KATHMANDU: Amidst rumors and misinformation about Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), Nepal US Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NUSACCI) and Institute for Strategic and Socio-Economic Research (ISSR) Nepal organized a program to identify the private sector entrepreneurs’ concern regarding MCC Compact.
The participants of the program unanimously agreed to the fact that the compact is in the best interest of Nepal and needs to be ratified at the earliest. They reiterated that the need of infrastructure development in Nepal’s energy sector was undebatable.
Initiating the interaction, Kiran Saakha, the President of NUSACCI, remarked that the transmission line and infrastructure deserve prime attention in Nepal; hence, grants like MCC deserve a good welcome in the country.
He clarified that the objective of the program is to submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba by including the concerns of the private sector entrepreneurs. He urged the participants to speak openly on the issue and offer their feedback.
Saakha shared that the 105 kilometers distance from Narayangadh to Butwal took five hours to travel due to the lack of proper road infrastructure. Had there been better road condition, the distance could be covered in one and half hours.
He added that despite having electricity, the country had to suffer due to lack of proper connectivity; hence, the investment in transmission line was a must at present.
Speaking at the program, Board of Director member of ISSR, and Chairman of Pavilion Media Group Naresh Shrestha pointed out that infrastructure building has been a big problem for Nepal. He remarked that lack of proper attention and proper Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) resulted in a short lifespan of much awaited Melamchi Drinking Water Project.
Shrestha said that though political leaders inaugurated projects sans proper DPR and the projects got included in the budget, implementation part of the projects did not move ahead.
He urged the participants to speak openly on MCC and help private sector entrepreneurs reach at a common stand point on serious issue like MCC. Shrestha pointed out that there have been many projects with similar terms and conditions as that of MCC.
He regretted that the high officials of the government, especially Foreign Secretary and Finance Secretary’s, silence on the issue led to undue backlash of the compact.
Mentioning that Chinese vaccine procurement process might have had worse terms and conditions, Pavilion Media Chair Shrestha opined that the MCC Compact has been drawn to controversy due to its transparent nature.
Similarly, Dinesh Shrestha, Vice President of FNCCI, said that the private sector had lauded the Compact considering its significance to Nepal and had already issued a joint press release together with NUSACCI long before.
He said that the controversy had been raised via misinformation and those involved in misinformation deserve severe action from the state.
“The provisions like parliamentary ratification of the compact were included citing the instability of the government and inconsistency in government policies and programs,” Shrestha said.
Hydro Solutions President Gyanendra Lal Pradhan reminded that most of the infrastructure projects of Nepal had been operated through grants. The donors had been skeptic of the utilization of the fund and had lately stopped grants and focused on the aids.
He lauded MCC Compact and remarked that the compact became subject to media mongering and propaganda due to its crystal clear-transparency.
“Many projects with tougher terms and conditions are in operation,” Pradhan said, adding, “However, they did not get public attention due to lack of transparency. MCC Compact became the victim of over transparency.”
Giving examples of Indonesia and Mongolia, which have applied for the second phase of MCC grant and have also accepted the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Hydro Solutions President said that Nepal should also be open enough to accept such grants that are in the best interest of Nepal.
Likewise, hydropower entrepreneur Subrat Dhital remarked that MCC is the program focused project and has to be lauded for the same.
Kamalesh Kumar Agrawal, the Vice President of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, lauded the Compact as the biggest single bilateral grants focused on infrastructure and extension of transmission line.
“The very objective of the Compact is focused on poverty reduction and economic strengthening the nation,” Agrawal said, “The compact got victimized by political parties’ propaganda mongering.”
NUSACCI General Secretary Birendra Raj Karnikar pointed out that there is a significant gap between what we need and what we have.
“Earlier, we used to receive lots of grant projects, however, the countries are receiving aid from World Bank, Asian Development Banks and many others,” Karnikar said, “In such condition, refuting the mega grant projects would be a foolish thing.”
He also said that development and economic growth is the focus of the private sector; hence, infrastructure focused programs like MCC Compact have to be welcomed.
Another participants of the program, Ganesh Karki, the Vice-President of Independent Power Producers’ Association, Nepal (IPPAN), remarked sarcastically that the grant seemed to be the concern of the Prime Minister.
“Previous Prime Minister had been reiterating on the need to ratify MCC instantly, but, once out from the post he started criticizing; now Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has been talking about it,” he said.
Karki remarked that the country needs many such programs and refuting mega grants in hand would be foolish.
He opined that the project has to be taken ahead with the private sector’s initiation if the government demurred.
Federation of Contractors’ Association of Nepal Vice President Er. Ang Dorje Lama hailed it natural for the donors to put certain terms and conditions in the agreement.
“Every donor puts some terms and conditions in the aids and grants they provide; hence, it is natural for the MCC to set certain conditions,” Lama said, adding, “Even Indian projects have put many conditions like using 51 percent Indian materials in the projects, among others.”
He said that MCC is already half-way ahead, that’s why, there is no turning back from it. “MCC is in the interest of the country, it is not enough, the country needs more such projects,” Lama said ahead, “We have to accept it and think for more such projects.”
Similarly, NUSACCI General Secretary Gandhi Pandit, also a legal expert, remarked that infra-structure especially road and connectivity and hydropower especially transmission line extension has been the prime need of the country.
He dismissed the misinformation circulated about MCC as baseless and said that a closer look at the compact would make everyone find out the truth about the project.
Likewise, NUSACCI Executive Member Kedar Rajbhandari seeks timely completion of the project.
He said that most laudable thing about MCC is the transparency it ensures and an attempt to ward off the political interference.
Rajbhandari pointed out that MCC is likely to substitute US Aid soon, so it should be accepted as a natural grant.
Birendra Raj Karnikar, the General Secretary of NUSACCI, reiterated the need to extend solidarity with the objectives of the MCC Compact Nepal and search for common ground for it.
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