NOC, IOC SIGNINGOIL PURCHASE AGREEMENT FRIDAY Kathmandu, 27 April Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) are signing a petroleum purchase agreement Friday. A five-member IOC team arrives Friday to sign the deal. The agreement is being signed amid shortages of POL products in Nepal. India is the sole exporter of POL products to the land-locked state, Nnnn NC, UML CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEET TO DISCUSS MAOIST PROPOSAL FOR 10 PROVINCES Kathmandu, 27 April: Opposition parties NC and UML central committees are meeting Friday to discuss ‘new’’ Maoist proposal for 10 provinces in a federal structure to replace a unitary state, The proposal Thursday has stunned the two parties and disrupted talks on drawing up articles of a constitution that has to be promulgated by a 27 May deadline. Parties have until Friday to arrive at a consensus on themes to be incorporated in a basic law to avoid adoption by voting in the 601-memberconstituent assembly now scheduled to meet Sunday. nnnn ON BEHALF OF UML, KP SHARMA OLI PROPOSES TO NC A NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE AGAINST PM BHATTARAI Kathmandu, 27 April: Leader KP Sharma Oli Thursday started probe to bring a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai claiming the initiative is from his party UML, Nagarik reports. Oli told NC leaders help can be expected from the Baidhya faction in Maoists who ‘are preparing not to proclaim a constitution if it doesn’t suit them’. Maoists are preparing to ‘give continuity to the incumbent government after 27 May’, according to Oli. Arjun Narsingh KC confirmed the proposal has come to NC from Oli without giving details. OlI proposed a government under NC leadership. Nnnn INFRASTRUCTURE BOTTLENECK HITS TRADE WITH CHINA Kathmandu, 27 April: Experts have suggested the government to strengthen necessary infrastructure like roads and transport arrangements, customs capacity, container yards, quarantine facilities and better technology to boost exports to China, The Himalayan Times reports. Apart from supporting the increased production of identified export-potential products, the government must reduce administrative delays ––arbitrary, non-transparent, discretionary and vague policies at the China border, said former senior economic adviser of the Ministry of Finance Tula Raj Basyal presenting the findings of the Nepal-China Trade Study at the Public-Private Dialogue organised by South Asia Watch on Trade Economics and Environment (SAWTEE), in association with the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, and Nepal Economy, Agriculture and Trade (NEAT) Activity/USAID, here today. The government’s target to increase exports and reduce deficit flopped miserably, he said, adding that Nepal’s export to China has deteriorated at an alarming rate during the past decade. “The government needs to take urgent steps to reverse the trend.” Despite a huge potential of the large Chinese market, the domestic private sector has been unable to reap benefits due to the lack of quality products and less contacts, cooperation and collaboration, he added. The report also features Nepal’s top potential products to China, critical trade barriers and supply-side bottlenecks. Speaking on the occasion, executive chairman of SAWTEE Dr Posh Raj Pandey said that Nepal has not been able to capitalise on China’s growing influence in the global economy by strengthening Nepal’s trade with China. “Lack of information and knowledge about trade related matters has also been a key challenge,” he said, adding that Nepal’s widening trade deficit with China needs to be bridged by improving trade capacity. Meanwhile, former Nepali ambassador to China Tanka Karki attributed the low export to China to ‘behind-the-border’ factors like massive labour outflow and capital flight. “Buddhism-related goods like statuettes and wooden handicraft products have an extremely high potential in China, besides other products like flowers and fruits,” he said, adding that the proposed railway extension to Nepal border from Shigatse holds immense potential for improving Nepal’s future export performance with China. “Though Chinese tourist arrivals have been encouraging in the last two years, Nepal should also focus on attracting foreign direct investment from China,” he suggested. Similarly, joint-secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies Naindra Prasad Upadhyaya argued that besides products exhibiting a positive trend in Nepal’s exports to China, special attention should be given to agriculture and primary products like poultry and meat products that are losing the market in China due to its strict quarantine requirements. “Accreditation and upgrading of the present lab facilities is key to solving the current problem,” he said, suggesting a diversification