—RAJENDRA KUMAR KHETAN

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RAJENDRA KUMAR KHETAN, second vice-president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and president of Nepal Britain Chamber of Commerce, is one of the prominent businessman of Nepal. Frank and bold, Khetan, who is also spokesman of the FNCCI, spoke to SPOTLGHT on various issues. Excerpts:

What is the status of the economy?

The exports over last year have gone down by 3.6 percent and imports are down by around 1.1 percent, and revenue by 11 percent. Tourist arrivals may drop by 100,000 (100,000 last year and 200,000 in two years) further. The growth of GDP is below one percent and per capita income has dropped. These indicators show the poor state of the economy. No immediate signs of recovery have been seen so far.

Don’t you see possibilities for improvement?

I am always optimistic since possibilities always exist. The government administration , political parties, planners and private sector need to work for a common goal, i.e., economic development of individual citizens. The Tenth Plan should be discussed and the annual budget should be introduced accordingly, as per three monthly review. Parameter growth should be monitored. Everybody should be informed about how poverty could be brought down and growth of per capita income could be made sustainable. The private sector plays 78 percent role in GDP but it does not have any involvement in the decision making process. The government cannot make change without active participation and support of the private sector. Since the private sector has already lent their hand, it is up to the government to decide now.

What steps should the government take?

First let us find out the problems and then work to solve them. Moreover, a time-bound white paper should be published with a target-oriented approach. A line should be drawn between what government needs to do and what society needs to do. The overall issue is governance, accountability and service delivery. There should be as system of reward in the administration and severe punishment for those who do not deliver. More public hearing (with decision making power) offices should be established to avoid corruption and guarantee smooth chain of command. The administration reform study report must be implemented. To be competitive, we need more capital injection, access to better technology and enhanced human resources. Government should play facilitative role to complement this and should not create legal and bureaucratic hassles.

What are the priorities of the business sector?

Some of the priorities of businesses include industrial security, one-stop shop like BOI, support to the manufacturing Industries and removal of other hassles, support to the tourism Industry and sorting out labor-related issues.

How do you see the decline in the garment and carpet industries?

The government should give greater attention to garment and carpet sectors. There should be enough budget for sectoral country-wise promotion campaign and special support to be competitive like logistics and taxes.

How about tourism?

We have been seeking to waive visa fee for tourist arriving for three to five days. There must be an open-sky policy. Programs should be launched to enhance Nepal’s image as a tourist destination.

How do you visualize the law-and-order situation?

It is at a stand-still, neither better nor worse. Gradually people are getting habituated to blasts and deaths, which have to be stopped somewhere. Peace is the only way to progress and dialogue is best way to peace. To have one goal of development, I think His Majesty King, people, political parties and government need to agree on minimum common formula of integrated socio-economic development and security.

Will the government’s new economic recovery program benefit the private sector?

The finance minister’s statement on the economic situation is well prepared, but we must not see it as a recovery plan. I think there needs to be a different package for economic recovery. What the government has announced is total commitment in bringing important issues at one place. But this should be backed by service delivery mechanism on specific agendas by specific officials within a specific time frame.