Nepal has yet to lay foundation for sustainable development, say former finance ministers

Kathmandu / July 26: Three former finance ministers on Friday have accused the government of failing to lay the economic foundation for sustainable development.

Speaking at the program organized in the capital on Friday to make public ‘Nepal Economic Outlook 2019-20’, former finance minister and the chairperson of the federal council of the newly formed Samajbadi Party-Nepal(SPN) Baburam Bhattarai said that the government has not succeeded in attracting investment adequate enough to achieve double-digit growth target though economic development is its top priority.

On the occasion, Bhattarai said two things are necessary to ensure sustainable economic development in Nepal. According to him, they include internal and external investment and infrastructural development.

Likewise, leader of the main opposition Nepali Congress(NC) and former finance minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat said that the government has yet to formulate a plan needed to achieve the objective of sustainable development. He urged the government to emphasize institutional capacity building so as to ensure sustainable economic development.

Meanwhile, former finance minister and leader of the ruling Nepal Communist Party(NCP) Surendra Pandey claimed that sustainable economic development in Nepal has not taken place due to lack of political reform. He said that the country could achieve its objective of sustainable economic development only after making reforms in political, administrative and educational systems.