Dismal capital spending

The Himalayan Times

19 December 2019

Dismal capital spending

Nepal has been practicing the system of annual programme planning and budgeting for decades in more or less the same pattern. The Ministry of Finance (MoF) is the responsible authority of the government that formulates the yearly budget in close collaboration with the related line ministries and departments in line with the policy and guidelines prepared by the National Planning Commission (NPC). As outlined in the new constitution, the MoF has to present the annual budget by May 25 of each financial year to the Parliament for deliberation and approval. The government’s annual plan and budgets is approved once the overall deliberation on the programme and budget in the Parliament is completed.

Soon after the approval of the annual plan and budget, the MoF used to instruct other line ministries and departments to release the budget spending authority letter to their district-based offices. Now, the federal structure is in place for the last two years. All the provincial governments have to prepare their annual plan and budget accordingly. This system has further complicated the implementation of annual plan and budget especially the development projects, thus hampering the speedy process of development. Due to this cumbersome process, the level of capital budget spending continues to be dismal “Capital budget spending dismal 9.05 per cent in first five months” (THT, December 18, Page 1).

Unless the government enhances the capacity of bureaucrats to plan and execute the programmes and revisits its weak and slow bureaucratic process, timely and speedy implementation of development and infrastructure projects cannot be expected resulting in poor performance of the government.

Rai Biren Bangdel

Maharajgunj

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