Political leaders against populist programs

KATHMANDU, June 26: At a time when the government is speeding up budget preparation for the next fiscal year, leaders of different political parties have urged the government not to include programs with long-term effects in the budget.



A highly ranked source at the Ministry of Finance (MoF) said some middle-rank leaders are against including ´populist programs´ in the budget to be announced by this non-political government. [break]



“Though top leaders of major political parties have not opposed such programs, middle-rank leaders are not in favor of announcing programs that can have long-term,” the source told Republica.



The source further said some leaders are pressing the government to not raise salary f civil servants through the upcoming budget, arguing that it will push up inflation and put long term financial burden on the government. Similarly, they are also opposing flagship programs which are implemented with special campaigns and slogans.



Finance ministry sources say preparations are on to raise salary of civil servants by up to 25 percent, keeping in view nearly double-digit inflation over the last three years.



At a meeting with Minister for Finance Shankar Koirala on Tuesday, former finance ministers representing different political parties had also expressed different views about the role of private sector in the economy.



The source said former finance minister Surendra Pandey, who is a CPN-UML leader, stressed the need to increase the role of government stating that private sector led economies are facing crisis globally. “We have to review our approach about the role of private sector in the economy,” the source quoted Pandey as saying in the meeting.



According to the source, former finance ministers affiliated to other political parties, however, defended the significance the role of private sector in liberal economy.



Along with Pandey, former finance minister Dr Prakash Chandra Lohani, Dr Ram Saran Mahat, Dr Rup Jyoti, Madhukar Sumsher Rana and Mahesh Acharya had taken part in the meeting organized by the finance ministry to collect suggestions for the upcoming budget.



“The debate about the role of private sector among political leaders shows that political parties do not have any policy as such on national economy. Such confusion will affect investment environment in the country,” the source added.

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