Kathmandu. Former Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has said that the budget presented by the government was not realistic.
Speaking at a programme titled ‘Budget: A Holistic Discourse’ organised by the Economic Media Society Nepal (IMSON), former Finance Minister Sharma said though the budget talked about increasing production and creating jobs, it did not take initiative to operate sick industries. Stating that Rs 4 trillion has already been submerged in hydropower, he said the big institutions of the private sector were silent on this.
According to Sharma, the budget is still in the revision phase and the Finance Minister has also made it public that tax rates are changing. Stating that the budget has moved towards neo-liberalism and perverse capitalism, he said although the Constitution of Nepal was based on social justice, the policies and budgets were going against the constitution. Citing the example of the US moving from neo-liberalism to protectionism, Sharma said Nepal has also deviated from the policy direction.
Sharma also raised questions such as the public sector dominating as a ruler, ignoring the third pillar of the economy like the cooperative sector, and failing to bridge the poverty gap and warned that the current budget would fail. The budget is appreciated, but where will it be implemented, he said, adding that the laws are against development. Stating that the policy related to forest and water resources was obstructing the proposal of the project, he alleged that the implementation structure was slow and resultless.
Expressing doubts over the government’s target of collecting Rs 332 billion in foreign aid and Rs 362 billion in internal debt, Sharma said the implementation of the budget was impossible until the source was ensured. “Although rs 7.5 trillion is deposited in banks, the private sector does not want to take loans for fear of losing property and there is no way to repay loans from farmers,” he said. ’
Sharma stressed the need for ending the tendency of the state system to prosecute those who work and reward those who do not work. He said the private sector is getting attracted to business rather than production and the budget has failed to come up with a clear plan to motivate the youth in the agriculture sector. Stating that the policy was failing due to lack of coordination between agriculture and irrigation, he stressed the need for economic restructuring along with the federal democratic republic.
Stating that the government has failed to determine the investment sector for the utilization of remittances, Sharma also questioned whether the controversial point number 227 of the budget has been amended. “Why did that point come about? Deliberately or by mistake?” he asked, claiming that the budget threatened to derail the economy and not improve it.
