BAIDHAYA FACTION ANNOUNCING ANTI-PARTY, ANTI-GOVT. PROTESTS

BAIDHAHYA FACTION IN UCPN (MAOIST) ANNOUNCING DETAILS OF ANTI-PARTY, ANTI-GOVT.PROTESTS
Kathmandu, 23 March: Mohan Baidhaya faction of UCPN (Maoist) Friday
is announcing details of its people’s mobilization programme against the
party establishment and government led by second vice-chairman Baburam Bhattarai with the support of regional Madeshbadi front for the last six months.
The Baidhaya is announcing the anti-party and anti-government protest by forging unity with a dozen fringe parties communist parties, some of whom, like the
parties led by Marika Prasad Yadav and Mani Thapa, have broken off
UCPN (Maoist).
Baidhaya, a first vice-chairman, of the UCPN (Maoist), rejected to join a meeting of the central committee meeting of the two party factions for a joint new approach.
The second ranking Maoist leader rejected invitation of Maoist Chief
Prachanda and Bhattarai said the party boss hasn’t implemented decisions of th last central committee meet.
The biggest party, which is also communist, is confronting a threat of a possible split.
Differences are ideological and personal and will affect the already delayed peace and constitution drafting processes.
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BIR HOSPITAL STAFF PREPARE TO LAUNCH SECOD PHASE PROTEST AGAINST DRUNK, MISBEHAVING MINISTER
Kathmandu, 23 March: Staff at Bir Hospital are preparing to announce Friday second phase of protests against State Minister for Health Saroj Kumar
Yadav wo alleged misbehaved with emergency staff at the oldest hospital in a
drunken stupor.
Hospital workers said they will continue work Friday with black arm bands.
Demands have been made in meetings with Prime Minister Baburam
Bhattarai for the dismissal of the minister
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WARMER WEATHER
Kathmandu, 23 March: Weather is warming up.
Minimum temperature Friday in the capital was recorded at 13 degrees
Celsius and mercury is expected to cross the 30 degrees Celsius mark to
record a high 32 degrees Celsius temperature in the afternoon.
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REPAIR, CONSTRUCTION OF AIRPORTS ON PPP MODEL
Kathmandu, 23 March: Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has decided to construct new airports and upgrade some of the existing airports based on a public private partnership (PPP) model in the coming days, RSS reports.

Director general of CAAN Triratna Manandhar said that the maintenance of old airports and construction of new ones will be started under this concept. Manandhar shared that such a concept had been forwarded because the private sector had not felt any ownership of the airports and problems were also seen in the management of such airports.

He said CAAN was thinking about this partnership because private airline companies were reluctant to fly to airports in remote districts but were charging exorbitant fares and focusing on business instead of service.

CAAN has plans to make private airline companies –– that primarily focus on profit-making by running services only to relatively busy airports and not by providing service in remote districts –– disciplined and systematic.

Manandhar said this model will be implemented as an experiment to resume services to airports that have been closed down.

Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation is considering on operating the Mahendranagar Airport, Tikapur Airport of Kailali, Gokuleshwor Airport of Baitadi and Kamal Bazaar Airport of Achham. Similarly, it has forwarded tasks to construct an airport in Dharan of Sunsari.

CAAN is thinking on whether this model could be applied to operate the Balewa Airport of Baglung. It is planning to construct a new airport in northern Gorkha.
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MEDIA GOOGLE

“If the peace process fails and the Maoists have their way, we will have to fight for democracy for another three years. I do not think the Maoists can stem the tide of resentment for more than three years. Integration is not making much progress because the Maoists are not taking it sincerely. My feeling is that the feud between Maoist hardliners and moderates is a farce that Prachanda is staging to derail the
peace process.”

(NC leader Dr. Shekhar Koirala, The Himalayan Times, 23 March)

"Are the agreements only for NC and UML? Is the Maoist party free to violate all the deals? Seven-point agreement is the final agreement."

(NC President Sushil Koirala, Thekathmandu Post, 23 March)
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UAE SLAMMED FOR EXPLOITING ASIAN MIGRANT WORKERS
Kathmandu, 23 March: Human Rights Watch (HRW) has slammed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for exploiting Asian migrant workers in its national-pride projects — branches of Louvre and Guggenheim — in Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island, The
Himalayan Times reports.

According to the New York-based organisation, migrant workers from Nepal, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh do not have the facilities as mentioned in their labour contracts.

The project developer –– Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Development and

Investment Company –– has been forcing migrant workers to work in

miserable conditions, HRW’s 85-page report reads. “The single greatest condition is creating forced labour,” it said, adding that migrant workers in the projects are not getting salaries and other benefits on time and according to the labour contract. “The situation of the migrant workers has not changed since 2009 despite concerns from rights-based organisations.”

The company is building a satellite campus of New York University, a maritime museum and an art centre in the island at a cost of billions of dollars. The disputes on migrant rights have delayed the project to 2015. Earlier, it was planned to be completed in 2013.

Last March, more than 130 international artists and writers promised to boycott the Guggenheim unless authorities do more to protect workers’ rights at the site.

Amnesty International, yesterday, in its report, ‘False Promises: Exploitation and Forced Labour of Nepalese Migrant Workers’, had suggested 19 points to the government that are required for safe migration.
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GOVT.WASTING MONEY ON CLOSED DOWN PEs
Kathmandu, 23 March: The government is still investing millions every month as administrative costs of Public Enterprises (PEs) which have remained closed for
Long, Shiromni Dhungana writes sin The Himalayan Times.

The government has to bear Rs 20 million as administrative costs of Janakpur Cigarette Factory and Rs 4 million for Nepal Drugs every month, joint secretary at the ministry Khum Raj Punjali said, adding that Nepal Orind Magnesite, and Nepal Metal Company are also completely dependent on the government for their administrative expenses.

The government is investing around Rs 360 million every year in these four public entities just to distribute the salary of employees and other administrative costs.

The government has been spending on unproductive areas of these public entities, said Punjali. “Either it has to bring in a strategic partner or introduce a compulsory retirement scheme to reduce the burden.

Similarly, other public enterprises that are functional also ask for funds to provide salaries. “Radio Nepal has already approached the Finance Ministry for a fund to distribute salaries,” he said.

The government has listed 39 public enterprises under the recently formed Public Enterprises Directorate Board. “The Maoist-led government is left with no option but to opt for

privatisation,” a member of the board said, claiming that the finance minister is looking for a safer option to privatisation since his party’s ideology does not support

privatisation.

Finance minister Barshaman Pun seems to be planning to adopt a major policy shift from the ideology of his party, an official at the ministry claimed, saying that Pun has directed officials at the Finance Ministry to bring an appropriate modality for running public enterprises.

During fiscal year 2009-10, some 22 PEs had registered net profits whereas 14 were at a net loss.

Meanwhile, the Public Enterprises Directorate Board is considering to start the appointment process of chief executive officers for various PEs after receiving their status papers. It had directed all concerned ministries to submit the current status of the concerned posts in different public enterprises at the beginning of this month.

According to the board, it has has once again sent a letter to the ministries to submit their status papers. “It will start the appointment process once it receives the detailed status.”
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