KATHMANDU, Feb 8: Shekhar Golchha, president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), has claimed that there is a problem in the economy due to lack of capable leadership to drive the economy.
Speaking at an event organized by the federation in Kathmandu on Tuesday, FNCCI President Golchha said that the economy crashed because the leadership could not predict the danger to the economy in advance.
“The country's economy is driven by the Ministry of Finance. In the bus driven by the Ministry of Finance, the relevant agencies are moving at the speed of that bus," he said. “The Ministry of Finance applied brakes on the speeding bus. There were different types of brakes and all of them stalled. For the first time in Nepal, the engine of the economy broke down.”
The depressed state of the economy will not last long: Golchha
Golchha said that the economy had to face the current situation for making an attempt to move forward faster than the economy's limit during the catastrophic earthquake and COVID-19. He said that the current situation was created because the leadership of the Ministry of Finance and Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), which drives the economy, did not have a vision.
According to Golchha, the limit of the path of the economy is 4.5 percent, but the Ministry of Finance and the NRB have increased the limit to 9 percent. Both the Ministry of Finance and the central bank are responsible for driving the economy.”
He mentioned that bankers are seen as the smartest in the economy. He claimed that the banks did not face any major problem as they managed to jump off the bus before the economy faced the problems.
He also said that the economy was saved from a crash because the Ministry of Finance, which drives the economy and NRB, succeeded in putting the brakes on time.
“A lot of concessions were given during COVID-19. Industrialists cheered about it. We were happy that we would reach our destination soon. It was seen that there were accidents in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan and we started to climb slowly," he said, "When we started to climb, the Ministry of Finance and NRB suddenly applied brakes. The government saved the economy when the brakes were applied, but who will save the industrialists? Now the trade balance and liquidity have come back on track.”
President Golchha said that when the government put a brake on the economy, the arms and legs of industrialists broke down even though the economy was saved. He said that the government needs to apply ointment to the arms and legs of industrialists. He said that the government needs to solve the problems of industrialists and make the economy sustainable.
“Industrialists are in trouble. The economy cannot move forward unless they are protected. It is necessary for the government to keep the economy running," he said.
