PARTIES PREPARE TO EXPAND GOVT. UPDATE

MAOIST STANDING COMMITTEE MEET; OTHER DETAILS
Kathmandu, 30 Aug.: Maoist standing committee meets Tuesday afternoon to draw up a government strategy, approve Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai’s first address to the nation and select a government team.
UCPN (Maoist) will also hold talks with the five-nation front of Madeshbadi parties that have been allotted 11 of 26 ministries.
Only MJFL Chairman Bijaya Kumar Gachedhar has been appointed deputy prime minister and home minister; the front has to choose other members of its government team.
Maoists and the front haven’t agreed on sharing of ministries; Maoists agreed to hand over home ministry responsibility to MJFL of Gachedhar.
UCPN (Maoist) demanded and got the home ministry in the outgoing government of Jhalanath Khanal to gain control of security agencies.
Maoists didn’t press for defence ministry in the Khanal government following a standoff with Nepal Army forcing Prime Minister to quit in the first Maoist government in nine months.
There’s an informal agreement to handover five ministries to splinter parties that supported Bhattarai during elections in parliament.
Maoists are holding talks with smaller parties as well Tuesday.
The five-party Madeshbadi parties are also meeting Tuesday to select its government team.
nnnn

BHATTARAI MOVING TO BALUWATAR
Kathmandu, 3- Aug.: Prime Minister Dr.Baburam Bhattarai moves into Baluwatar official residence of the government chief Tuesday from a rented house in Lalitpur.
Jhalanath Khanal vacated government house Monday.
nnnn
QATAR TO ACCEPT ONLY GCC MEDICAL CENTERS’ REPORTS
Kathmandu, 30 Aug.: Qatar — the most preferred destination of Nepali migrant workers — has decided to adopt Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-approved medical centres’ reports while hiring workers from 11 Asian and African countries including Nepal, The Himalayan Times reports.

Qatari decision to adopt GCC approved medical centres will affect the business of 179 domestic medical centres associated with Nepal Health Professional Foundation as the country is the top hiring destination. Qatar is hiring about 30 per cent of Nepali workers in recent months. Last month, the destination had hired around 15,000 Nepalis when the total migrants were 45,164.

The Qatari parliament has approved the proposal of Supreme Council for Health and Interior Ministry last week, the Gulf Times reported. The long pending proposal has approved by the Qatari government, the Gulf Times reported citing medical council source. “It will be implemented soon since the cabinet has endorsed the proposal,” said director of the medical commission Ebrahim Al Shaar.

The decision has angered nearly two hundred domestic medical centres. “We will not accept the decision that only permits medical check up of Qatar bound migrant workers,” said Prabin Tiwari, general secretary of Nepal Health Professional Foundation — that is fighting against GCC-approved medical centres monopoly in Nepal since 2009.

The GCC must accept Nepali law while appointing medical centres in the country but they are violating the law, he said, adding that the federation has challenged GCC in court and waiting for the legal verdict.

If GCC monopoly continues, we will not hesitate to go to street,” according to the federation. “The federation will close all GCC-approved medical centres,” he warned.

Currently, there are 12 GCC-approved medical centres in operation.

GCC is an economic and political union Gulf countries Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

There are more than 200 GCC-approved medical centres in the 11 countries – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Syria and Eritrea– that are authorised to conduct the tests for a fee fixed at $50.
Nnnn

PAC RECOMMENDS LIQUIDATION OF THREE PEs
Kathmandu, 30 Aug.:Public Accounts Committee (PAC) under Legislature Parliament today recommended to liquidate three of the public enterprises (PEs) as they are insolvent; merger of different nine public enterprises and create only four entities; and operate some under Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, The Himalayan Times reports.

Approving the report from Public Enterprises sub-committee, the PAC suggested the liquidation of National Construction Company, Nepal Engineering Consultancy Service Centre and Timber Corporation of Nepal.

“The subcommittee concluded that shutting these enterprises down will save government expenditure,” subcommittee coordinator Deep Kumar Upadhyaya said, adding that absence of these company will not impact service to the public as the private sector is competent enough to provide these services.

The National Construction Company was established in August 1961 with the objectives to promote qualitative civil construction works in the country and to achieve project cost moderator. It has a total of Rs 40 million accumulative loss by the end of fiscal year 2009-10.

Similarly, aiming at providing consultancy services, the government had set up Nepal Engineering Consultancy Service in December 1996. It also has Rs 5.27 million accumulative loss by the end of 2009-10. The government had in November 1960 established the Timber Corporation of Nepal to protect the forest in a systematic way, sale and distribute the timber to the public and other parties in reasonable price. It also has accumulative loss of Rs 215.04 million by the end of fiscal year 2009-10.

In the report, the PAC also suggested the merger of different nine public enterprises with each other and form only four out of the nine.

The report has asked the government to merge Krisi Samagri Company and National Seed Company, Industrial Estate Management Ltd with National Productivity and Economic Development Centre, and Herbs Production and Processing Corporation with Nepal Medicine Ltd and Singhdurbar Baidhyakhana, and Rural Housing Company with Nepal Housing and Finance.

“It is necessary to merge similar types of public entities to consolidate the services and save government expenses, Upadhyaya said, adding that the move will strengthen the PEs too.

The report has further recommended the government for the unification of Janak Education Materials Centre and other printing related entities and formation of independent authority. “National Trading Ltd and Export Promotion centre should also be merged to make one entity,” the report suggested, adding that after merger, the entities should be operated in a PPP model.

Similarly, it has recommended the government to convert Nepal Television and Gorkhapatra Santhan into company to make them more competent.

“Dairy Development Corporation should adopt cooperative model as it is directly related to the farmers,” it said, adding that DDC should adopt cooperative model to enhance farmers’ ownership too.

Political interventions, incompetent human resources, over staffing and corruption are major hindrances for the healthy development of public enterprises, Upadhyay added.
nnnn