Rural Municipal chair threatens chief administrative officer for refusing to pay for government rally

 Chair of Shailung Rural Municipality threatened chief administrative officer as the later refused to pay fare for the bus that was hired to ferry people to take part in the government rally organised last week by the Oli-led faction of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) in Kathmandu.

Shailung Rural Municipality chair Bharat Dulal abused and threatened chief administrative officer Raju Prasad Shah after Shah refused to pay the fare of the bus used to ferry people from Dolakha to Kathmandu. Chair Dulal threatened Shah to leave the rural municipality, if he will not follow the order. Lately both the factions – Dahal-Nepal and Oli faction of ruling NCP (NCP) are competing in gathering huge mass to show their strength. They have been bringing the people from nearby districts to flex their muscle on the Kathmandu streets as the locals are not attracted towards the pro-and anti-government protests.

After he got threatened Shah filed a complaint at District Administration Office at the Dolakha district. Shah complained that chair Dulal misbehaved with him after he refused to pay bus fare that was not used for the official purpose. Most of the local governments have been misusing the funds supposed to be spend on the development activities, on their petty political interests. The tax-payers money have been lately misused in the political interest raising the question in the annual report of Office of Auditor General (OAG). The political rallies have become costly as both the factions have been ferrying people from outside the Valley in buses, and daily wage, and also lodgeing and fooding. Lack of transparency and accountability towards the people is leading towards financial indiscipline, which will also encourage the informal economy. 

On February 5, PM Oli-led faction of the NCP (NCP) had staged a mass gathering in Kathmandu bringing peoples from all over the country promising them of free two-way fare, lodgeing, fooding and also Pashupati tour. The bus had carried peoples from Dolakha district to Kathmandu for the mass gathering organised in Durbarmarg on February 5. Musing the government coffer, the Oli-faction had organised a mass gathering at DurbarMarg in Kathmandu on February 5, and yet organising another mass gathering in Butwal tomorrow.

ADB retains top spot in aid transparency index, MCC also transparent

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) retained its first place ranking in the 2020 Aid Transparency Index (ATI), an independent measurement of aid transparency released today at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC.
In the index, spearheaded by British nongovernment organization Publish What You Fund, ADB’s sovereign portfolio is ranked in the ‘very good’ transparency category of the ATI with the top score of 98. “I take great pride in ADB’s first position in an index that is playing a key role in helping to promote greater transparency and openness among international agencies,” ADB president Masatsugu Asakawa said, adding that ADB has continuously worked to improve the disclosure of its aid data in terms of quality and scope. “Our top ranking reflects the dedication of staff, across the organisation, to ensure adherence to aid transparency standards.”
This is the second time that ADB ranked No 1 in the ATI, which had its pilot run in 2011. The 2020 Index is the seventh full Index report to monitor and encourage progress toward aid transparency. Data collection was carried out from December 2019 to April 2020, and focused on 35 indicators, grouped into five components: finance and budgets, joining up development data, organizational planning and commitments, project attributes and performance. The Index groups donors into five categories based on their overall scores (out of 100).
Ten other organisations among the 47 ranked were this year classified in the ‘very good’ category with a score of at least 80 per cent – the World Bank-International Development Association (WB-IDA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the African Development Bank–Sovereign portfolio, the Inter-American Development Bank, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNCF), the US Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), the Global Fund, UK Department for International Development, the Canada Global Affairs, and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation.
The 2020 Aid Transparency Index reveals an improvement in overall transparency among the world’s major aid agencies. Development partners are publishing more, better quality data in the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) Standard, according to the publishers. All of the development partners, except those in the ‘very poor’ category, are publishing IATI data about their activities and policies, meaning their information is open, timely, comparable and centralised, meeting the international standard for aid transparency.
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members, 49 from the region.

Nepal mostly unfree economy: Survey

Nepal has scored 52.7 making its economy the 130th in economic freedom, according to the 2010 Index published by Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal.
“Its score is 0.5 point lower than last year, reflecting declines in five of the 10 economic freedoms due to political instability,” said report. Nepal is ranked 28th out of 41 countries in the Asia–Pacific region, and its score is below the world and regional averages.
The county falls in the mostly unfree country as according to its score. If a country scores from 50 to 59.9 it is in the mostly unfree category, whereas those scoring 60 to 69.9 are moderately free, 70 to 79.9 mostly free and 80 to 100 are the freest economy. The countries scoring 0 to 49.9 are repressed. Seven countries fall in the freest category, 23 countries fall in mostly free, 43 countries fall in moderately free category, 55 countries fall in mostly unfree category and 36 countries fall in repressed economies and four countries are not ranked in the total of 188 economies ranked in the list.
“Nepal’s economy is characterised by a combination of rapid population growth and inadequate economic growth that has led to widespread, chronic poverty,” the report said. “The weak reform efforts have failed to stimulate broad-based economic growth,” it added.
The report hails the state’s continuation to hamper private-sector development but it says political instability weakens the country’s ability to implement economic reform or create a stable environment for development.
Although reforms in Nepal’s trade regime are slowly having an effect, the average tariff rate remains high, according to the report. “Foreign investments must be approved or face licensing requirements. A lack of transparency, corruption, and a burdensome approval process impede much-needed private investment growth. Property rights are undermined by the inefficient judicial system, which is subject to substantial corruption and political influence.”
Economic freedom is the fundamental right of every human to control his or her own labour and property. In an economically free society, individuals are free to work, produce, consume, and invest in any way they please, with that freedom both protected by the state and unconstrained by the state. In economically free societies, governments allow labour, capital and goods to move freely, and refrain from coercion or constraint of liberty beyond the extent necessary to protect and maintain liberty itself.
The report measure ten components of economic freedom and their scores are then averaged to give an overall economic freedom score for each country.
In this year’s report, UK, US and China have fallen down the rank and Poland, Turkey and Mexico have improved significantly.
According to the report, Hong Kong remains the world's freest economy, followed by Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.
Regionally, in Asia-Pacific region, Nepal ranks 28 out of 41 economies. But in South Asia, Nepal is behind all the country except Bangladesh. Bhutan is the freest economy in the report.

