Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) had taken a decision to this effect last week. Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) too had backed it up in a strong way. [break]
“We have worked this out as an alternative safety arrangement, especially as the government has consistently failed to impart security to the industries and entrepreneurs,” said Pradeep Jung Pandey, vice president of FNCCI.
NCC President Surendra Bir Malakar too told myrepublica.com that the FNCCI and NCC were presently pushing for the legal framework that paves way for them to implement this plan.
Presently, businessmen can hire non-armed forces for security purpose. However, keeping an armed security force by any local individual or firm is banned.
“The sole motive of this endeavor is to ensure personalized security arrangement for the entrepreneurs,” said Pandey. He elaborated that the FNCCI would monitor so that only the needy entrepreneurs get such a facility.
“To ensure this, we have proposed that armed security be pledged only to the entrepreneurs that we recommend,” he said, adding, “We also request that the government should take responsibility of making arrangement for such armed security.”
The apex business body and the Chamber had pushed for this personalized-safety measure when they met with Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal on Tuesday.
They are also scheduled to hold discussions on it along with the Industrial Security Force (ISF), which the government has promised to constitute since five years ago, with National Planning Commission on Wednesday.
During the meeting with the PM, FNCCI and NCC delegates informed him about recent rise in extortion, personalized killings by armed groups in Tarai and growing tensions in the private sector.
“This (keeping armed security) will add cost and hence, is a tough choice, but still we feel the cost is nothing given the life threats the entrepreneurs are receiving now and apathy shown by the state in ensuring investors´ rights to live,” said Surendra Bir Malakar, president of NCC.
FNCCI informed the PM that armed groups in Tarai have presently extorted as much as Rs 70 million from an entrepreneur to ´avert his killing´. It also argued that deployment of armed personnel for investors´ security is practiced even in developed country.
Industrial Security Force in a month: PM
Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal on Tuesday said that the government would constitute Industrial Security Force (ISF) within a month to extend security to the industrial enterprises.
“ISF is a matter of national priority. I will hasten the process to implement it within a month,” he said, addressing the delegation of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC).
Earlier, FNCCI and NCC officials had warned him either to bring ISF into operation within a month or face industrial shut down.
“If the government did not step up security convincingly, we will have no option but to hand over the keys of the industries to it,” FNCCI President Kush Kumar Joshi had said, lambasting the government for taking formation of ISF as a mere political slogan.
The business community also expressed willingness to make financial contribution for early operationalization of ISF. “If budget constraint is the problem, we are ready to make contribution from our side,” NCC President Surendra Bir Malakar.
Businessmen had also blamed the government of remaining indifferent to the pressing needs of the economy.
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