Finance Minister Claims End to Institutional Capture in Nepal's Economy

Kathmandu. Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle has claimed that the chapter of institutional and policy capture seen in Nepal's economy-politics is coming to an end.

Addressing a program organized by the Confederation of Nepalese Industries, he said that good governance, healthy competition, and widespread improvement in service delivery through digitalization will now be done. Minister Wagle said that the government has achieved significant success in breaking the control of political, administrative, and regulatory structures that were influenced by a few individuals or groups in the past.  

He said that the state will be in a role of creating strong regulators and opportunities.  Stating that the private sector will make the economy dynamic by producing, investing, creating employment, and paying taxes, he also said that economic reforms will be continued by further strengthening the partnership between the government and the private sector.

Minister Wagle said that digitalization has been prioritized to make service delivery effective at the micro-level of good governance. According to him, work is being done to provide hundreds of government services through the Citizen App, simplify and expedite processes like company registration, and reduce administrative hassle. The agenda of digital governance has been advanced under the leadership of the Prime Minister's Office and various reform programs are being implemented with the goal of providing easy services to citizens.

Finance Minister Wagle said that legal and policy reforms have been initiated for the permanent solution of problems seen in tender process, public procurement, land acquisition, and compensation in the implementation of infrastructure development projects. He also said that arrangements for necessary budget reallocation and administrative flexibility have been made to make budget implementation effective.

Mentioning that the government has advanced the work of amending and repealing a large number of laws in a short period, he said that the pace of reform will continue in the coming days. Stating that the government alone cannot achieve the goals of development and reform, he said that the trust, cooperation, and partnership of the private sector, media, and general citizens are necessary.