June 30: At a time when the government is getting widespread scrutiny over the provisions in the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority Bill (3rd Amendment) Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has assured the country’s business community that the anti graft body won’t be entering into affairs of the private sector. Addressing the 17th annual general meeting of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) through video conferencing on June 29, Oli said the government has no intention of putting the business community into trouble but would instead recognise the role of the industrialists and business persons.
The CIAA Bill, which has been presented at the Bill Committee of the National Assembly, the upper house of the Federal Parliament, has received widespread criticism for provisions to bring the private sector under the purview of CIAA.
“We have to work together in our endeavors for a prosperous Nepal,” he said claiming that the government’s intention is not to discourage or not to cooperate with the sector. “We can’t even think of it,” he said.
Prime Minister Oli also thanked the CNI for working with a goal to revive and save the country’s economy hard hit by Covid-19 Pandemic. Lauding the notable works carried out by the CNI in industrial, manufacturing and service sectors, he expressed happiness that the confederation has been able to establish itself at the regional and international levels.
The Prime Minister also expressed a belief that the government would resolve all problems in a collective manner by joining hands with all sectors as problems surfaced in this situation is a common problem.
Oli clarified that there should be collective efforts of all on how to move ahead by addressing the impact of a disaster in the recent period. He also pointed out the need for hard work to bring the tourism sector in the previous conditions as coronavirus has had a huge impact in this sector.
He also said that the government would move ahead following the suggestions of the CNI.
In his welcome speech, Satish Kumar More asked the Prime Minister to remove the provisions related to private sector in the CIAA Bill. Oli responded that the government has decided not to move ahead with the CIAA Bill at the request of the private sector. “There are other agencies to regulate the private sector and CIAA is not required in this respect,” mentioned Oli.
Speaking on the occasion, Finance Minister Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada said that the economic activities have gathered momentum with the easing of the lockdown. “Economic activities reduced to 20 percent during the lockdown. Now it has increased to 80 percent,” he said adding that there has been significant improvement in revenue collection in the recent weeks which will positively impact the country’s economy. According to Dr Khatiwada issues related to economic growth are most concerning at the moment.
