The government, on Wednesday, unveiled its annual ‘policies and programmes’ laying emphasis on the upcoming constituent assembly polls, improvement in the security situation and reconstruction of infrastructure destroyed during the armed conflict.
Addressing the parliament session, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala urged all sides to work together in holding the CA election in a peaceful manner. He further said the political change in the country would not be consolidated unless there is economic and social reform.
In his brief speech, the ailing Prime Minister also expressed confidence that the CA election would lead the nation to peace and democracy.
Senior minister Ram Chandra Poudel, who holds the Peace and Reconstruction portfolio, presented the government’s policies and programmes on behalf of the Prime Minister.
The policy document states that efforts will be made in “significantly improving the security situation” and create proper climate for free and fair election. Vowing to check the ongoing crime and violence, it also seeks negotiated settlement of all the problems, pledging talks with all the agitating groups.
Poudel said the government would empower and mobilise the Nepal Police and Armed Police Force throughout the country, especially in Terai, to control the violence in an effort to create conducive environment for the polls.
Special law would be enforced to stop all kinds of disturbances in highways, he stated.
The government has said the United Nations and other independent national and international agencies will be invited for the monitoring of the November 22 polls.
Likewise, a commission will be formed to work out the structure of the federal system.
The government has also announced to implement the three-year interim plan focusing on peace building, reconstruction of the infrastructure and economic programmes. The concept of ‘special economic zone’ will come into force in the upcoming fiscal year and there are plans to distribute land to the landless people, increase the access of rural people to development facilities and economic activities.
The government also plans to run the local bodies with political consensus.
The policy document, which is largely based on the past agreements between the Maoists and the seven parties, also aims to facilitate in ‘democratisation’ of the Nepal Army and make it national in character. Rehabilitation and integration of the People’s Liberation Army are also in the government’s priority list.
As announced earlier by the ruling 8-party alliance, the government will start process to nationalise the state properties used by King Gyanendra and set up a trust to manage the properties of late King Birendra and his family.
To achieve the targeted economic growth, the interim government will carry on with the policy to prioritise the agricultural sector, involvement of the private sector and promotion tourism and foreign employment.
Government would also bring an integrated programme for economic and social transformation of the Nepali society and implement the scientific land reform programme. Initiatives would be taken to establish an industrial security force, it stated.
Protection and promotion of local dialects, culture, diversification of tourism sector, establishment of more national airports and one international airport, operation of the Nepal Airlines under Public Private Partnership are some of the other programmes that government announced for the new fiscal year.
Rehabilitation of the ex-Kamaiyas, distribution of land to landless, involving community in education sector, increasing school enrollment, expanding the programmes for technical education, developing university as research centers and establishment of an agriculture university are also in the government’s priority list.
The government would also initiate restructuring of the health services, providing free health services to the poor and strengthening the capacity of the health posts in remote areas.
The government would bring out a special programme to train people in rural areas on income generation skills. Multilateral investments would be invited for hydropower generation and more villages would be electrified. New schemes will be started in irrigation and private sector would be encouraged for physical infrastructure development.
The policies also say that five district headquarters, not connected by roads till today, will be connected by road networks in the new fiscal year and more east-west and north south roads would be developed.
The government has also vowed to complete the Melamchi water project in time.
Every district headquarters will have at least two public telephone lines as part of the government effort to expand the communication services to remote areas.
The public service delivery system would be improved. Similarly, labour agreement would be signed with the countries where Nepalis have been working to ensure their social security.
The policies state that the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) and Office of the Attorney General would be empowered. National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) would be given more powers for protection of human rights. The physical infrastructure of the courts would be improved and salary of the government employees would be increased.
Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and National Investigation Department would be equipped with modern technologies. Democratisation of Nepali Army and merger of qualified Maoist combatants into it would start, it further stated. The security personnel would also be trained for human rights protection.
Aiming to appease the bureaucracy, the government has also announced to raise the salary of government employees with the start of new fiscal year.
The government has also said its foreign relations will be guided by the nonalignment policy while giving high importance to the ties with the two immediate neighbours, India and China. Similarly, government has also stressed on respectful repatriation of the Bhutanese refugees but has said it will allow resettling in third countries to those who could not be repatriated or those who are willing to go to third countries.
United Arab Emirates (UAE) is set to start direct flights to Kathmandu.
