Kathmandu, July 7: Finance Minister Dr Swarnim Wagle has said that a significant share or 87.2 percent of the 100-point agenda of governance reforms of the government has been achieved.
The agenda of governance reforms was made public soon after the formation of the current government on March 26 targeted to be achieved within 100 days of the inauguration of the government.
He was responding to questions raised during the discussion on the appropriation heading related to the Office of the President, the Office of the Vice President, the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers and subordinate bodies, the Ministry of Defense and the National Planning Commission under the Appropriation Bill, 2083, in the National Assembly meeting today.
He also assured that the government would further intensify its governance reform programs in the coming days. In response to a question, he said that the civil servants are under stress due to the growing aspirations of the service recipients, negative comments from stakeholders towards civil servants, pressure to adapt to information technology-based working style. Therefore it is necessary to run health-related programs such as yoga and meditation to help the civil servants manage the pressure.
Minister Dr Wagle also informed the parliament that various policy and legal arrangements have been made to promote good governance and integrity among civil servants, and various activities have been conducted by formulating the National Integrity Policy, 2083, and the National Health Tourism Strategy and Action Plan, 2083, and upgrading the Good Governance (Management and Operation) Act, 2083.
To questions regarding the role of the Ministry of Defense and the Nepal Army, Finance Minister Dr Wagle said that the main responsibility of the Ministry of Defense and the Nepali Army is to protect and strengthen the country’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence and national unity, and the army is fulfilling its responsibility accordingly.
“In accordance with the constitutional provisions, the army has been mobilized to protect the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and national unity of Nepal and in accordance with federal laws, including for development and disaster management.”
Accordingly, he said, the Nepali Army has been involved in the construction of road infrastructure in remote and rural areas of the country and the construction of strategic road projects such as the Kathmandu-Tarai Madhes Expressway.
On a different note, Finance Minister Dr Wagle said that work is being done to remove Nepal from the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The concerned departments and agencies are working according to the National Strategy and Action Plan on Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (2081-26) and the Detailed Action Plan for Immediate Corrective Actions for Delisting from the Grey List, 2082.
Informing that sectoral risk assessment reports have been prepared to identify areas of reform that need to be removed from the grey list, he said that the final draft of the National Risk Assessment Report is being prepared and serious steps will be taken to reduce the risk by identifying them.
Finance Minister Dr Wagle also informed that the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, has formulated the annual budget and program for the upcoming fiscal year 2026/27 in line with the policies and programs of the Government of Nepal. #nepal #rss