of the export basket according to China’s market demand. “The trade deficit with China is exacerbated by Nepal’s import of high-value goods and export of low-value goods,” said vice president of Nepal-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry Pancha Ratna Shakya. “Air-connectivity, besides road connectivity, is equally important, especially with regards to exporting high value-added goods to China,” Shakya added. China’s share in Nepal’s international export stood at 1.4 per cent and import stood at 11.7 per cent in fiscal year 2010-11. Between 2003-04 and 2010-11, Nepal’s average annual growth rate of trade deficit stood at 21.9 per cent in global trade compared to a growth of 27.1 per cent with China. nnnn CIAA TELLS GOVT.NOT TO TRANSFER UNSPENT ALLOCATED BUDGETARY ALLOCATIONS Kathmandu, 27 April: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) today [Thursday] directed the government not to transfer amounts from one topic to another in order to spend the budget at the end of the fiscal year, The Himalayan Times reports. Stating that its serious attention had been drawn to complaints regarding misapplication of the budget in this way, the anti-graft constitutional body issued a five-point directive to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Finance, Local Development, Education, and Irrigation ministries, National Planning Commission and the Office of the Auditor General not to transfer amounts from one heading to another to spend the budget. The CIAA directive came in response to complaints registered at the anti-graft body seeking action against misuse of budget. The anti-graft body directed government bodies not to operate any programme at the end of any fiscal if it was not listed in the National Planning Commission’s schedule and the budget. Also, it directed the bodies not to operate any programme without cost estimation and if the tender process is incomplete or framed haphazardly. The anti graft body also told them not to launch long-term projects at the end of the fiscal as it would create long-term financial burden on the state. The CIAA also directed authorities not to divide the amount for various works at the end of the fiscal if it had not been divided earlier. It also directed the bodies not to disburse money to haphazardly framed programmes in the name of people’s participation. The apex court also warned it would take action if the authorities did not comply with the order. nnnn THE MISSING DEBATE Kathmandu, 27 April: In the current debate and negotiations on the constitution, one important issue is conspicuously missing: slapping a term limit on the head of state/government, Ameet Dhakal writes in Republica. "The top leaders haven´t taken up the issue so far; I am not sure if they will," said a leader involved in the negotiations. Though the task force formed at the CA to deliberate on system of governance and prepare recommendations on this talks casually about limiting the term of the president it doesn´t say anything about the prime minister. "We didn´t have a great deal of discussion on that issue," conceded a member of the task force. However, limiting the terms of the head of state/government goes right to the heart of consolidating and institutionalizing democracy. And not to have such a limit is against the spirit of modern democracy. NC lawmaker Radheshyam Adhikari is among several lawmakers in the CA who think that there should be a two-term limit on the head of state/government. There should not only be a two-term limit but we must also make sure that the same person doesn´t return to power after a term gap, as Vladimir Putin recently did in Russia," Adhikari said. Most mature democracies now have a term limit on the elected head of state/government. The practice began with the first US president, George Washington, refusing to contest a third term in 1797. Washington, who had earlier brushed aside suggestions that he should become king and assume the crown after the success of the War of Independence under his leadership, believed profoundly that the American people-not any one individual- should remain supreme, and they should periodically chose a leader to govern them. After the 32nd US president, Franklin D Roosevelt, broke with tradition and got himself elected for four consecutive terms between 1933 and 1945, the US formally passed a law in 1951 barring any president from assuming office for more than two terms. Even in the People´s Republic of China (PRC), where one single party rules, the term limit is strictly followed. The Chinese president and prime minister serve for a maximum of two terms, each lasting five years. The term limit in China has played a great role in minimizing power struggle among China´s ruling elites and is often credited with the institutionalization of stability and meritocracy in