Gandaki Province govt will work in partnership with private sector: CM Pokharel

Gandaki Province Chief Minister Krishna Chandra Nepali Pokharel has said the provincial government sought to work together with the private sector.

Addressing the discussion programme on the Monetary Policy organised by the Province Policy and Planning Commission here on Sunday, he said the discussions with the businesspersons have been organized so that the monetary policy is in tandem with the economic objective reality of the province.

CM Pokharel said the provincial government has put the citizens' health in priority and it was ready to procure anti-COVID-19 vaccines with the cooperation of the private sector and within the government's parameters. The support of the businesspersons is necessary to establish contact for procurement of the vaccines, he added.

Minister without portfolio, Hari Sharan Acharya said prosperity was possible if we moved ahead by making the relations between the State and the private sector more clear-cut.

Province Policy and Planning Commission's vice-chair Dr Raghuraj Kafle lamented that the format of the monetary policy has not changed even in federalism. He said the provincial government would collect suggestions and officially write to the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank of the country, recommending the need for increasing employment and pushing up the economic indices.

NRB Pokhara Director Ishwori Bhattarai said although it was not possible to determine the interest rate for each province in the monetary policy, priorities could be set.

Traders, entrepreneurs and experts attending the programme complained that the government has failed to take initiatives for protecting the business although it has set the target of raising the two-thirds proportion of the next fiscal year's budget through internal revenue and tax.

They underscored the need of including in the monetary policy programmes that protect and revive the industry and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and implementing it in an effective way.