PRESIDENT COSULTS PRACHANDA SUSHIL KOIRALA

PRESIDENT, PRACHANDA, SUSHIL KOIRALA MEET (UPDATE)

Kathmandu, 19 April: President Dr Ram Baran Yadav held separate discussions Tuesday with Maoist Chairman Prachanda and NC President Sushil Koirala.
The president also discussed current issues with Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal.
He held discussions as it’s almost certain a constitution won’t be promulgated by the second 28 May deadline.
Maoist Vice-chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai Monday proposed extending the tenure of the assembly though national understanding with parties.
Dr. Yadav intensified discussions with government and party leaders as NC General Secretary Prakash Man Singh Monday said theassembly tenure should be extended as an alternative to ‘autocratic presidential rule’.
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MEDIA GOOGLE

‘Such a huge revenue directed for consumption has distorted the rational consumption behaviour of the public. Worse part, however, is that the money can be considered a waste because it caters only to a limited urban consumers and not needy rural people/”

(Former Finance Secretary Rameshwor Khanal, Nagarik, 19 April)
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WATCH YOUR STEPS UML LEADERS

Kathmandu, 19 April: The CPN-UML Advisory Council has urged senior party leaders to mind their language in public, The Kathmandu Post reports.

The council took exception to senior party leader KP Sharma Oli’s warning to dislodge Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal from his post and also to former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal’s public statement regarding his boycott of Khanal’s New Year tea reception. Most of the advisory members who spoke in Monday’s meeting expressed frustration over growing internal conflict among the party leadership.

“Most of the members expressed worry over anarchist attitudes that have become dominant in the party

and the undisciplined activities that have been taking place in recent days,” said council member Suresh Karki. “We have suggested that the party will be weakened if such mistakes are not immediately corrected.”

During the meeting held at the party headquarters in Balkhu on Monday, members requested party Chairman and Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal to take initiatives to complete the peace process and deliver a new constitution on time. They also urged for the immediate settlement of the Home Ministry row and advised the party work together with the UCPN (Maoist) and incorporate the Nepali Congress and Madhes-based parties into the government.

Briefing the advisory body, Prime Minister Khanal reaffirmed his commitment to the seven point accord that he signed with Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ahead of the prime ministerial election in February. “I had taken a risk by signing the accord in order to end the months-long deadlock in government formation and to give a lifeline to the peace process and the constitution drafting,” a participant quoted him as saying.

Khanal also indicated that he would allot the Home Ministry portfolio to the Maoists. Defending his failure to appoint Bishnu Poudel as Home Minister despite the party’s standing committee’s decision, he said he couldn’t implement the decision as it was taken without taking the Maoists into confidence. He said he had not appointed a home minister even after two months of the government formation in the hope that the Nepali Congress and Madhes based parties would join the government. The council will meet again on Tuesday to compile feedback before forwarding it to Khanal.
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ROYALTY HAS UTL OVER A BARREL


Kathmandu, 19 April: The royalty payment issue between the regulator—Nepal Telecommunica-tions Authority (NTA) and United Telecom Limited (UTL)—refuses to die down. NTA has nixed UTL’s request to withdraw action against it. The regulator on Monday said that action against UTL would be taken if it fails to clear royalty dues within set deadline, Ramesh Shrestha writes in The Kathmandu Post..

UTL had sent a written reply to the regulator after NTA on March 25 gave a 35-day deadline to it clear the royalty dues. In view of nearing deadline, UTL had requested NTA to take back its decision to scrap operating license on the failure to clear dues citing that there was a government to government level talk going on the issue.

A source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that India will raise UTL’s royalty issue during its Foreign Minister SM Krishna’s upcoming Nepal visit. Krishna is arriving on Wednesday. The source also said that Chief Secretary Madhav Ghimire had held a meeting with joint secretaries of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Information and Communications, Ministry of Finance and chairman of the NTA on the issue of the UTL’s royalty on Sunday.

UTL—the first private sector telecom operator owes over Rs 900 million royalty dues. “UTL in its letter had requested for withdrawing the decision and wait for the outcome of the ongoing talks between high level officials of both countries,” said Bhesh Raj Kanel, chairman of NTA. “However, we have told UTL that there would be no change in the decision of the NTA.”

The regulator on March 25 following a NTA board decision had dispatched a letter to UTL to clear its committed royalty dues within 35 days. It had also warned of scrapping the UTL’s operating license if it failed to clear its dues.

A high level official at the NTA said that the UTL’s plea to withdraw decision on royalty issue was not logical. “If the government directs us, we can hold or withdraw the decision,” added the official.

Even if the government asks the NTA to hold, withdraw or waive royalty dues of UTL, NTA officials say it would send a negative message to the telecom sector. “As our decision is based on license conditions and extensive study, any waiver to UTL would weaken regulators’ jurisdiction,” said the official.

In the letter sent to NTA, UTL had also showed reasons of foreign investment, generation of employment in the local market and loss in business during the royal regime. Earlier, it had also sought compensation worth Rs 4.44 billion for losses in business and damage to brand image.

The official said the regulator will take action if UTL fails to clear its committed royalty within the given timeframe. The official added that UTL did not pay a penalty of Rs 500,000 owed to NTA. Established in 2002, UTL is a joint venture by three Indian telecom companies, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (26.68 percent), Telecommunications Consultants India (26.66 percent) and Tata Communications (26.66 percent) and local partner Nepal Venture (20 percent).

When UTL was granted license to operate basic telecom service in the country, it had committed to pay Rs 1.24 billion royalty for eight years (2002-03 to 2009-10). Of the committed amount, it has so far paid Rs 160.57 million and Rs 189.45 million was waived by the then royal regime in 2005.

As per license conditions, telecom operators have to pay royalty, whichever is higher among the committed royalty fee while obtaining the license or four percent of the total annual income. Officials at NTA said that the amount of royalty dues of UTL would rise to more than Rs 1 billion as the latter has been paying only four percent of total income for two services—basic telecom and limited mobility service.
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