Nepal need not seek foreign help for election budget: Finance Minister

KATHMANDU: Finance Minister Rameshore Prasad Khanal said Nepal will not need to depend on donors or neighbouring countries to fund the federal parliamentary elections on March 5.

Speaking at a meeting with the newly elected executive committee of the Society of Economic Journalists Nepal (SEJON), Minister Khanal said this year’s budget identified more than 1,300 projects that were not in the project bank and that about Rs 110 billion allocated to those projects had been located.

He added that approximately Rs 12 billion set aside under headings such as seminars and meetings could be reclaimed.

The minister said funds would be released by identifying projects that have not yet started. “Specifically, the budget for those projects is being reallocated since it would not have been spent despite being earmarked,” he said.

Khanal stated the government is preparing to use any remaining election funds for reconstruction.

He said the government’s main priority is the election. Having previously spent Rs 25 billion on polls at three levels, the budget this time could be lower, he said, but warned costs might rise because of higher security needs and recent damage to buildings in some municipalities.

He told journalists that the Council of Ministers is working to resolve difficulties faced by the Election Commission. “As soon as the EC completes the necessary preparations, the Ministry of Finance will be ready to manage the budget,” he said, and reiterated there was no need to seek help from abroad or consult any neighbouring country.

Khanal said the Ministry of Finance is preparing to present a Business Recovery Plan to the Cabinet. “The recovery plan has been prepared with the involvement of all stakeholders, not just the government,” he said.

Under the plan, a fund will be established to do three main things: provide additional assistance to the families of those who lost their lives; finance the reconstruction of public structures; and support damaged private properties. “Assistance to the private sector will take the form of customs duty concessions on imported construction materials rather than direct payments from the fund,” he said.

The finance minister said private sector morale is high and businesses are committed to a strong recovery, noting that the automobile and hotel industries had been particularly affected. He said a more supportive environment would be created for industrialists and businesspeople to rebuild their establishments by granting targeted relief.

Immediate government priorities, he said, are to instil public confidence, provide medical treatment to the injured and offer financial assistance or compensation to the families of those who lost their lives.

Finance Minister Khanal said a joint team from the Ministry of Urban Development, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) and other bodies had been formed to collect data on damage caused by recent protests. He said funds for the reconstruction of public bodies and structures would come from the budget and, if that proved insufficient, additional money would be raised through crowdfunding and preparations for that initiative had been completed.