Skip to main content

BUDGET TO SPEND

The Kathmandu Post
4th February 2017

BUDGET TO SPEND

The normal practice of the government at the beginning of every fiscal year is to send budget spending authorization (BSA) letter to their respective ministries once the budget is approved by Parliament. This is done by the Ministry of Finance (MoF). After getting this authority from MoF, each ministry is responsible for sending BSA letter to their respective departments and regional directorates which, in turn, forward their BSA letter to their district based offices. Because of this tiring and lengthy process, most of the district based offices get their BSA letter after three or four months. This traditional way of releasing the BSA from the centre down to the district level is one of the main reasons behind low level of capital expenditure. Another hindrance is lengthy tender process of selecting the lowest bidder for large infrastructure projects.

Looking at these hurdles, it is not surprising to know that the government has only been able to spend only 29 percent of Rs. 1,048.9 billion during the last seven months of this fiscal year. (“Govt bodies at a loss for lack of right to spend” 1 Feb. Page 1) . For the first time in the history, this year the annual budget was introduced one and a-half months prior to the start of the new fiscal year to facilitate the timely release of BSA. Likewise, the MoF, which is responsible for preparing the annual budget, managed to provide BSA to all the line ministries on the first day of this fiscal year. In-spite of these improvements, the government, its line ministries and departments failed to spend the desired level of allocated capital budgets in the last six months.

It is said that many government bodies are yet to get BSA from their respective line ministries. If this situation persists, a large portion of capital budget allocated under them will remain underspent. How can the government achieve its set targets and objectives is something worth pondering over? Has the government and its concerned ministries put any effort to increase the level of capital expenditures to meet the needs of physical infrastructures? Do the government and its line ministries have a strong monitoring and supervision system in place? Is the government serious enough to improve its budget spending capacity? Are the line ministries regularly being supervised by the National Planning Commission (NPC) to find out whether they forwarded BSA to their district based offices on time? Unless, these issues are addressed timely, the level of amount to be spent under infrastructure projects will not improve.

Rai Biren Bangdel
Maharjgunj, Kathmandu

http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/printedition/news/2017-02-05/budget-to-spend.html


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Who is he?

Biren P. Bangdel (also known as Rai Biren Bangdel ) is a development management consultant, project analyst, and citizen journalist based in Kathmandu, Nepal . Professional Profile & Background: Project Executive : He has served as an Executive Director and consultant for organizations like Om Ganeshaya Namah Pvt. Ltd. and Merryknoll Nepal  (Asha Deep). He also served as a Campus Director in Weigan and Leigh College .He was Deputy Project Manager in Nepal-Swiss funded Rural Health Development Project and Deputy Team Leader in Nepal-CIDA funded Rural Development Project. Project Expertise : He specializes in managing and monitoring multi-million rupee rural development, healthcare, and educational administration projects across Nepal. His core career history spans executive roles within international non-governmental organizations, bilateral foreign aid bilateral projects , and private management enterprises. Media & Commentary : He is an active blogger, online commen...
Post a Comment
Read more

2083/84 budget at a glance

2083/84 budget at a glance The Balen led government , which is almost two-thirds majority government secured in the March 2026 elections , has announced its annual budget 2,124.34 billion on May 29, 2026, as the largest budget in Nepal's history, representing a 25.2 present increase over the revised estimates of the current fiscal year 2082/83.  Most of the financial experts and economic analysts opine that this budget, although optimistic, has broadly, boldly and wisely covered key and major aspects of the national all round development. Huge tax reforms , massive infrastructure allocations, transformative sectoral policies, 7 percent targets on economic growth and inflation capped at 6 per cent are the key aspects of the highly optimistic budget. This shows a departure from a decade of political instability toward productive governance. It has included first sovereign AI computing centre, doubling of personal income tax exemption thresholds , 21 percent civil servant sal...
Post a Comment
Read more

Causes and consequences of self-immolation

  Self-immolation—the act of setting oneself on fire—is one of the most extreme, painful, and lethal forms of self-harm and suicide. Globally, it represents a profound intersection of psychiatric distress, intense social strain, and political expression. Causes of Self-Immolation: The underlying motivations for self-immolation vary significantly across different regions, cultures, and socioeconomic demographics. ·      Political and Ideological Protest: In Western nations and certain East Asian histories, self-immolation is highly associated with political statement. Individuals use it as a highly visible, shocking public act to draw attention to perceived systemic injustices, war, or government policy. ·      Severe Psychiatric Illness: Globally, a vast majority of individuals who attempt self-immolation suffer from severe, often untreated mental health conditions. The most common diagnoses include major depressive disorder, schizo...
Post a Comment
Read more