Finance ministry promotes financial indiscipline, transfers Rs 85 million

Shifting financial resources from another heading for foreign junkets could undermine financial discipline but the Finance Ministry has transferred Rs 84.51 million from 'miscellaneous' heading to 'delegation, foreign visit and reception' heading to finance foreign junkets of top-ranking officials in the past two months alone.
According to the ministry data, it transferred Rs 84.51 million in Baisakh – from mid-April to mid-May – and Jestha – from mid-May to mid-June – from the 'miscellaneous' heading to 'delegation, foreign visit and reception' heading to finance high profile visits to various countries, breaching the financial discipline.
Though, law permits budget transfer of only 10 per cent for each ministry and agencies within the ministry, the transfer of millions of budget to finance junkets of officials has raised serious questions on the government's commitment for financial austerity and fiscal discipline.
Out of the total transfer for financing foreign junkets, the finance ministry has provided Rs 21.29 million to pay for Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's state visit to Vietnam and Cambodia. Likewise, the ministry has released Rs 30.96 million to the Foreign Ministry for expenses incurred during the official visit of President Bidya Devi Bhandari to China in the last week of April. The ministry also provided Rs 16.21 million to finance President Bhandari-led delegation to the US to attend the 63rd Session of the Commission of the Status of Women by the United Nations in March. The Finance Ministry has transferred Rs 5.38 million to provide daily allowance and pay travel agency for air tickets issued to delegates to participate in various international programmes.
The ministry has also released Rs 1.52 million to Nepal Law Commission to finance its three-member delegation – led by chairperson Madhav Paudel – to Zambia to participate in a conference of Commonwealth Association of Law Reform Agencies, Rs 1.36 million to pay for visits of chief secretary-led delegation to Egypt and Israel, Rs 704,273 for forest Minister-led team to Doha, Rs 955,245 for deputy prime minister and defence minister to New York for 2019 UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial Meeting and Rs 838,908 for industry minister Matrika Yadav to Dubai and Bahrain.
Likewise, the ministry has transferred Rs 1.39 million to finance trips of law secretary to UN Headquarters in New York, Rs 1.87 million to finance foreign minister visit to Argentina, Rs 648,191 to finance sports minister’s visit to the US, and Rs 851,350 to finance National Information Commission's commissioners' visit to South Africa.

Fiscal year end junket of government officials cost country dearly

The fiscal year end junkets of the government employees cost the country billions.
Most of the government officials have already embarked on study and observation tours to foreign countries and remaining are packing their bags spending over billion of the taxpayers’ money.
According to a Finance Ministry official, the foreign junkets in the last months of the fiscal year could cost over billion to the government exchequer. The bill includes over 1,200 trips of civil servants since last 2 months. "But the visits made to India have not been counted."
Though some visits from India to European destinations – including field trips, exposure visits, study tours, familiarisation and observation tours – were sponsored by organisers, most of the travel bills have been paid by the taxpayers' money, according to the official.
Government officials get between $150 to $200 in travel and daily allowance depending on their designation. According to existing provision, government secretaries get $200 in allowance for day, while joint-secretaries and under-secretaries get $175 and $150 respectively, the official insormed.
However, the allowance could be much higher, in case of a trip is sponsored by big donors and multilateral agencies. UNDP provides a minimum of $350 per day.
Four teams from Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Ministry including secretary Shankar Prasad Adhikari and joint secretaries Suresh Acharya, Ghanashyam Upadhyay and Bharat Mani Subedi – totaling to 30 officials – have left for Poland, Pakistan and other countries, leading separate delegations from the ministry today, though the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) team is visiting Nepal for a safety audit of the country’s aviation sector last evening. Likewise, director general at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Sanjiv Gautam has already left for a week-long Myanmar tour, while the two-member ICAO team began air safety audit today,” according to CAAN.
Similarly, Ministry of Agriculture Development has also forwarded a proposal to the Finance Ministry for its approval to send at least 95 – including 60 ministry officials – on a study tour to East Asian countries. Agriculture secretary Suroj Pokhrel and joint secretary Kashi Raj Dahal have already left the country to attend international seminars, a ministry official informed.
The Finance Ministry has also approved foreign tours of over 50 officials. According to a record, at least 33 officials have already left for China, Belgium and USA, while 13 have been waiting for tickets to fly to European countries.
Yet another ministry that has sent its employees to the foreign junket is Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation. Some 21 officials of the ministry are already on a visit to the Philippines and Cambodia last month.
Likewise, Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development Secretary Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya returned from a 10-day tour to London today, while another joint secretary from the ministry has already embarked on a tour of Indonesia.
Senior officials have embarked on foreign trips at a time when the Parliament has also been holding ministry-wise budget deliberations. It is mandatory for secretaries and senior officials of the concerned ministries to be present for budget discussion during the House debate.
Though the government has restricted foreign junket, the attraction of civil servents seems not to be decreased due to also good travel allowances. The government had, in 2015, introduced a policy to discourage such visits, but it could not deter the civil servants from making all-paid trips to foreign lands.