Government spending pattern must change, say experts

KATHMANDU: Experts have expressed concern over the current trend of government spending. Proper amount and timeliness are essential for development spending, they added. The time has come to change the trend and structure of government spending, said Chairperson of National Natural Resources and Fiscal Commission, Balanand Paudel, warning that if the current trend of dwindling capital expenditure and rising current expenditure continues, a serious crisis will emerge in 10 years. "Ratio of development expenditure and current expenditure was at equal number till 1997, while the current spending skyrocketed and capital spending shrank. Time has come to change the structure of government spending," he underscored. Paudel made such remarks during a discussion organised by the National Concern and Coordination Committee of National Assembly on Wednesday. The Committee held a discussion with the National Planning Commission, and the NNRFC on the management of development projects. Chair Paudel admitted that there were problems among three layers of government relating to the use of national resources and distribution of revenue. He blamed the policy confusion behind this problem. "For example, a huge chunk of the budget is spent in the education sector; big buildings are constructed, but there are few students. Quality education is elusive," he said, adding that only investment is not enough but policy intervention is required to improve education quality. On the occasion, Vice-Chairman of National Planning Commission (NPC), Min Bahadur Shrestha, said the NPC was working for long-term policy making, planning, monitoring and evaluation, coordination among different layers of governments and bodies, and research. He said that conditional grants and fiscal equalisation grants were increased for the coming fiscal year. Shrestha also admitted that there was duplication in drinking water, roadway and other infrastructure. Currently, the NPC is preparing for formulating a periodic plan, which is required for planned development. Categorisation of development project, criteria and bases of categorisation, fiscal federalism, implementation status of NPC's recommendation, problems being faced by NPC and Fiscal Commission, challenges and future planning are underway. In the discussion, National Concern and Coordination Committee President Dil Kumari Rawal Thapa (Parvati) viewed that there were no in-depth analyses on investment and return of national pride projects; budget allocation was random and guided by political influence; monitoring and evaluation were weak; non-coordination and cooperation among ministries and governments; non-implementation of fiscal discipline and arrears was growing. For these to be curbed, both the NPC and NNRFC must be serious, she underlined. Similarly, Committee member Kumar Dasaudi opined that the federal government was holding a small amount of budget even for the projects that can be carried out by the local levels. Indu Kadariya wondered why the budget was not allocated equally. She expressed concern over power and influence guiding budget allocation. Other members of the committee questioned the role of the district coordination committee, the central mindset of government, and the ignorance of sub-national governments. Exhaustion of natural resources and violation of budget ceiling also featured in the discussion. READ ALSO:

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