House panel seeks info on trips abroad

KATHMANDU, Dec 15: The parliamentary Committee on Finance and Labor Relations (CFLR) has demanded details of government expenditure for officials making foreign trips in the last two years Nepali fiscal year 2066-2067.



The committee on Monday decided to correspond with the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM), seeking the details. It has sought the names of ministers or officials who visited foreign countries, the names of functions attended by government representatives and the amounts spent during the visits, among other details, over the last two years. [break]



The parliamentary committee took the decision in view of the increasing trend of government officials joining foreign trips in recent days.



"The motive is to find out what we learnt from the foreign visits. What are the impact and achievements for the country," Thakur Prasad Baral, secretary of the committee, told Republica.



The parliamentary body has also asked whether such officials and other representatives submitted any report to the offices concerned after returning home.



OPMCM will also have to provide the latest progress in commitments made by Nepali officials or other representatives at international forums. This is to discourage the making of commitments and failure to implement them in practice.



If the committee is not satisfied with the details furnished, it will take further steps to probe the issue, officials said. The chief secretary will present the details at the committee meeting.



It will also see if any minister, parliamentarian or top official joined a foreign trip on invitations sent to their juniors or attended any irrelevant function. "We may decide to recommend the government formulate terms of reference on foreign trips for government representatives if necessary," Baral said.



Ministers, parliamentarians and government officials are often criticized for making foreign trips to attend irrelevant functions, participating in functions meant for junior officials and taking family members with them.



Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal accompanied by over 60 others has left for Copenhagen to participate in the UN climate change conference while other five ministers and dozens of government representatives have already reached there. Nepali prime ministers visiting foreign countries with jumbo teams has become common practice. Diplomats, bureaucrats and civil society members have often suggested that the government exercise austerity, downsize the teans and avoid trips to irrelevant and insignificant programs.

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