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VOL. 28, NO. 19, Jan 16, 2009 (Magh 03 2065 B.S.)
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PRIME MINISTER PUSHPA KAMAL DAHAL on Thursday (Jan 15) postponed his Europe visit citing the country's "unsatisfactory" political situation. The prime minister directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the last hour today to postpone his visit. He was scheduled to leave for Norway and Finland on Saturday for a weeklong tour. Stating that the country's present political situation is unsatisfactory, the PM said he's supposed to be at home during such times. PM Dahal said so to a team of journalists who had reached Baluwatar Thursday to submit a memorandum over the recent murder of Janakpur-based journalist Uma Singh. "The country is heading towards a crisis, so it would not be right to go out of the country for a week, hence I have directed to postpone my visit," said the PM. According to the PM's press advisor Om Sharma, issues like differences between the ruling and other parties, energy crisis, peace and security situation, journalist's murder are the PM's top priorities for the time being, so he postponed his Europe visit. Sharma said that the new dates for the visit will be fixed after discussing with the foreign ministries of the concerned countries. It was reported that the PM's visit would focus on energy crisis, water resources, among other bilateral issues.
THE GOVERNMENT HAS FORMED a National Defense Council (NDC) headed by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda.' The NDC will have Defense Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa 'Badal' and Home Minister Bamdev Gautam as ex officio members. Other members include Foreign Minister Upendra Yadav and Peace and Reconstruction Minister Janardan Sharma 'Prabhakar.' The Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) is yet to nominate its member at the NDC. As per the interim constitution of 2007, the PM can nominate three ministers as its member apart from ex officio members. The 1990 Constitution provided membership only to army chief and Defense Minister apart from the PM at the NDC. The interim constitution stipulates that NDC will be responsible for mobilization and operation of the national army. Meanwhile, the army special committee reconstituted under the leadership of PM Dahal will have home minister Gautam, defense minister Thapa, Agriculture Minister JP Gupta, Prof Mohd Habibullah (MJF) and Bhim Rawal (UML) as members. The main opposition Nepali Congress (NC) is yet to send its two members at the committee.
THE CABINET MEETING, THURSDAY (Jan 15), has decided to appoint Deependra Bahadur Chhetri as the governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). Likewise, economist Gunanidhi Sharma has been appointed as the vice chairman of National Planning Commission (NPC). According to government spokesperson and Minister for Information and Communication Krishna Bahadur Mahara the government has also declared slain journalist Uma Singh as a journalist martyr. The cabinet meeting also decided to provide Rs one million as compensation to the family of the slain journalist.
PRIME MINISTER PUSHPA KAMAL DAHAL 'Prachanda' inaugurated the national literacy campaign on Jan 14 amid a function at a community study centre at Manohar Basti in Bhaktapur. PM Prachanda said that the building of a new Nepal had begun with the launch of the campaign that aims to eliminate illiteracy within two years. The campaign, with the slogan 'know letters, get literate', was put as a priority program in the budget speech for the current fiscal year. The campaign was not a program of any particular party and urged all concerned sides to cooperate with the government to make it a success, he added. Education secretary Ram Sworup Sinha said while the timeframe for global target to end illiteracy is 2015, Nepal is aiming to end illiteracy in two years by making 3 million people literate every year.
CAN INFOTECH, THE ANNUAL IT FAIR, kicked off in Kathmandu on Wednesday (Jan 14). Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal inaugurated the six-day event at Bhrikutimandap. More than 115 companies are showcasing various IT related services and products in this 15th edition of CAN Infotech, organizer Computer Association of Nepal (CAN) said. There are altogether 223 stalls along 15 pavilions exhibiting a host of products like laptop computer, LCD monitor, I-pod, pen-drive and woofer, among others. Similarly, renowned international IT brands like Logitech, HP, Toshiba, Lenovo and IMB are also showcasing their wide range of products in CAN Infotech 2009. Apart from several related ministries and agencies, this year's CAN Infotech is also supported by Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) and Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) in addition to an international organization ASOCIO. Addressing the Infotech inaugural function, PM Dahal said the government is committed to exploit Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to expedite economic growth of the country. He added that IT related exhibition like CAN Infotech can go a long way in aligning Nepal with the latest breakthroughs and innovations in the global IT realm. He also remarked that the government is ready to work in partnership with the private sector to develop IT sector as a vital tool for overall development of the nation.
