Opposition parties and even ruling NC lawmakers criticize govt policies and programs

BY Our Reporter

President Ramchandra Paudel unveiled the government’s policies and programmes for the upcoming Fiscal Year 2025/26 at the joint session of the Federal Parliament on Friday.

Reading out the policy document, the President said that the government has given emphasis on policy stability and the continuation of the current political stability based on healthy competition, cooperation and coexistence.

President Paudel said that the review of constitution, strengthening of its positive aspects, and its amendment based on consensus are the priority of the government.

However, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli months ago ruled out the possibility of a constitution amendment before 2030. This clearly showed that the issue of the constitution amendment is included in the policy document only for public consumption. When the government fails to pass one of the six ordinances with a simple majority, an amendment to the constitution that requires a two-thirds majority looks impossible.

According to the policy document, the government will further strengthen the programmes operated by government bodies on the development of entrepreneurship, production, productivity, and job creation.

"The government will also work to commercialise agriculture and build infrastructure through cooperation, coordination, and collaboration among the three levels of government," said President Paudel.

The President also said that the present government was committed to increasing dynamism, controlling corruption and ending impunity.

This government is determined to promote good governance and achieve rapid economic development with a shared resolve, he said.

However, the reality is otherwise. Corrupt practices have multiplied with the formation of the present government of the UML-NC. Ill governance and dilly dally in appointing key positions like the governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank show that maintaining governance and controlling corruption is not on the true menu of the government.

President Paudel also announced that the respective governments will implement the development programmes under the concurrent list of rights of the federal, provincial, and local levels as mentioned in the constitution in a coordinated manner.  But the sad fact is that the government does not want to empower the provincial and local governments.

The government said that the economy will be revitalised through the implementation of the report of the High-Level Economic Reform and Recommendation Commission.

The policy document also emphasised collaboration among the public, cooperative, and private sectors to generate employment opportunities and alleviate poverty.

To achieve high, sustainable, and inclusive economic growth, public-private partnerships will be encouraged while maintaining harmony between fiscal and monetary policies, it said.

A business-friendly environment will be created by means of additional policy reforms and procedural simplification for promoting private investment.

Allocative efficiency in public expenditure will be enhanced, with investments focused on high-yield projects, it said.

The government has targeted to close, merge and restructure the unnecessary public entities. While keeping recurrent expenditures within the desired limit, public-sector investments will be focused on complementing and promoting private-sector investment.

However, these commitments could be nothing more than tall talks. When the ruling parties have a single goal of giving jobs to their 'men' in return for their 'service in cash and kind' reforms in governance and economic conditions are just tall talks.

The document reads that foreign investment will be focused on high-return industrial and physical infrastructure projects.  However, the country has lost the trust of the investors because of bureaucratic hassle and the tendency to collect money from the investors which is prevalent among the civil servants.

The government has also promised to formulate laws relating to cooperatives. While formulating such laws, the distinct identity, autonomy, and self-governance of cooperatives shall be maintained.

The policy document on the first day of discussion in the parliament received criticism from the opposition parties. CPN Maoist Centre chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal and other lawmakers strongly criticised the policy document in the House of Representatives on Monday while the NC lawmakers also presented themselves as opposition lawmakers during the discussions.