UAE Labour Minister Dr Ali Bin Abdullah Al-Kaabi told a news conference at the end of his three-day tour to Nepal on Wednesday that the UAE national flag carrier, Emirates Airlines, would launch direct flights to Kathmandu from October 28 this year.
Direct flights to Kathmandu will help make travel easier for Nepali workers as well as increase the number of tourists in Nepal. He also informed that the UAE was planning to establish its contact office in Kathmandu by the end of December.
On Tuesday, Nepal and UAE signed Labour Agreement, which gives legal status to Nepali workers in the UAE ensuring the rights according to the local laws.
The labour agreement, signed for the first time with a Gulf state, is also believed to increase the minimum wage of Nepali workers in UAE.
There are 150,000 Nepalis working in UAE alone. The agreement, which is meant for four years, will be automatically renewed for another four years.
Speaking at the joint news conference today, Minister of State for Labour and Transport Management Ramesh Lekhak said the labour agreement was an important step in resolving the problems facing Nepali workers in UAE.
“Earlier, there was no government to government communication. We had difficulties discussing the problems of workers with the right authority. The labour agreement will make things easier,” he said.
Nepal and United Arab Emirates (UAE) are going to sign Labour Agreement on Tuesday in order to facilitate legal recognition of Nepali workers.
Labour Minister of UAE government Dr. Ali bin Abdullah Al Kaabi has arrived in Kathmandu to attend the signing ceremony.
The UAE will be the first country in the Gulf with which Nepal will have Labour Agreement. There are over 600,000 Nepali workers in Gulf countries. Nepal is also trying to sign such agreement with Qatar and Malaysia.
Signing of Labour Agreement is expected to facilitate legal recognition of Nepali workers and increase their minimum wage. There are 150,000 Nepalis in UAE alone.
Nepal has decided not to issue ‘on-arrival’ visas to nationals of seven Asian and African countries including the war-torn Afghanistan, Kantipur Daily reports.
The countries thus affected by the latest decision are Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan in Asia and African countries Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Swaziland.
As ‘urban refugees’ have increased in an unauthorized manner, the home ministry had directed authorities not to issue on-arrival visas to the nationals of these countries, the home ministry spokesperson told the daily.
Nepal and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) today signed the long-awaited Labour Agreement that gives legal status to Nepali workers in the UAE.
Minister of State for Labour and Transport Management Ramesh Lekhak and visiting UAE Labour Minister Dr Ali Bin Abdullah Al-Kaabi signed the agreement at the Ministry of Labour.
Speaking on the occasion, Al-Kaabi praised the contribution of Nepali workers in the development of his country and expressed confidence that the labour pact would ensure the basic rights of Nepali workers.
The labour pact is also believed to increase the minimum wage of Nepali workers in UAE. There are 150,000 Nepali working in UAE alone.
This is the first labour pact between Nepal and a Gulf state.
The UAE Labour Minister arrived in Kathmandu on Monday to sign the labour agreement.
A gang led by a former local leader of Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM, Jwala Singh faction) abducted a lawyer in Sunsari district Tuesday afternoon.
Advocate Balram Mehta was abducted from outside the District Police Office in Inaruwa, reports said.
The leader of the gang, Sanket, who was recently expelled by the JTMM-Jwala Singh, telephoned local media offices and claimed responsibility for the abduction, but didn’t clarify the reasons behind the abduction.
A former inmate of Nepal Army’s Bhairabnath Battalion, Kathmandu, filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court on Tuesday accusing former army chief Pyar Jung Thapa and four other army officers of crimes against humanity.
In his writ petition, Krishna KC, a Maoist leader who spent over two years in various army barracks including the infamous Bhairabnath barracks following his arrest in September 2003, demanded strong action against former army chief Thapa, commander of Bhairabnath Battalion Colonel Raju Basnet, and officers Indibar Rana, Dilip Rayamajhi and Bibek Bista for their involvement in the disappearance of 49 detainees, and the subsequent murder of some of them.
KC, who was the vice-president of the Maoist student wing at the time of his arrest, further stated that detainees underwent severe mental and physical torture, rape and electrocution.
Earlier, there were reports of execution of some of the 49 missing people. National and international human rights groups have repeatedly asked the government to probe the disappearance of detainees from the army barracks and bring the culprits to justice.
Minister for Education and Sports and UML leader Pradeep Nepal has ruled out the need for leftist alliance in the current political scenario.
Speaking at a press meet organised by Press Chautari Nepal in Kailali Tuesday, Nepal described ‘unnecessary’ the call made by some leaders for an alliance of leftist forces. “The latest meting of the UML has rejected the agenda of leftist alliance,” he said.
