We want to use donor support for self sustaining growth: Dr. Bhattarai

Finance Minister Dr Babu Ram Bhattarai (File photo)

Finance minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai has said that the Maoist led government wants to use donor support for building the process of self sustaining growth in Nepal.

Addressing the donors meet in Kathmandu on Friday, finance minister Bhattarai said the government had already set out policies in the budget and urged the donors to prepare their programmes accordingly.

Stating the government's major concern has been relief and rehabilitation, free education and easy access to health services for poor people, he was of the view that the development process was 'donor driven', and not fruitful for both sides.

He said it was mutual responsibility of both donors and government to make best use of money given to Nepal and stressed on the need of fusion between aid bureaucracy and the country's bureaucracy.

The current change made people politically sovereign, now we want make people sovereign economically, he added.

He further said though Nepal has been receiving foreign assistance since 1950s, it has not been associated high growth rate due to lack of good policies, weak institutional capacity and inactive civil society.

Representatives of different donor agencies participated in the meeting. nepalnews.com kp Nov 14 08