By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Apr. 17: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has said that the sluggish economy can be made dynamic through cooperation with the private sector.
Speaking at the 21st anniversary of the Confederation of Nepali Industries (CNI) on Tuesday in Kathmandu, he made it clear that the government was committed to boosting the morale of the private sector.
“The government is serious about reforming the economy,” he said.
“I am also clear that the economy can be made dynamic through cooperation with the private sector, adding that the government had also started making positive interventions to improve the economy,” said the Prime Minister.
He said the government was responsible for boosting the morale of the private sector, creating an investment-friendly environment and encouraging result-oriented work.
Informing that the government was trying to improve the policies and programmes and the budget of the current fiscal year, Prime Minister Prachanda said that not only the economy, but the government is also preparing to generate new enthusiasm among the public.
“The government is thinking and preparing to focus on production and employment and create confidence in the people even amid pressure and the monetary policy will also be advanced accordingly,” the PM said. “It is necessary not only to improve the economy but also to bring some qualitative results towards the direction,” he said.
Prime Minister Prachanda said that when the private sector was mired in a problem, the national economy also plunged into a problem.
The present government has the full capacity to solve the problems of the economy and will solve them, he said.
Prime Minister Prachanda expressed his belief that the current fiscal year would be a promising year for the economy, noting that important indicators of improvement in the economy were emerging lately.
“We are holding the 3rd international investment conference at the beginning of the new year. More than a dozen laws are in the process of amendment to create a suitable environment to bring in foreign investment,” Prime Minister Prachanda said. In this sense, 2081 B.S. can be considered as a promising year, he added. He also said that promising results have been seen in the export of goods and services. Prime Minister Prachanda expressed his belief that the export of things such as electricity, zinc, and cement would strengthen the country’s economy.
He also said improvement in tourism arrivals and the information technology sector had also raised hopes for better days.
President of CNI Rajesh Agrawal said that due to the lack of encouragement for industry in the country, employment opportunities could not be created.
Stating that there were challenges and problems all around in the economy, he said that there was a need for major surgery to solve these challenges and problems, but work is being done to boost the sluggish economy by applying simple ointment.
Agrawal also drew the attention of the government citing that there was load shedding in industries for 16 hours a day at present.
He said, “Because the overall demand cannot improve, the production cost of the industries is increasing so they are already reducing the production. Regular power supply is the lifeline for industries. But the unannounced load shedding in industries for the last few weeks has caused more grief. On the one hand, the Nepal Electricity Authority is trying to increase electricity consumption, on the other hand, it is resorting to load shedding for 16 hours in industries that are consuming a lot of electricity,” he said.
He demanded to provide electricity to the industries even if it is imported at a high cost. Stating that even though the Authority would incur some losses while importing power for some time if electricity was available, it would contribute to the development of the overall economy, he said.
There is a need to adopt a strategy to promote domestic industries in the upcoming budget, he said and added that the CNI hoped that the next budget should prove a milestone for building a self-sufficient economy by encouraging domestic production.
He said that the government should implement value-added tax to make the VAT compatible with India to control illegal trade.The Rising Nepal
