EDITORIAL
No improvement has been witnessed in the nation’s economy even after different measures have been introduced to reactivate the market. The sad part is that the government, due to a lack of budget to pay salaries and other past dues, started to take loans from the first month of the present fiscal year. Already, the government has increased taxation and widened the taxation net with the plan of increasing the government revenue, even though, the government failed to collect the targeted revenue in the first month of the current fiscal year. The government lifted the previous decision of classification and separation of land with the plan of activating the real estate market, yet, it is facing a slump. Retailers and wholesalers are complaining that they are unable to get business as before. We can see “to let” boards on the shutters in the areas known to be the business hub.
Hopes are there on receiving remittance revenue along with the rush of the youths to foreign countries for jobs. Also, we can hope for an increment in the revenue received through tourism. Whether revenue through remittance, tourism and customs revenue received from foreign trade will be able to meet the general sector expenditure in the budget of the current fiscal year, we are not sure. So far, the remittance revenue may help mobilization of the market, yet, the increasing non-productive sector expenditure is a major challenge for the government. We believe, the federal structure has increased the non-productive sector expenditure and the country’s debt burden has doubled in the past five years. If the provincial structure is scrapped and also reduced the size of the federal parliament, a large amount of non-productive expenditure could be saved. But the “revolutionary leaders” of the day are talking about reducing the size of the Nepal Army instead of scrapping the federal structure and the size of the federal parliament. A section of observers who love the nation, suggest increasing investment in the development and industrial sectors by saving funds spent on the functioning of the federal structures. Indeed, the present need of the nation is to increase investment in the infrastructural sector as well as agricultural and industrial sectors creating employment opportunities for the youths who are going abroad for dirty jobs. The nation can run without the federal structures but it cannot function in the absence of revenue that would meet the nation’s expenditure. Therefore, the prime concern should be given to cut down unnecessary and non-productive sector expenditure. It would be wise for a timely decision before it is too late.
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