House of Representatives endorses five ordinances

Kathmandu: The House of Representatives’ meeting today has passed five ordinances recently issued by the government.

The ordinances approved include the Ordinance to Amend Some Nepal Acts Related to the Promotion of Good Governance and Public Service Delivery, the Financial Procedures and Fiscal Responsibility First Amendment Ordinance, and the Privatization First Amendment Ordinance.

The House also endorsed the Ordinance Amending Some Nepal Acts Related to Improving the Economic and Business Environment and Promoting Investment, and the Ordinance Amending Some Nepal Acts Related to Cooperatives.

However, the Ordinance to Amend Some Nepal Acts Related to Land was not presented in today’s session.

During the discussion on the ordinances, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel responded to questions, explaining that since the constitution requires ordinances to be passed by the House, it would not be accurate to claim the government had undermined the House by introducing them.

He also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to remove Nepal from the grey list within the specified timeframe and said he would appear in Parliament with a white paper detailing the reasons for the country’s inclusion on that list.

Likewise, Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Prithvi Subba Gurung, addressed the ordinance on good governance, stressing that it is a common issue for all political parties and should be pursued with consensus.

Meanwhile, Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, Balram Adhikari, explained that the ordinance on cooperatives was brought to resolve the issues faced by victims of cooperative mismanagement.

However, opposition lawmakers voiced concerns, arguing that the ordinance could curtail consumer rights and lacked clear provisions for refunding cooperative savers’ money.

The next House of Representatives meeting will be held tomorrow, Thursday at 1:00 PM.