May 5: While the government is preparing to announce budget for the upcoming fiscal year, former finance ministers have suggested the government to cut its spending for better management of resource during the ongoing crisis.

Former finance ministers Surendra Pandey, Gyanendra Karki and Baburam Bhattarai made such remarks at a meeting of the Finance Committee of the Parliament on Monday.

Speaking at the meeting, the ex finance ministers drew the attention of the government toward the unprecedented crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic and urged it to cut its spending for proper resource management.

Former finance minister and leader of the ruling Nepal Communist Party Surendra Pandey suggested the government to reduce recurrent expenditure and not to recruit any new employees and security personnel.

“The government recruits 10,000 employees and security personnel each year. Let’s not make any recruitment this year,” said Pandey.

He claimed that the government can save 30 percent of the recurrent expenditure if it reduces general employees and mobilizes technical staffers in their place.

Meanwhile, former finance minister Gyanendra Karki of the main opposition Nepali Congress accused the government of giving an extra burden to the state coffers by forming the Squatters Commission at a time when the country is reeling under crisis of coronavirus. He said that the government’s first priority should have been ensuring proper medical kits and equipment to the health workers deployed in the frontline against coronavirus.

“The present need is not the Squatters Commission but ventilators and ICU,” said Karki.

“The government’s expenditure in unproductive sector is not justifiable,” he added.

He also demanded the current status of national pride projects by issuing white paper. Kakri said that the country’s economy has been on a downward trend since the last eight months and the coronavirus pandemic will further deepen the crisis.

Former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, who is also a former finance minister, urged the government to reduce the size of the upcoming budget arguing that the revenue collection is expected to slump in the current fiscal year.

However, he said that the government must give special attention not to shrink employment opportunities and must focus on big projects and social security while preparing the budget despite downsizing it.