Kuda Karnalika

• The Karnali province government has increased industry registration fees based on their capital. Industries with a capital of more than 5 to 50 lakhs must pay a minimum of 1 thousand to 30 thousand rupees. Industries with a capital of 2 to 5 million rupees must pay 10 thousand rupees more than the previous fee. This provision will discourage new industries from registering in Karnali and negatively impact economic growth.
• Karnali provincial government has spent 72.84 percent of recurrent expenditure and 64.08 percent of capital expenditure for the fiscal year 2022/023. The province government has recorded poor financial progress for the current fiscal year as in the past fiscal years. Karnali provincial government has to improve its budgetary process, i.e. formulation, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and controls. In this regard, Hriti Foundation has been carrying out research on budget credibility in Karnali.
• ‘Half Annual Economic Activity Study Report, 2079, by NRB Surkhet office, indicates that the total bank loans have increased in Karnali. The report indicated that the industrial loan is more than five billion rupees. Karnali entrepreneurs have faced financial crises due to the increment in bank interest rates and industrial loans. Stakeholders representing private sectors have alleged that the state is becoming illiberal.
• Mr. Ghanashyam Upadhyay, Dailekh, and Ms. Laxmi Basnet, Surkhet have been promoted as secretary of the government of Nepal. As both of them represent Karnali, it is good news for the province to have higher officials in the civil service. A session named ‘Paschimma Prashasak: Paschimka Prashasak’ of Karnali Utsav, a policy festival annually organized in Birendranagar by the Hriti Foundation, had been concluded with the urgent need for more bureaucrats from Karnali.

Parliament Watch

• Karnali provincial assembly has passed the annual budget of Karnali provincial government for the fiscal year 2023/024. The total amount of the budget is about 33 billion. Karnali Province currently needs to catch up to the national average in all indicators, requiring urgent focus on improvement through effective policies and budgets. With many provincial institutions yet to be established, administrative expenses remain low. Hriti Foundation has prepared an overview of the budget of the Karnali province government for the fiscal year 2023/24.
• Thematic committees of the Karnali province assembly have started taking action. Recently, the Public Account Committee has directed the Karnali province government to control financial irregularities of government-related activities. Likewise, the Finance and Natural Resource Committee has started monitoring the activities under the four ministries of its jurisdiction. Moreover, the Social Development Committee has been active in establishing citizen rights through different campaigns and programs.
• Karnali province assembly passed the bill relating to establishing and operation of a training institute in the province on July 24. The major objective of the academy is to organize and regulate training in Karnali province.

What we are doing

• Hriti Foundation has resumed a regular column in Sajha Bisaunee Daily to disseminate the policy issues that have been raised during the Karnali Utsav. The national daily publishes the pieces every Wednesday.
• Hriti Foundation has been conducting research on ‘Identifying the key challenges faced by sub-national governments in Nepal’.  For that, the foundation has organized an interaction program with stakeholders in Surkhet on July 14.
• CSOs play a vital role in evidence-based policymaking by conducting research, advocating for informed decisions, evaluating policies, and fostering collaboration between citizens and policymakers. Hriti Foundation has organized an interaction program on the role of civil society organizations in evidence-based law-making. There was a discussion on the role of civil society organizations active in the province for evidence-based law-making in Karnali Province.

See you next month
Dinesh Gautam
Executive Director
Hriti Foundation