Chinese leadership successions. However, in many phony democracies, the lack of any term limit has let leaders remain in the highest public office for decades and many have become authoritarian rulers over time. What the absence of a term limit typically does is, it raises the ambitions of incumbents in the highest public office to remain ruler for many, many years- for a lifetime if possible. To fulfill their ambitions, they begin to amass wealth; create extensive patron-client networks to sustain their grip on power; try to block the rise of alternative leaders; and undermine internal democracy within their own party. Nnnn FOUR TIBETANS HELD FOR FORGING NEPALI CITIZENSHIP; Kathmandu, 27 April: Four people have been arrested for possessing fake citizenship certificates in Pokhara, Manoj Adhikari writes in Republica from Pokhara. Pema Dhandul Gurung, 17, and Lhwamu Chhiring Gurung, 19, who had obtained Nepali citizenship certificates on April 17 by producing fake documents, were arrested the next day while applying for US visas. Police also arrested Thuten Gurung, 69, of Charang VDC-4 in Mustang, and Rinjin Wangdi Gurung, of Lomanthang-3 in Mustang. While Thuten had posed as Pema and Lhwamu´s grandfather, Rinjin had brokered a deal between them. Diki Dolkar Gurung, Yangchen Gurung and Chhiring Yangjom Gurung, who also obtained Nepali citizenships by producing fake documents, are still absconding. Ravi Chandra Jamarkattel, ward committee secretary of Pokhara-5, who recommended for their citizenship, is also out of contact. Pema, Lhwamu, Diki, Yangchen and Chhiring, whose real names and addresses are yet to be ascertained, had obtained Nepali citizenships by claiming to be the wife and children of Wuchung Tempa Gurung -- Thuten´s son. As Wuchung lives in the US, they were also planning to go there by producing fake Nepali citizenships. Police say all the five arrested might be Tibetan refugees seeking to fly to the US. Police also claim that they must have bribed Thuten and Jamarkattel. Surya Prasad Kafle, under secretary at Kaski District Administration Office, had approved three of the five citizenships while the other two were approved by section officer Puspha Raj Paudel. However, police are not investigating Kafle and Paudel´s possible involvement in the forgery. Chet Narayan Bhattarai, chief district officer (CDO) of Kaski, has already revoked all the five citizenships. Nnnn • o TIBETAN FINANCE MINISTER IN-EXILE DENIED NEPAL ENTRY Kathmandu, 27 April:- Nepal on Thursday denied entry to Finance Minister of the India-based Tibetan Government-in-exile, Tshering Dhondup, who landed at the Tribhuvan International Airport from Doha, Qatar, The Kathmandu Post reports. Security officials stopped him at the airport where he was supposed to get immigration clearance. Following this, Dhondup took a flight to New Delhi. The Ministry of Home Affairs has in principle taken a decision to deny entry to 11 Tibetan leaders, including Dhondup, a former immigration department official said. The official added that Dhondup had landed in Kathmandu in the first week of April also and that he had been denied entry back then. Nnnn • o • o FINN EMBASSY CONCRNED OVER BRIBE DEMAND BY MINISTER • Kathmandu, 27 April: The Finnish Embassy in Nepal has expressed serious concern over Minister of State for Information and Communications Surita Kumari Sah's alleged involvement in corrupt practice, demanding Rs 50 million from Ncell, The Kathmandu Post reports, . Finnish Ambassador Asko Luukkainen told the Post that he was disappointed over reports that the state minister has asked for money from Ncell. Ncell's parent company TeliaSonera, is partly owned by Finland. "If this incident is true, it could jeopardize future trade potential between Nepal and Finland," he said. The Finnish government has 11.7 percent stake in TeliaSonera via state fund Solidium. The Swedish government is the largest shareholder of the Stockholm-based telecom company with a holding of 37.3 percent. One of Europe's leading telecom operators, TeliaSonera was established in 2002 through a merger between Sweden's telecommunications company Telia AB and Sonera Corporation of Finland. Minister Sah had allegedly demanded the amount from Ncell, the country's leading GSM mobile operator, in return for permission to import microwave frequency equipment to expand its services. Luukkainen said that the latest episode had discouraged the embassy that has been constantly encouraging Finnish companies to invest in Nepal. "We have been urged many times by the Nepali authorities to ask Finnish companies to invest in Nepal," said Luukkainen. "How can we tell them to do so now?" Finland's assistance to Nepal has increased in different sectors and widened in recent years. Finnish grant assistance to Nepal is worth around Rs 2 billion annually. nnnn