar), the second month of Bikram Samwat in the official Nepali calendar.

Expenditure Up for Economic Growth

As per the available sources, the Government of Nepal is most likely to place a Rs 16 trillion budget for the
FY 2018-19.

“The economic growth of the previous decade has remained average at 4.3 percent. Now it is expected to reach 5.9 percent this year,” says Yubaraj Khatiwada in his parliamentary address.

However, experts feel that the presumed economic growth can be achieved only by increasing the tax levied on the public.

“The expenditure has increased, the source of income has decreased constantly for which the government’s major focus lies on collecting revenue, which will hike the import plumping the custom duty that will definitely result in dearth, constant increment in the price of petroleum in the upcoming fiscal year,” says an economic expert and a senior Nepali journalist.

Two days prior to the budget day, the Finance Minister also noted that the finance deficit is most likely to reach 10.4 percent.

Inflation is a key matter of concern for the country; inflation in Nepal increased to 6 percent in the last eight months of the current fiscal year from a previous value of 2.3 percent.

Development & Fiscal Discipline

Assuring development while balancing the fiscal discipline remains a key area of focus for the Oli-led Nepali Government.

Prior to the budget, programs and policies on top priority for the government were announced on May 27, 2018, in which, social and infrastructure development projects took the top place.

While the National Planning Commission (NPC) is projecting the relevant budget to be at around Rs 1.2 trillion for such projects, the finance minister is expected that to be above Rs 1.45 trillion.

When it comes to pooling revenues, the government is aiming at a collection of Rs 1 trillion in the coming fiscal while also raising Rs 300 billion as a foreign fund.

According to the Finance Ministry officials, the provincial and local governments are most likely to see a significant budgetary allocation of around Rs 400 billion for developmental activities.

Overall, the government is looking at an 8 percent economic growth rate to meet the targets set by the annual policies and programs such as two-fold rise in per capita income in five-year period, among others.

Allocation Across Sectors

According to the Finance Ministry, a significant amount of budget will be allocated for flagship projects in infrastructure, energy, agriculture, tourism, among other sectors and on PM’s dream projects such as railways and waterways.

Energy and irrigation projects such as the Sunkoshi-Marine Diversion Program and Butwal-Sunauli cross-border transmission line are set to receive a due attention in the upcoming budget.

Some of the projects that are likely to receive budgetary attention include the Madan Bhandari Highway, railway expansion covering metro rail in Kathmandu, Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway and a feasibility study on Nepal-India waterways.

Taxation is another area that is going to see some significant changes in this budget. Along with a significant revisal of tax regime, the new budget is more likely for increased tax on import on luxury products such as liquor and cigarettes.

The government is also looking at royalties, land registration and fees as the additional sources of income for the treasury.

When it comes to the government sector, the civil servants’ salaries are not going to see any significant changes other than little adjustments in indirect benefits and allowances.

Allocation for social security allowance is also likely to take a back-step because of the increased allocation to the local and provincial bodies.

Overall, domestic industries are more likely to get the due support in this budget with those using local raw material on top priority.

Special Schemes

As part of schemes, a special program called ‘Sustainable Energy for All’ is going to be implemented with focus on renewable and hydropower sources. “We’ve focused on reservoir projects as well as expansion of transmission lines under this program,” says an NPC member.

Towards ensuring clean environment, another scheme called ‘Nepal Clean Environment Campaign’ also likely to be announced towards curbing air pollution and encourage the usage of electric vehicles.

Current Challenges, Ways Forward

Two of the key current challenges for Nepal are with regard to foreign exchange reserve and food deficit.

According to the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), Nepal’s foreign exchange reserves have come down over the last three months affecting the country’s ability to finance imports.

In its third quarterly review of the country’s monetary release on May 26, 2018, NRB reported a massive expansion of imports, outflow of dividends by foreign investors and slow growth of remittance contribution to decreased foreign exchange reserves.

NRB statistics show a decline in the country’s foreign exchange reserves from USD 10.31 billion in mid-July 2017 to USD 10.16 billion by mid-April of 2018, a decline over the previous fiscal.

After a consistent rise driven by rising remittances over the years, foreign exchange reserves of Nepal started dropping down since the mid of January 2018.

“We are not worried about current drop in foreign exchange reserves as our target is to keep such reserves to sustain the imports of goods and services for at least eight months. But, the situation may worsen provided the import continues to surge and remittance growth continues to slow and export does not grow as required,” says Nara Bahadur Thapa, Executive Director of NRB.

Meanwhile, the country is also currently facing a food deficit despite the surplus harvest in the current fiscal year. The Economic Survey 2017-18 released on May 27, 2018 has reported a food deficit of 71,400 tons in the current fiscal despite the presence of 898,115 tons surplus from the previous fiscal.

In another development with regard to trade, Nepal is hoping high on trade activity through India’s Vizag port. A Nepali delegation that visited Vizag (India) expressed confidence over controlling overall end-to-end logistics costs and improving trade supplies to Nepal through Vizag port’s infrastructure.

On an End Note

The new budget is definitely going to be a path-breaker for Nepal in its new path of development led by the newly-formed government. Besides internal functioning, the Oli-led government is also focusing high on external relations by expanding Nepal’s bilateral and business ties with other countries.

