Finance Minister Admits Election Focus Delayed Tourism Development

Kathmandu: Finance Minister Rameshwor Khanal has stated that because the government had to focus its entire attention on the elections, it was unable to give adequate attention to the development of tourism and other sectors. 

Speaking at the Nepal Tourism Symposium organized by the Tourism Board and Parisuchak Media in Lalitpur on Friday, he mentioned facing numerous challenges in holding the elections within the stipulated time and admitted that the government faltered in development matters while concentrating fully on the polls. 

However, he emphasized the need to address the policies, programs, and projects of the tourism sector rather than limiting its importance to paper alone.

"Although it was mentioned in the budget that the tourism sector would be given facilities similar to those received by industries, it has not been fulfilled yet. This government faced many challenges from the very beginning. 

Among them, the biggest challenge was the suspicion within the political sphere and among the general public that the election was not possible under any circumstances. Prisoners had escaped from jail. Weapons had been looted. The new generation did not want to see or talk to the leaders of the old regime. 

In such a situation, there was a challenge to clear the doubts about how the government could conduct the election. Therefore, while focusing attention there, it is certainly true that work could not be done on the development of tourism and other sectors as committed in the current fiscal year. But the importance of the tourism sector should not be limited to paper; policies, programs, and projects must be addressed," he said. 

Similarly, he maintained that the responsibility entrusted to the current government included reducing corruption and maintaining good governance, noting that several reform measures have been taken in the meantime.