Making public the manifesto, UML Chairperson Jhala Nath Khanal expressed the party´s commitment to giving equal importance to economic growth and balanced development, adopting the system of equitable distribution. [break]
The party has identified the development of agriculture, hydropower, infrastructure, promotion of tourism and industries, and the development of human resources as the major areas for economic development.
“The epicenter of our development will be the development of industrialization and the development of service sector to generate massive employment,” the manifesto says.
The party has outlined its commitment to achieve some developing targets within five years including graduation of Nepal to a developing country status.
Achieving remarkable progress in per capita income, social and physical development and human development indicators, arrangement of residence to 500,000 landless within ten years, are also announced in the manifesto.
Amid deepening problem of unemployment, the party has announced to create at least 300,000 employment opportunities within the country every year. According to a rough estimation, around 400,000 youths enter the labor market each year.
Establishing access of all people to the modern energy sources, the end of load shedding, the expansion of national grid, constructing all-weather black-topped roads linking all district headquarters, expanding road network to 95 percent of the villages, completion of the Mid-hill Highway and the Tarai roads are among the targets to be met within five years.
The party has also announced to launch “Useful Education- Fruitful Employment” campaign, targeting youths. The guarantee of employment and the arrangement of unemployment benefits to youths are also incorporated in the manifesto.
In an effort to establish good labor relation, the manifesto has also announced to take up the employment centric development policy and good industrial relation with the recognition of existence of both employers and employees in industrial enterprises.
Ending digital divide, providing communication facilities to all, expanding Information Technology (IT) to all Village Development Committees (VDCs) and the development of a model village in all 240 constituencies within five years are also among the agendas pledged in the manifesto.
Keeping in view the deepening problems of load shedding, the party has set target to generate 10,000 MW (5,000 MW in each five years) electricity within a decade.
The manifesto has highlighted the party´s short-term, mid-term and long-term vision for economic growth in the country.
The party has envisaged building prosperous society though scientific land reform and agriculture transformation.
Implementation of high tech, improved seeds in the farm, and the application of modern lives stock farming, food sovereignty through high productivity, control of price and quality of foods with state-interventions are also envisaged by the party.
Promotion of agriculture-based industries, necessary market, processing and storage, and making cooperatives an inseparable part of the distribution system, arranging regular irrigation facility in three fourths of farm land are also envisioned in the manifesto.
Stating that hydropower, energy and improved infrastructure are the foundation of prosperity, the party has set a target to bring the modern energy sources to all people within five years. Installing electricity at home of underprivileged people free of cost and adopting strategy with national consensus for energy sector development are the other agendas.
The manifesto has also made commitment to guarantee the security of investment in hydropower sector, simplification of land acquisition process and arrangement of loan on fair interest rates for the development of this sector.
Construction of corridor roads in at least four rivers linking north-south borders, initiation of East-West railway and Kathmandu-Tarai fast track road are also pledged in the manifesto. Giving emphasis in promotion of tourist destinations, the party also set target to bring in two million tourists annually by 2018.
Given the scarcity of workforce within the country, the party has also announced to launch an integrated training policy to produce human resources necessary to industrial enterprises and encourage industries that can contribute import substitution and promote exports to bring down the ballooning trade deficit.
The party has also pledged to make special arrangement to protest deposits of customs in banks, financial institutions and cooperatives, develop micro-finance as foundation for increasing income and employment of under-privileged groups, empowerment of women and mobilization of local resources for social and economic transformation.
Guarantee of at least 10 percent representation of labors in representative and policy-making bodies of the state, policy of giving equal importance to social security of workers and labor flexibility, guarantee of 100 days of employment to youths on behalf of the state in a year, establishment of labor commission for fast-track resolution of labor related problems and registration of works employed in both formal and informal sectors are also among the agenda in the manifesto.
Giving emphasis to the protection of rights of Nepali migrant workers abroad, the party has also announced to arrange the rights to cast votes in the elections from respective countries.
In efforts to deal with the problems of increasing unemployment in the country the party has pledged to launch ´massive´ employment generation campaign focusing on development of agriculture, tourism, cottage industries, hydropower, construction, service sectors and cooperatives.
Under the employment generation programs, the party has set targets of generating 100,000 employment opportunities in agriculture, 50,000 each in big industries and cottage industries, construction and service sectors each year.
The manifesto has also envisaged launching the program to arrange at least one employment for one household.
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