It’s time to shut down

The Himalayan Times

22 June 2017

It’s time to shut down

It was encouraging news that the government is finally on the course of shutting down the National Trading Ltd (NTL) after realizing that the NTL is eating up people’s tax paid money in the name of meeting its operational costs which was supposed to be covered from its profit margin “Govt on course to shut National Trading Ltd (THT, July 20, Page 1) rather than government pouring in it billions of rupees to keep it afloat. It was running on a huge loss for many years due to bad management and institutionalised corruption. There was no proper supervision and monitoring system from the government to ensure that the NTL was properly managed and run in a business-like manner.

It was not surprising to know that the NTL has outstanding loans amounting to 1.4 billion rupees that it owes to the government and financial institutions. Why did the government have to wait for so many years to make decision of its closure? Likewise, there are other government owned corporations which have been running monetarily under huge loss. Nepal Food Corporation, Agriculture Inputs Company and Timber Corporation among others are the white elephants of the government which should have been closed a long time ago. It is known that facts these public enterprises remained to be the cadres recruiting centres of political parties. It could be the reasons for the previous governments not wanting to shut down these enterprises.

It seems that the time has come for the government under the changed context to either completely close down these enterprises or merge into one to act as the national supply company with redefined mechanism as mentioned in the 2016/17 annual budget of the government. Even doing so, the government has to rethink whether merging into one will serve its purpose and the people since there are many private companies which are engaged in export-import business fulfilling the needs of the users.

Rai Biren Bangdel

Maharajgunj, Kathmandu

Comments

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...

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...

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...

HELLO NEPAL

Search This Blog