Almost all broadsheet dailies (both in Nepali and English) published in Kathmandu on Tuesday, April 12, 2016, have given considerable space to the Auditor General’s report for the last fiscal, and how government spending has not been transparent. TeliaSonera’s formal announcement that it has divested NCell to the Malaysian telecoms giant Axiata, and the Speaker’s dissatisfaction over the Constitutional Council’s decision to appoint Sushila Karki as Chief Justice in her absence have also received attention.

Important

Rising arrears point to falling transparency 

Almost all newspapers (Naya Patrika, Karobar, Abhiyan, Nagarik and Republica) have given prominence to the Auditor General’s annual report, which highlights lack of transparency in government spending. Republica in its anchor story (“Opacity, irregularities in public spending continue”) says, “The 53rd report of the OAG unveiled on Monday has pinpointed a number of spendings and other measures by government agencies that are not transparent, including the spending of Rs 25.55 billion in technical assistance, the tax waiver allowed for the import of different goods, and spending on preparations for the 18th SAARC summit as well as on disaster response.

Abhiyan in its three-column lead story says the government’s expenditure amounted to over Rs 30o billion during the last fiscal (2014/15). Naya Patrika in its main story says the unaccounted expenditure is half of the government’s annual budget. Karobar, meanwhile has a list of allegations the Auditor General has levelled against the government.

Row over appointment of Chief Justice

The Constitutional Council recently recommended that Sushila Karki be appointed Nepal’s Chief Justice, but the Speaker of Parliament Onsari Gharti is not pleased with the decision, Annapurna Post reports. In its four-column box-cum-lead story (which has a two-column photo of Gharti sitting on a hospital bed), the report says that although Speaker Gharti  has no qualms about who was appointed to the post, she is not pleased that the appointment was made while she (an ex-officio member of the council) was bed-ridden. “I have no objection to the decision to recommend Sushila Karki, but the way the decision was taken was inhumane and unconstitutional. So I will not accept it,” she is quoted as saying.

NCell takeover is complete

Nagarik, The Himalayan Times and Karobar have reports on TeliaSonera’s announcement on Monday that it has divested NCell to the Malaysian telecom company Axiata. The Himalayan Times has made the report its main story. In its two-column story, it calls the deal “the biggest ever takeover in Nepal’s history. According to the report, the deal, which had landed in controversy after  one school of thought said capital gains tax of 25 per cent should be imposed on it, was wrapped up upon obtaining approval from relevant authorities (Department of Industries Nepal, NTA and its Malaysian counterpart, Malaysian central bank and Axiata’s shareholders).

Ignored

‘Zero progress’ in projects of national pride   

While most papers that have a story on the Auditor General’s report focused on rising arrears, Nagarik has taken the opportunity to talk about progress made in projects of national pride. In its four-column lead story, the paper cites the report to say that almost all projects of national pride have made zero progress since they were announced a few years ago. The report says that the projects were announced without any preparation (not even the DPR was carried out). The report says that the government has in the past decade declared 21 projects, including three hydropower projects, six road construction projects, four irrigation projects and three international airport construction projects. But  progress has been slow in almost all of them.

Forest fires across the country

Rajdhani has a report on forest fires that have affected more than 20 per cent of the forested area of the country. It says that between Sunday and Monday 452 incidents of forest fire were reported in different parts of the country.

Interesting 

600 police personnel to be deployed during Nepal vs Namibia match

Naya Patrika reports that the Home Ministry has decided to deploy more than 600 policemen during the Nepal vs Namibia World Cricket League matches scheduled for Saturday and Monday. The report says that 11 CCTV cameras have been installed at the TU cricket ground, and a six-layer security arrangement has been planned for the event.