Addressing the officials, PM Dahal congratulated the MoF for delivering tangible progress ‘which has been felt and comprehended by the people’. “The changes we have pushed for so far are of a qualitative nature. We must sustain them with tangible economic transformation. Otherwise, the qualitative changes will not last long,” said PM Dahal.
PM Dahal noted that the government can make the people feel the change if it spends effectively the money raised by the MoF. Finance Minister Dr Babu Ram Bhattarai, however, expressed the MoF’s helplessness on the spending front.
“Six months of the new budget have proved that our programs are based on objective reality. However, the responsibility of spending the development budget does not lie with us. We cannot do anything about it,” said Dr Bhattarai.
Dr Bhattarai even claimed that he has restored the credibility and good image of the MoF, something which was tainted in the past.
On the occasion, Finance Secretary Rameshwor Khanal and Revenue Secretary Krishna Hari Baskota made presentations on the outlook of the economy and challenges facing it.
Talking to the press after the PM’s visit, Dr Bhattarai said that lack of infrastructure and a fragile security situation have hit investments. He attributed the meager capital spending to the delayed budget announcement and failure to build political consensus over the Investment Board.
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