Govt making public new budget through ordinance on Saturday

KATHMANDU: Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel is scheduled to read out the annual budget, being enacted through an ordinance at 4 pm on Saturday.

Following a refusal by the Supreme Court to issue an interim order against the budgeting process on Thursday, the finance minister is set to announce the budget at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, according to an official of the Ministry of Finance (MoF). This is the first time, following the promulgation of the federal constitution, that the government is implementing a budget through an ordinance.

The political mess created in the country in the past few months has overlooked the routine works necessary for budget preparation. Although the MoF is said to have done almost all related work for drafting the budget, the government has failed to fulfill the main components of the budget –pre-budget discussion in the parliamentary Finance Committee and presentation of Principles and Priorities of the Appropriation Bill and the government’s Policies and Programs.

Despite having sufficient time to work on these aspects, the government was engaged in political issues leaving the country’s main financial manifesto in a limbo. The MoF however is unveiling the ‘Economic Survey-2020/21’ on Friday.

Experts said that the budget introduced through an ordinance cannot incorporate major issues such as revision in the tax system and introduction of new projects, among others. “Though the budget this time may not revise the tax rate, it is likely to incorporate new tax bases with the view to generate more revenue for the government,” said an MoF official.

Economist Dipendra Bahadur Chhetri said the budget that will be endorsed without seeking any validity from the people’s representatives and inputs from experts will barely be accountable for the welfare of the state.

Just on Thursday, five former chief election commissioners issuing a public statement cautioned the government not to introduce any program in the upcoming annual budget which can influence the mid-term polls scheduled for November this year. But Prime Minister KP Oli appears firm on implementing his announced programs of increasing social security allowance and minimum wage rate of workers via the budget.

The National Planning Commission has set a ceiling of around Rs 1.80 trillion for next year’s budget.