Prime Minister Oli’s 100 days at office
KATHMANDU, May 25: Prime Minster K P Sharma Oli has completed his first 100 days at office on Friday. He was appointed as the 41st prime minster of Nepal on February 15, following the sweeping victory of the left alliance in November 26 and December 7 House of Representatives and Provincial Assembly elections.
What has the Oli-led government accomplished so far in its honeymoon period?
STABLE GOVERNMENT
Oli became the most powerful prime minster in the history of Nepal since BP Koirala’s government in late 1950s. With the two largest communist parties CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center) merging last week to form Nepal Communist Party, the chair of the newly formed party now commands a strong majority in the House—which is enough to ensure the NCP-led government stability to run for straight five years.
Besides the support from the then Maoist Center, Oli has also support from the Madhes-parties Federal Socialist Forum Nepal and Rastriya Janata Party Nepal.
The then left alliance (now NCP), who dramatically formed electoral alliance on the eve of Nepal’s historic elections, have put forward the agenda of economic development and prosperity. Oli has repeatedly said that he is committed to the promises he made to the people in party’s election manifesto during the polls, and to implement the vision of ‘Samriddha Nepal Sukhi Nepali’ he introduced.
The Oli government has also adopted the policy of zero tolerance to corruption and irregularities. He has said the he will neither commit corruption nor will he tolerate it.
Moreover, in order to consolidate power in the Prime Minister’s office, Oli brought the National Intelligence Department, the Anti-Money Laundering Department and other key government agencies directly under it.
IMPROVED INDO-NEPAL BILATERAL RELATION
One of the major achievements of the Oli’s honeymoon period is the improved bilateral relation between Nepal and India. Oli, after assuming the office made his first overseas trip to India.
During his three-day India visit, he and his counterpart Narendara Modi, jointly inaugurated the Integrated Check Post at Birgunj in Nepal; witnessed the ground breaking ceremony of the Motihari-Amlekhgunj cross-border petroleum products pipeline at Motihari and underlined the need for expeditious implementation of bilateral projects in Nepal.
The highlights of Oli’s India visit were the milestone agreements on new partnership in agriculture, expanding railway linkages connecting Raxaul to Kathmandu and new connectivity between Indian and Nepal through Inland Waterways.
These bilateral agreements, if implemented, can prove to be a milestone for the Nepal’s journey of economic development and prosperity.
After a month, the Indian Prime Minster Modi came to Nepal and visited Jankai temple, Muktinath temple and Pashupatinath temple—boosting the cultural and religious ties between the two countries. The duo also inaugurated the Arun III Hydropower Project, the largest hydel project ever in Nepal. Also, following Modi’s visit, India has already considered removal of Indian field office in Biratnagar.
POLICIES AND PROGRAMS
The government also unveiled its policies and programs earlier this week. The policies and programs have highlighted the promises made in the joint election manifesto of the communist party, constitution implementation, economic and infrastructure development. The government, in its policies and programs, has planned to double the agriculture production and increase growth by double digit within the next five year.
CRACKDOWN ON SYNDICATE
The Oli government has also made strong commitment to end all kinds of syndicate system prevailing in both public and private sector in the country. The government also ended the decades-long monopoly in public transport sector to promote healthy competition. Meanwhile crackdowns against various groups collecting money from foreign employment aspirants under different headings have also began.
The government has also decided to take stern action against the contractors who fail to complete the scheduled projects on the scheduled duration.
Likewise, the government has also prohibited unnecessary visits of the government officials to foreign countries in government’s expenditure. The government has also cut off unnecessary allowance to employees for attending meetings.
The government also decided to cut some public holidays, end load-shedding across the country, reopen airports in Surkhet and Rajbiraj and open Tribhuvan International Airport for 21 hours a day. REPORTERS CLUB