Kathmandu, Apr. 19: The budget which His Majesty’s Government is going to present next month should not be populist like the election manifesto but it should be directed towards the overall development of the national economy and promotion of investment.
This view was expressed by some of the eminent industrialists and businessmen of the country at the face-to-face programme organised by the Reporters’ Club Nepal here on Tuesday.
The objective of the face-to-face programme was to deliberate on the structure and the nature of the budget for fiscal year 2000/2001 and the future economic policies to be adopted by the government.
Speaking on the occasion, president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Pradeep Kumar Shrestha stressed that the next budget should be development-oriented rather than revenue-oriented.
He said since the policies and programmes of His Majesty’s Government as reflected in the budget have an important role in the economic development of the country, the economic policies and programmes of the government should be such that they encourage more investment from the business and industry sector, they are sustainable and focused on consolidation of the national economy.
Stating the budget formulated by a stable government would certainly be different from the one formulated by an unstable government, he expressed the hope the budget for the fiscal year 2000/2001 would surely introduce some new economic programmes which are sustainable.
The FNCCI president said the South Asia Federation Games (SAF-G) tax was still being taken from businessmen even though it has been six months since the eighth SAF Games have been held. He urged the government to stop taking the SAF-G tax.
President of the Chaudhari group of industries Binod Kumar Chaudhari said the national economy has deteriorated since the past few years because of the myopic view held by some persons who equate personal benefit to party welfare and the party welfare to national welfare.
Rather than being just like a party’s election manifesto, the next budget should be such that it should revive the national economy, expedite national development and promote and protect the domestic industries like the Pashmina industry, he said.
Effective implementation of policies and programmes counts more than their mere formulation, Mr. Chaudhari added.
Youth industrialist Diwakar Golchha of the Golchha Organisation said the national tourism industry was badly affected by the present bitterness in Nepal-India relations after the hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight last year.
He said the economic policies and programmes of the government in the next year’s budget should be geared for Nepal’s membership of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the South Asian Free Trading Arrangement (SAFTA).
Stressing an economic policy that is suitable for effective implementation and that is informative too, Mr. Golchha said rather than taking a wait-and -see approach after the introduction of the new policies and programmes, the government should properly monitor it and reevaluate its effectiveness.
Former president of Nepal Chamber of Commerce Mahesh Lal Pradhan underlined the need for the industrialisation of the agriculture, tourism and water resources sectors.
He expressed the view that this would not only raise the national economy but would also help in employment promotion.
Newly-elected president of Nepal Chamber of Commerce Rajeshkaji Shrestha pointed out the need for conducive investment climate in the country.
He said the government should reduce dependence on foreign loans and simplify the present tax regime.