Monday, May 21, 2018

Government to focus on creating jobs

The government has claimed that no Nepali youths will be flying abroad for employment in next five years.
Presenting the government’s policy and programmes for next fiscal year today, President Bidhya Devi Bhandari also claimed – in the the joint meeting of both the houses – that by 2023 the average earnings of Nepalis will be doubled.
Nepal needs to create some 240,000 new jobs every year, a recent report from the World Bank read, meaning the government has to create some 658 new jobs everyday to retain the youths within the country.
President Bhandari also announced a new programme, 'the Prime Minister’s Employment Programme', to achieve the employment target. However, Prime Minister’s Employment Programme could meet the same fate as the Youth Employment Fund that was set up during the tenure of the then finance minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai. It has failed due to politicisation.
Though, the almost two-third majority left government's policy seems encouraging it has not presented any programme on how to create employment in the country. The 'highly ambitious' target has also claimed to double the per capita income in the next five years, though the policy and programme is brought for a year. Currently, per capita income of the Nepalis stands at $1,004. Though, current trend shows that it took nine years to double the per capita income to $1004, it is possible to double the income in five years, if the annual growth is recorded in an average of 15 per cent. "If the inflation remains same, the government could double the income in five year with an annual growth of 15 per cent," said economist Bishwo Poudel. "However, the government needs to spend $10 billion to $15 billion to achieve 15 per cent growth every year," he said, asking the government on how to manage such huge budget and how does it tame the inflation at the time when the price of petroleum products has been regularly increasing. The incumbent government has increased the price of petroleum products for the fourth time, since it took to power three months ago.
Likewise, the government has also claimed to make the country prosperous and developed nation within a decade.
However, former finance minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat said that there are hardly any new programmes and projects to translate those targeted figures into reality. "It is the repetition of past programmes,” he said.

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