Let’s hope the new budget will create a needed scope for the country’s overall development while also balancing the nation’s external growth on a global scale!

Related Article:

• Nepal Federal Budget FY 2019-20: Highlights & Announcements

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Following the Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba’s resignation as the 40^th PM, the CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli has been announced as the next. i.e. 41^st Prime Minister of Nepal.

Announcing Oli’s appointment, the President Office has issued a statement, wherein, it said Oli’s appointment has been made based on the majority his candidature has won from the parties represented in the House of Representatives.

The Communist Alliance, CPN UML and CPN-MC, has received a comfortable majority in the 275-member House of Representatives in the recently-concluded Nepal General Elections 2017.

Having emerged as the largest political party in the recent elections, Oli-led CPN-UML party has gained all the required support and claimed to form the new Nepali Government in partnership with the CPN-MC party led by Pushpa Kumar Dahal.

This is the second time that Oli is serving as the Nepal PM after October 2015 when he was appointed as the 38^th PM of the country following the promulgation of the new Nepal Constitution in September 2015.

Oli’s appointment, back again to the post, is coming at a time when the country is witnessing a transformation to a Federal form of governance as recommended by the new constitution.

In a move encouraging a healthy political environment in the country, Oli promised to review all the decisions, of national interest, put forth by the earlier government led by Sher Bahadur Deuba.

World Leaders Congratulate Oli

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Oli on his appointment as the new Prime Minister of Nepal and extended government’s possible support for the overall development of Nepal.

Chinese Prime Minister had also congratulated Oli expressing China’s willingness to further strengthening of Sino-Nepal ties.

Congratulating Oli on his appointment as the new Nepal PM, the United States Ambassador to Nepal Alaina B Teplitz tweeted, “We look forward to continuing our work with the new government to build a more democratic, prosperous, and stable Nepal.”

In another message, Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina also said, “The citizens’ trust placed in you for the second time demonstrates the high evaluation of your efforts for their welfare. I look forward to closely cooperating with your government for assuring peace and prosperity for the peoples of our region.”

Major Task Ahead

The major tasks ahead for Oli include ensuring stable governance while also maintaining balance in the international relations as Nepal shares borders with the two Asian giants India and China.

Besides, the implementation of new Nepal Constitution is another issue on priority for the new Nepali Government.

Though the Left parties were often referred to as pro-China, Oli’s stance towards governance and policy-making appears balanced with a similar level of cordial relationship with India as well.

This was evident in the recent high-profile visits of Indian officials such as Indian Minister Sushma Swaraj, Indian Army Chief Bipin Rawat, among others to Nepal and Indian Prime Minister Narendra’s conversation with Oli over his candidature to the PM post.

“Oli is going to be pragmatic as prime minister to balance India and China,” Editor of a Nepal-based media house reportedly said in a statement.

Dealing with Foreign Policy

Oli-led new Nepali Government has a special focus on strengthening of bilateral ties and diplomatic relations with the neighboring nations based on the independent foreign policy.

“As per the directions made by the Nepali Constitution, we will develop the relation with friendly nations, especially the neighboring countries, international unions and organizations, on the basis of independent foreign policy,” the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) and Maoist Centre (CPN-MC) said in a statement on December 17, 2017.

“The Indo-Nepal ties are not just about government-to-government relations, but about people-to-people ties. India will work with any party that comes to power in Kathmandu. Similarly, the Nepal of PM will work with Delhi irrespective of his ideology. India remains a key factor in Nepali politics, society and religion and this fact cannot be ignored,” a Nepal-focused political expert said in a statement earlier this month.

With regard to Indo-Nepal ties, Oli said, “As one of the recently elected people’s representatives and leader of the largest party in the federal parliament, I’m eager to work together with Excellency and your government for the betterment of our two countries.” 

“The election of representatives at all levels of government should set the stage for responsive governance based on the principles of transparency, inclusivity, and rule of law,” the US Department of State Spokesperson Heather Nauert had said in a statement expressing US’ willingness to work in collaboration with the new Government of Nepal.

Constitution, Industrialization and More

Implementation of new Constitution is another matter on priority, on which, Oli said, “Everyone has participated in the elections under the structure envisioned by the constitution and the results are accepted. Its shows, there is no confusion remaining over constitution.”

Industrial development has also been on top of Oli’s developmental agenda under the new governance.

“We should accelerate our pace to the road of political and economic aspects of the country. Our aspirations, needs and plans should base development and prosperity,” Oli had stated earlier at the 37^th Annual General Assembly of the Management Association of Nepal in Kathmandu, earlier this week.

Oli looks at industrialization as the means to boost country’s productivity and job creation.

Legalization of underground money is another item in Oli’s priority list which he feels is utmost important for the country’s overall development.

“Its legalization should be allowed. It should be allowed to be laundered. A way for laundering should be provided. I wish the hidden money could be invested. It could help idle people get employed. Maybe we can think about it?” Oli had said in a statement earlier this month.

Oli was also keen on protection of child and human rights as part of successful governance.

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