December 19, 2017 : With the country transitioning into federal structure and possibility of having stable government for the next five years, Nepal can attract more foreign investment.
Speaking at a program organized in Kathmandu on Tuesday, December 19, he said that there are both challenges and opportunities ahead while implementing federalism, but the government should focus on creating investment-friendly environment in the country to ensure the flow of foreign investment.
The program entitled ‘Fiscal Challenges under Federalism’ was organized by the Society of Economic Journalists of Nepal (SEJON) in collaboration with Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The country can achieve revenue growth of 30 percent, but only if there is political commitment. The main challenge is the allocation of budget at both provincial and local levels.
When we see at the current structure, Province 3 is ahead in comparison with others, so, collaboration is a must. The central government should support all the provinces as it takes time to prepare mechanism and policy at the provincial level, adding that the national pride projects should be looked after by the central government itself, not the provincial governments.
Likewise, 87 percent of infrastructure projects in Nepal have cost and time overrun. Similarly, Kantika Sejuwal, mayor of Chandannath Municipality, Jumla complained that the budget allocated by the government for Jumla is very low despite being very big in geographical structure.
They planned to organize investment summit in Jumla within a year to attract foreign investment in the region as we have huge resources and possibilities. The support from bureaucrats for local representatives in Jumla is very disappointing.