BIG THREE MEET TO DISCUSS 5-POINT AGREEMENT IMPLEMENTATION

BIG THREE MEET ON IMPLEMENTATION OF FIVE-POINT AGREEMENT

Kathmandu, 19 Aug.: Leaders of the Big Three met Friday to review implementation of a five-point agreement
Maoist Chairman Prachanda, Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal, who is also chairman of UML and NC President are huddled in the meeting.
The three parties signed the meeting to facilitate the extension of the constituent assembly (CA) for three months and form a national government.
Only the CA term was implemented while other points pf the agreement haven’t been implemented.
Even a constitution won’t be drafted by the extended date of 31 August.
Parties are only engaged in haggling over leading a government at the cost of constitution drafting.
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MAOIST STANDING COMMITTEE MEETS FRIDAY

Kathmandu, 19 Aug.: Maoist standing committee is meting Friday, party Spokesman Dinanath Sharma said.
Maoists have laid claim to lead a government to succeed Jhalanath Khanal who resigned this week after only six months in office.
Maoists withdrew their support after helping propel him to power in February.
NC and Maoists are lobbying intensely to assembly a government of consensus by 21 August.
Both parties have proposed a prime minister to lead a rotational government with the NC and Maoists claiming the first leadership of such a government amid deep rivalry between them.
NC General Secretary Krishna Prasad Shitaula described Thursday’s talks between them ‘first is years’ and said the dialogue was’ constructive and positive’.
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INFLUENZA AH3 VIRUS MAIN CAUSE OF CHITWAN VIRAL FEVER

Kathmandu, 19 Aug.: Influenza AH3 virus is the cause of the viral fever around Chitwan, according to District Public Health Office (DPHO).
Cases of Japanese encephalitis and dengue have also been detected after tests, the office said.
Nearly 1,5000 have been treated.
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JICA HONOURS FORMER HOME SECRETARY CHANDI PRASAD SHRESTHA

Kathmandu, 19 Aug.: Former Home Secretary Chandi Prasad Shrestha is being conferred Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Recognition Award.
He’s among 21 persons and four organizations chosen from four countries for contribution towards JICA”s international cooperation activities.
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BECAUSE OF IN-FIGHTING NEPAL OUT OF WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIP

Kathmandu, 19 Aug : Nepal´s participation in the 13th World Athletics Championship has come to an end after National Sports Council (NSC) and two Nepal Amateur Athletics Associations, one recognized by IAAF and other by NSC, could not reach an agreement, Nabin Khatiwada writes in Republica.

Nepal Police Club athletes Chandra Kala Thapa and Tilak Ram Tharu were selected to participate in the 100m and 200m sprints during the World Championship to be held in Daegu, South Korea, but the power battle within the three bodies barred their participation.
NSC dissolved the Nepal Amateur Athletics Association (NAAA), which was led by its General Secretary Rabi Rajkarnikar, on July 29 alleging of not holding general assembly for years, lacking transparency and Rajkarnikar´s involvement in human trafficking. NSC, later, formed new NAAA body under the presidency of Nilendra Shrestha.

The newly formed NAAA body corresponded with International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) to confirm registration of Nepali players on August 15, but the IAAF rejected their correspondence refusing to recognize the newly formed ad-hoc NAAA body.

Meanwhile, a meeting between the officials of three bodies failed to reach an agreement on Thursday in their attempt to solve the matter and send players to Korea.
“You will not go to Korea in such situation. But you keep up your training. Participating in a tournament is not a big deal. It´s just that the state could not compromise with anyone and send players from backdoor,” an official present at the meeting quoted NSC Member Secretary Yuvaraj Lama.

Member Secretary Lama told Republica that he made the difficult decision as he saw a possibility of embarrassment. “How can I send players in such condition? Who will be responsible if players do not return from there?” asked Lama.

“They came too late at NSC, therefore, we could not do anything on the matter,” he added.

NSC appointed NAAA President Nilendra Shrestha alleged Rajkarnikar of acting irresponsibly despite gentlemen´s agreement between them. “IAAF has rejected our attempt to register players,” said Shrestha. “We got the documents of previous procedure very late and we could not register players and officials.”

On the other hand, Rajkarnikar blamed the newly formed committee. “I´ve told them not to correspond with IAAF and not to take internal debate to international bodies but they corresponded twice, both of which failed,” said Rajkarnikar. “Initially they agreed to send players through the dissolved association, but later they showed double standard,” he added.

Rajkarnikar alleged that NSC and the new committee members are more concerned about compelling him to resign and taking control of the association rather than sending players. “On the one hand, they say that our committee is illegal as NSC had dissolved it, and, on the other hand, call me at NSC to talk about sending players,” said Rajkarnikar.

According to Rajkarnikar, he had proposed to send athletes with a Nepal Police official as they both belong to Nepal Police Club but NSC and Shrestha´s committee rejected the proposal.

