Kathmandu:Finance Minister Mahesh Acharya today said that the government would not change its fundamental policies directed towards the rural infrastructure development, poverty reduction and social justice.
“Poverty reduction through economic reforms should be the topmost priority of any government regardless of political ideology,” he said at a seminar on “Economic Policies and Change of Government” jointly organised here today by Tradex ñ2000 and Alliance for Democracy and Human Rights (ADHR). “Even if a government changes, it cannot afford to deviate from this basic principle although the strategies to this end could be different.”
Minister Acharya said that the government needed massive investment for the development of countryís infrastructure, including road, electricity, education, health and safe drinking water. “We need to look for the possible factors for the growth of Gross National Products (GDP) that plays crucial role in meeting the targets of poverty reduction and infrastructure development.”
Agriculture, one of the most important sectors for the countryís economic development, could be exploited to generate income and create employment opportunities, he said.
“Since the government alone will not be able to meet with this huge amount, private sectorís role in mobilising savings would be of utmost importance in this regard,” he said. “For this, the government has to create a favourable condition to encourage national as well as foreign investment and open up the markets for free competition in the country.”
However, the growth of GDP alone would not reduce the poverty that is deeply rooted in the rural parts. About 90 per cent of the rural people live under poverty, he said. “The government has to expand its investment in producing skilled human resources, education, health, drinking water and rural infrastructure development. The short-term growth would trickle down unless the government diverted the structure of its investment to these sectors.”
Stressing the present need for privatisation of the state-owned organisations, he said the government couldnít afford to invest the money needed for the infrastructure development in factories and industries that produce cigarette or shoes. “The private sector is all out there for this. Privatisation is not an escape for the responsibility but a choice of priority to provide people with social justice through some developmental activities. And we need to forge an all party consensus for this.”
Pointing the role the banks could play in economic reforms, Acharya said that they have to be made competitive by introducing modern information technology. “Large companies have taken loans from the banks but have not paid back them in time. We will stop such malpractices but the civil society too can have its role in it.
Presenting a paper on “Foreign Investment Under Multi-Party System in Nepal” at the seminar, Professor Hari Basha Jha said that Nepal could economically prosper if she crated a favourable environment to attract foreign investors in the country.
Commenting on the paper at the function chaired by ADHR President Bimal R. Pandey, Prof. Dr. Mohan Prasad Lohani, Nepal Chamber of Commerce President Mahesh K. Agrawal, Jagdish K. Agrawal and Tradex ñ 2000 President Bhaskar Raj Rajkarnikar said that the gap between policy making and its implementation was the major hindrance of Nepalís economic development.