He made clear that there was no discussion whatsoever between UML general secretary Madhav Nepal and Maoist chairman Prachanda on the issue.
Senior UML leader Bamdev Gautam and some other leaders have been stressing the need for an alliance of left parties, especially between the UML and the CPN (Maoist), to ensure communist victory in the upcoming constituent assembly election.
Gautam is learnt to have raised the issue at the ongoing meeting of the UML central committee. Few days earlier, he criticised general secretary Nepal’s political paper presented at the central committee, terming the Maoists as ‘extreme leftists’.
In his political paper, Nepal has termed the king, royal family and the royalists as ‘regressive elements’, Nepali Congress and Nepali Congress (Democratic) as ‘bourgeoisie reformists’ and Maoists as ‘extreme leftists’.
Concerned by the invasion of wild climber weed called Mikania micrantha or banmara lahara, the Save the Environment Foundation (SEF) has drawn attention of local authorities and international conservationists “to act immediately towards elimination of this killer weed.”
Speaking at a press meet, Sunday, organised on the eve of World Environment Day, executive chairperson of SEF Chanda Rana said that the wild weed has been invading the flora community of the Chitwan National Park.
She said that SEF team recently visited the national park and observed the situation of infestation.
“This weed which is scientifically known as Mikania micrantha. It is an extremely fast growing, sprawling, perennial vine and one of the world’s most notorious invaders. Mikania micrantha rapidly colonises disturbs habitats, retarding the growth of crops or natural vegetation by competing and producing plant inhibitors,” Rana said.
Mikania climbs up other plants to reach the canopy for better sunlight. At the same time, its leaves cover up the host plants and reduce the sunlight reaching the host plant for photosynthesis. Mikania sprawls out rapidly in the spring and summer which is the reason for its name ‘mile-a-minute weed’.
Rana quotes buffer zone chief, wildlife resort owner and the villagers as saying that in Chitwan National Park, this wild climber is witnessed to have been expanding at a very alarming rate since 1994.
“Its present infestation is estimated to have affected over 20% of the entire national park area. The invasion is showing severely damaging effects on young trees, shrubs, grasses in mostly mixed and reverine forests and grass lands. It smothers shrubs and small trees which are important source of food and bedding for most of wild animals in the park. It is now gradually spreading out towards buffer zone area as well. Since it has been one of common weed in agro-forestry, this wild climber is going to threaten the livelihoods of the local people in buffer zone,” she added.
She expressed alarm that one of the world’s worst weed is risking the whole ecosystem of the Chitwan National Park area endangering the very survival of entire floral and faunal community. “If immediate action is not taken to control this weed or climber, Chitwan National Park which stands today as a successful testimony of nature conservation in South Asia may collapse tomorrow,” Rana warned. This national park is home to the rare one-horned rhinoceros, apart from Bengal tigers and many more flora and fauna.
At the press meet, Rana said that in order to save the ecosystem of Chitwan National Park, a long-term and short term actions are required. She called for detail study of the situation, raising of public awareness, media coverage, and development of long-term project with viable control measures and ways for complete elimination of this climber vine.
The SEF is an NGO entirely run by women. Established in 1994, the SEF has been celebrating the World Environment Day each year focusing on the theme “from confrontation to co-existence with nature for future generations”.
The SEF has been involved in various environmental campaigns including garbage management, afforestation, case study on air pollution, greenery promotion, hospital waste management, white draft preparation, green belt movement in Kathmandu and so on and can be contacted at [email protected].
The budget session of the legislature-parliament is beginning from Monday.
This is the second session of the interim parliament, which was formed by the eight parties on January 15.
During the budget session, the government is scheduled to present its annual policies and programmes. The government is expected to present the policies and programmes on Wednesday (July 4). The policies will focus the November 22 elections for the Constituent Assembly.
Likewise, the government will also present the budget estimates for the fiscal year 2007/08 within mid-July.
The budget session will also give importance to electoral legislation such as Bill on CA Court, among others.
These apart, there are 20 different legislative bills being discussed at various parliamentary committees.
Government spokesperson and the Minister for Information and Communication Krishna Bahadur Mahara has been saying that the Bill to Amend the Working Journalists Act and Right to Information Bill will be passed within this session.
Speaker Subas Nemwang has said that the session will give top priority to helping conduct the CA elections in a free and fair manner.