However, Member Secretary Lama commented that Rajkarnikar has no authority to decide who will lead the Nepali delegate. “As we have dissolved his committee, he has no authority to propose such things,” said Lama.

According to an official present in the meeting, the two athletes, Thapa and Tharu, could not hold tears after hearing officials´ discussion during the meeting and pleaded to send them to Korea without any official. However, nobody listened to them.

“The member secretary said that state could not compromise for just two players. I don´t know what that means. I only know that our years-long effort went in vain,” said Chandra Kala Thapa. “We train hard and put our youthful days for participating in few such international tournaments, but I don´t know why they are reluctant to send us,” she added.

The World Championship is scheduled to be held in Korea from August 27 to September 3.
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SPIRT IN NEPALI DEPOSITS IN SWISS BANKS AFTER TWO YEARS
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Kathmandu, 19 Aug.: The amount of Nepali money in Swiss banks has once again risen after a two-year decline. A country-by-country breakdown of accounts in “Banks of Switzerland 2010” published by Swiss National Bank (SNB) reveals that Nepali assets were worth Swiss francs 97.148 million (Rs 8.95 billion), up from Swiss francs 68.885 million (Rs 6.353 billion) in 2009, Mukul Humagain writes in The Kathmandu Post.
The Kathmandu Post on May 27, 2009 (see “The Swiss Connection”) had revealed that Nepali money worth Swiss francs 108 million—a 10-year high—was deposited in various Swiss banks in 2007. However, the amount declined in 2008 and 2009 before surging in 2010.
Why and how have the deposits increased? No one has an easy answer. But bankers say that a decline in tourism revenue and the trend of depositing kickbacks in foreign banks might be the reason behind this increase. Interestingly, earnings from tourism declined last year despite record tourist arrivals. “Travel agents might be asking their counterparts abroad to deposit money owed to them for services rendered in banks there instead of sending it to Nepal,” said a banker.
Another reason behind the surge in deposits, according to bankers, is that commissions earned through multi-million dollar government contracts are generally deposited in offshore accounts. Former Finance Secretary Rameshwor Khanal said typically the money in Swiss banks is largely kickbacks that are paid to politicians for large deals. “Swiss banks earlier held money of former royals, but of late, most of the deposits are related to commissions,” said Khanal.
As Nepali commercial banks don’t usually deposit their foreign currency in Swiss banks, it can be assumed that the money must have come from affluent Nepalis. “The money in foreign banks belongs to people involved in the commission business and politicians,” said a senior government official.
Nepal may not contain many people with a high net worth, but it hasn’t stopped leading international private banks from coming to Nepal. Bankers said representatives of leading private banks like HSBC, Credit Suisse, UBS, Duetse, EFG, City and Coutts visit Nepal every year to meet individuals with a high net worth.
According to a banker, representatives of these private banks generally sell personalised services that include deposits, equity trading, commodity trading and bond exchange facility. And the minimum amount these private banks receive from an individual in Nepal is in the range of US$ 500,000 to US$ 1 million. “The frequency of visits from international private banks increases each time there is a political crisis in Nepal,” said the CEO of a local bank. “For them, a crisis in Nepal is an opportunity.”
And Switzerland is not the only destination; new destinations have emerged for wealthy Nepalis to invest abroad. “Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai have lately emerged as lucrative destinations for Nepali investors,” said a banker.
As of now, Nepali law bars investing abroad or keeping accounts in foreign banks. But that hasn’t stopped money from going abroad through illegal channels. A recent UN report has placed the country in the sixth position among the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) exporting funds illegally.
A report commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) entitled “Illicit Financial Flows from the Least Developed Countries: 1990-2008” has for the first time recorded the extent of capital flight and exposed the gaping floodgates in the Nepali financial system. According to the report, US$ 9.1 billion in capital was siphoned out of the country during the period 1990-2008. On average, US$ 480.4 million went out of the country annually.
The UN report stated that trade mis-pricing accounted for the bulk (65-70 percent) of illicit outflows from the LDCs, and the propensity for mis-pricing has increased along with increasing external trade. This holds true for Nepal as well. Sources said businessmen associated with dealership of international products generally keep some part of their commissions earned in foreign banks.
Even when many countries are seriously working to curb the outflow of illicit capital, capital flight has never been a major issue in Nepal. Nepali authorities have neither tried to curb the illicit flow of money nor have they tried to promote investments abroad in a legal way.
Four years ago, an attempt was made to initiate a process for Nepali entrepreneurs to invest abroad. The Finance Ministry started work on amending the Ban on Nepali Investment in Foreign Countries Act 1964. The idea then was to allow investment in certain sectors where Nepali companies have competency.
According to Khanal, Nepal can allow investments abroad selectively. “Restaurant chains like Nanglo can be allowed to open outlets abroad,” said Khanal. “As banking in Central
Asian countries is still at a developing stage, Nepali banks can be allowed to go there.”
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