70 per cent of businessmen in ‘wait and see’ state of ‘wait and see’ manifesto of party to attract private sector
लगानी न्यूज
. Most of the political parties have already made public their manifestos for the election to the House of Representatives scheduled for March 4. In their manifesto, they identified the private sector as the main engine of the economy and claimed that they would undertake policy reforms to boost business confidence.
{{TAG_OPEN_div_66} Tax rates should be fixed to convince investors, the state will remain only a facilitator or regulator, create a fearless environment, encourage domestic production and new entrepreneurs, remove monopolies, remove obstacles by amending laws, and encourage investment to focus on productive sectors rather than trade.
However, the wounds inflicted on the private sector by the attacks on their property and infrastructure during the Jenji agitation of September 23÷24 are still there. Therefore, no matter which party comes to power, the government that will be formed after the upcoming parliamentary elections should do its best to heal the hurt in the minds of the business world.
Confidence in the private sector has reached the lowest point in history. According to a recent study conducted by Clickmandu, 98 percent of investors feel that their morale is weak at some level, while 97 percent of the investors feel that the investment environment is weak. Similarly, 70 percent of the entrepreneurs are in a wait-and-watch situation for additional investment, according to the report.
The study, which was conducted with the aim of measuring the physical and economic damage and the morale of investors and the business environment, has shown that the established and big businessmen of Nepal have suffered a deep psychological and financial injury.TAG_OPEN_div_60 The loss of trust and morale is particularly severe compared to the physical damage.
The contribution of the private sector in the country’s GDP, capital formation, employment generation and government revenue mobilization is remarkable.TAG_OPEN_div_58 However, the report concluded that the two days of activities have caused serious damage to the physical infrastructure, production system and service delivery of the private sector and badly affected the morale of entrepreneurs. Investors participating in the study have raised the issue of direct physical damage worth billions of rupees, disruption in production and sales, disruption of supply chain and loss of jobs of millions of Nepalis as direct results of the Genji rebellion.
Various business establishments in the country have suffered physical and financial damage during the Genji protests, and not only the business activities of many businessmen but also personal homes and vehicles have been attacked.TAG_OPEN_div_56 Analysing the nature of the losses suffered by the businessmen due to the Genji protests, it was found that the impact on morale was greater than the physical damage.
Chandra Prasad Dhakal, president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), who was the chief informant of the report, said, “Vandalism and looting of industries and business establishments established with decades of hard work and investment of billions of rupees not only causes physical damage but also shakes the foundation of confidence of an entrepreneur.”TAG_OPEN_div_54 The biggest pain for any businessman is to live in fear of whether his investment and assets are safe. ’
} According to him, the ‘psychological damage’ that cannot be measured in the score is much greater than the physical damage. According to him, the demoralization of investors and increasing insecurity will prove to be very costly for the long-term development of the country.
Shekhar Golchha, former president of FNJ, said, “We have been receiving reports of financial losses after the protests.TAG_OPEN_div_50 But I feel that the mental damage is more than the financial one. It is intolerable that the class that creates jobs, pays taxes and creates wealth by taking risks is attacked by envy and resentment. ’
Golchha adds that the country cannot be run if the private sector does not take risks and do not do business, “But we are always seen as ‘profiteers’.”TAG_OPEN_div_48 If we don’t take risks, jobs won’t be created, and the government won’t get taxes. Golchha, who claims that profit is not a bad word, says that businessmen earn profit and pay tax in a dignified manner within the ambit of law. “It is a product of illiteracy to attack the entire private sector in one basket by looking at the faults of a few people,” Golchha said.
In the study, 98 percent of the professionals who participated in the study said that their performance had a mild, major, or severe impact on their morale, while only 2 percent of the professionals said that their morale had not changed.TAG_OPEN_div_46 This fact proves that the confidence of the businessmen is very weak. Eight percent of the entrepreneurs said that they are not ready to increase investment or expand their business, while 70 percent of the entrepreneurs are in a wait-and-see situation. However, 21 percent of the entrepreneurs are willing to invest more.
} “The physical or economic damage caused during the Jenji agitation of September 23 and 24, 2002 will recover over time, but the impact on the entrepreneurs is indelible,” the report said. ’
The report shows that the confidence of the private sector is at an all-time low. According to the report, new investment plans have been put on hold and some entrepreneurs have started thinking of ‘capital flight’. The possibility of foreign investment has diminished as the message sent to Nepal that it has become an unsafe destination for investment.
{{TAG_OPEN_div_40} The private sector has suffered a loss of around Rs 34 billion due to vandalism and arson of industries, banks, business establishments and vehicles during the Genji uprising. The indirect economic loss is even worse than the direct physical loss, which is about Rs 81 billion. It is estimated that it will have an impact of about five percent on Nepal’s GDP.
} Entrepreneurs have realized that a wrong narrative has developed in the society to see entrepreneurs as ‘profiteers’ or ‘exploiters’ instead of being called charioteers of economic development for creating jobs and contributing to revenue. According to the report, negative perception towards the private sector is dominant especially due to the failure of media, political parties and education system to develop a culture of respecting entrepreneurship.
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