South Asian ranking
103 -- Bhutan: 57
117 -- Pakistan: 55.2
120 -- Sri Lanka: 54.6
124 -- India: 53.8
130 -- Nepal: 52.7
137 -- Bangladesh: 51.1
Maldives: -- N/A
Afghanistan: N/A

Nepal in figures
Population: 28.6 million
GDP: $31.8 billion ($1,112 per capita)
Unemployment rate: 20 per cent
FDI flow: $1 million

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Overall score: 52.7
Business Freedom: 59.4 (down as average is 64.6)
The overall freedom to start, operate, and close a business is limited under Nepal’s regulatory environment. Starting a business takes an average of 31 days, compared to the world average of 35 days. Obtaining a business license takes almost twice the world average of 218 days. Bankruptcy proceedings are lengthy and complex.

Trade Freedom: 58.8 (down as average is 74.2)
Nepal’s weighted average tariff rate was 13.1 percent in 2007. The government continues to implement reforms, but import bans, services market access barriers, import taxes, import and export licensing, non-transparent regulations, weak enforcement of intellectual property rights, inadequate infrastructure and trade capacity, and customs corruption add to the cost of trade. Fifteen points were deducted from Nepal’s trade freedom score to account for non-tariff barriers.

Fiscal Freedom: 86.6 (up as average 75.4)
Nepal has moderate tax rates. Both the top income tax rate and the top corporate tax rate are 25 percent. Other taxes include a value-added tax (VAT) and a property tax. In the most recent year, overall tax revenue as a percentage of GDP was 9.6 per cent.

Government spending: 92.3 (up as average 65)
Total government expenditures, including consumption and transfer payments, are low. In the most recent year, government spending equaled 16.0 percent of GDP. The state oil company is a drain on the economy.

Monetary Freedom: 77.8 (down as average is 70.6)
Inflation has been moderately high, averaging 7.4 percent between 2006 and 2008. Although most price controls have been eliminated, the government regulates the prices of petroleum products and telecommunications services and subsidizes companies in strategic sectors. Five points were deducted from Nepal’s monetary freedom score to account for policies that distort domestic prices.

Investment Freedom: 15 (down as average is 49)
Nepal is generally open to investment in many sectors, but investments must be approved, and many face licensing requirements. Bureaucracy and regulatory administration are burdensome, non-transparent, inconsistently implemented, and inefficient. Political instability, pervasive corruption, and inadequate infrastructure and administrative capacity also inhibit investment. Residents may hold foreign exchange accounts in specific instances; most non-residents also may hold such accounts. Convertibility is difficult and not guaranteed. Most payments and transfers are subject to prior approval by the government. There are restrictions on most capital transactions, and all real estate transactions are subject to controls. Foreign investors may acquire real estate only for business use.

Financial Freedom: 30 (down as average is 48.5)
Nepal’s fragmented financial system is heavily influenced by the government. Financial supervision is insufficient, and anti-fraud efforts are lacking. Regulations are not transparent and fall short of international standards. The banking sector dominates the financial sector, and there are approximately 20 commercial banks operating in the country. The number of other financial intermediaries has increased in recent years, but the high cost of credit and limited access to financing still deter entrepreneurial activity. Nepal’s government-owned banks represent more than 30 percent of total banking assets and account for more than half of total bank branches. The central bank has gradually phased out “priority sector” financing activities whereby banks must lend a certain amount to government-designated projects.

Property Rights: 35 (
Nepal’s judicial system suffers from corruption and inefficiency. Lower-level courts are vulnerable to political pressure, and bribery of judges and court staff is endemic. Weak protection of intellectual property rights has led to substantial levels of optical media copyright piracy.

Freedom from Corruption: 27
Corruption is perceived as widespread. Nepal ranks 121st out of 179 countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index for 2008. Foreign investors have identified corruption as an obstacle to maintaining and expanding direct investment, and there are frequent allegations of official corruption in the distribution of permits and approvals, the procurement of goods and services, and the awarding of contracts. The governmental Commission for the Investigation of the Abuse of Authority, mandated to investigate official acts of corruption, claimed a 75 per cent success rate concerning corruption cases it filed, but some cases involving politicians were not filed or were defeated in court.

Labour freedom: 44.7 (down as average is 62.1)
Nepal’s labor regulations are restrictive. The non-salary cost of employing a worker is low, but laying off an employee is difficult.