End pre-contact bribes

Revelations that the ministers of leading ministries handling large-scale development projects are openly demanding pre-contract bribes for awarding development project contracts are a shocking piece of news. In a country where poverty runs deep, public services are scarce and infrastructure and logistical constraints hobble private-sector investment, public spending not just plays a crucial role in overcoming such constraints but also acts as a catalyst for private sector investments. Sadly, instead of endeavoring to impart momentum to capital spending, the ministers demanding pre-contract bribes are strangling the whole development drive. As a result, despite the unveiling of a full-fledged budget on time after a gap of three years, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) now finds itself complaining about less than anticipated levels of growth in capital spending.



The new trend of ‘pre-contract payments’ is clearly hurting the creation of employment opportunities and will cost the country dear in the long run. Such corrupt ways are already a serious social and financial crime under our laws. Hence, we urge the authorities concerned to look into the matter and take determined action to nip the trend in the bud. Nepal’s development has always suffered due to commissions, kickbacks and other such mischief. Though the various ministries always engage in a tug-of-war with the MoF to secure handsome allocations at the time of budget formulation, in the end they fail to use the allocations properly.



As a result, the country has historically failed to make good use of total budget allocations for development work. This indicates that the major challenge facing the country is not securing resources but utilizing the resources secured. While corruption is one major factor behind this failing, other technical reasons are involved as well. Over the last couple of decades, the government has simply not strengthened the capacity of the agencies executing development projects. For instance, the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works, which was structured, equipped and manned to execute projects within the Rs 10 billion range about a decade ago, is still operating with the same structure and capacity even though its budget has now jumped to well over Rs 40 billion.



There are other constraints also eating away at the country’s capacity to develop. Fundamentally, these are structural and can only be dealt with through reforms. But introducing reforms is no easy task as there is always strong resistance. Hence, the execution aspect calls for firm political will and commitment. It is a fundamental duty of the government to address these constraints so that the country and its people can start heading toward prosperity. Hence, we urge the government to act promptly and resolutely to correct the existing weaknesses. Otherwise, the country will be further mired in gloom.

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