Sunday, November 11, 2012

Government in final bid to push full budget through


Amidst elusive political consensus and increasing pressure, the caretaker government is giving a final push to the budget tomorrow, though the government itself is not certain of its fate.
“We are still trying to forge consensus,” chief political adviser to caretaker Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, Devendra Poudel said.
The Cabinet has been called tomorrow afternoon to approve the budget, he said, “but before that, the finance minister will brief the President.”
UCPN-Maoist Spokesperson Agni Sapkota said that the finance minister will brief the President on the budget but was not sure that an ordinance would be sent to the President tomorrow. “The budget will be sent after Tihar,” he added.
As political parties lock horns on the budget, the bureaucracy and finance minister are also at odds over the distributive nature of the budget that cannot be financed from the government purse.
“Though revenue mobilisation increased by over 25 per cent in the first three months of the current fiscal compared to last fiscal year, there is not enough room to squeeze more,’ according to a Finance Ministry source.
“The revenue mobilisation target cannot be stretched too much as it will have a devastating impact on the economy,” he said, adding that the loss making state oil monopoly is also asking for Rs 10 billion from the budget. Likewise, the budget will also expand due to election expenses (Rs 10 billion), the government’s load shedding reduction programme (Rs 3.5 billion), governance and economic reform programme (Rs 7 billion) and fertiliser subsidy (Rs 4 billion) from the National Planning Commission’s (NPC) ceiling of Rs 429 billion,’ he added.
The added expenses will balloon the budget to 463 billion, the source said, adding, “But the ministry is trying to keep it under Rs 455 billion.”
Distributive programmes like Youth Employment Fund — that has already failed to generate employment despite huge expenses — will also get allocation as it is the PM’s brain child.
The consumption budget — that is 90 per cent recurrent expenditure — in the absence of development expenditure, however, will not propel economic growth, but lead to further price hike. The government has promised to curb inflation since the last one year, but failed. Despite Bhattarai’s promise, the government has failed to provide relief to the common people and the expansionary budget is certain to add the burden of inflation, hurting the poor the most.
 
Pun-Prez to meet
KATHMANDU: Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun has sought a meeting with President Ram Baran Yadav at around 1:00 pm on Monday, according to the President’s press adviser Rajendra Dahal. “Pun has, however, not specified any reason for the meeting,” he said, adding that the President will consult with political parties, if the minister pushes the ordinance budget without political consensus. “If the government brings the budget with political consensus, there is no reason why the President should hold it.”
Proposed expenses
• Election: Rs 10 billion
• NOC: Rs 10 billion
• Load shedding reduction programme: Rs 3.5 billion
• Governance and Economic reform: Rs 7 billion
• Fertiliser subsidy: Rs 4 billion

No comments: