‘Policy document roadmap for reform’

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, May 12: The government’s new policies and programmes, which President Ramchandra Paudel presented at the joint session of the Federal Parliament in Kathmandu on Monday, have drawn mixed views from ruling and opposition parties.  

Reacting to the policies and programmes, ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party Whip Prakash Chandra Pariyar said the document reflected many of the reform-oriented commitments made by the government and the RSP before the elections, particularly on governance reform, constitutional debate, economic development and foreign policy.

Pariyar said the government had moved forward with issues that had been consistently raised by the ruling party.

“The policies and programmes presented today have acknowledged many of the concerns and proposals that the government and the RSP put up before the people during the elections,” said Pariyar.

“The current parliament, formed under extraordinary circumstances, has the responsibility to fulfil the people’s needs in areas such as health, education, economic upliftment, good governance and other basic rights. The policies and programmes presented today provide a roadmap for preparing a budget that addresses those needs,” he added.

Pariyar stressed that the government must now focus on implementation rather than limiting itself to announcements.

“People want results, transparency and effective service delivery,” he said. “At a time when the previous governments failed to deliver expected outcomes to the public, the current policies focus strongly on good governance, strengthening the economy and creating an environment for Nepal to prosper economically. The government is focused on fulfilling the mandate given by the people, and today’s policies and programmes provide a roadmap for that,” he said.

However, opposition parties and their lawmakers expressed dissatisfaction with the policy document. 

Former minister and CPN-UML lawmaker Padma Kumari Aryal said the policies and programmes appeared to be limited to paper only.

“Many of the issues mentioned in the policies and programmes were already included in previous plans, and there is very little that is new apart from a few additional points,” she said. “This shows that the current policies and programmes do not properly address the needs of the people,” she added.

She added that the narrative that no development had taken place under previous governments was false, and accused the incumbent one of merely taking credit by implementing policies based on those earlier development projects.

Similarly, another UML lawmaker Guru Baral said the policies and programmes resembled previous budgets introduced by earlier governments. He said the government and ruling parties had failed to properly evaluate the country’s current economic and governance challenges.

“There is no clear roadmap showing where these policies will lead the country. Nepal is facing serious economic challenges, yet the government appears focused only on taking loans,” he said. “The middle class and poorer communities are being burdened, and there is nothing new or encouraging in these policies and programmes that can give hope to the people,” he added.

Likewise, Nepali Congress Chief Whip Basanta Kumari Thapa also criticised the document, saying it lacked programmes capable of delivering meaningful economic prosperity.

“There are many policies that were already included in previous government plans. We will hold discussions within the parliamentary party and bring necessary amendments to the policies and programmes during the upcoming parliamentary sessions,” she said.

The policies and programmes presented by the government will now be discussed in both houses of the Federal Parliament before the annual budget for the upcoming fiscal year is unveiled later this month.