Scenes from Parliament as Prime Minister Balen Presents His Government’s First Budget

May 28, Kathmandu – On Friday, Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle presented the first budget of the National Independent Party-led government during a joint session of the Federal Parliament. Following the political changes after the Gen Z movement, an economist as the finance minister, a single party government with nearly two-thirds majority, and the strong aspirations of the general public for rapid development and prosperity, there were high expectations surrounding this budget. These expectations were apparent within Parliament.

As the new parliamentary building is still under construction, the budget speech was delivered in a multi-purpose hall prepared as an alternative venue. Visitors were all seated in one hall. Representatives from the private sector, leaders from civil society, and stakeholders had gathered at the Parliament to listen to the budget via television broadcast, though former finance ministers did not attend to hear the budget as they had in previous years.

The government proposed a budget of NPR 2.12434 trillion, allocating NPR 1.27058 trillion for recurrent expenditure and NPR 431.10 billion for capital expenditure. Financial management was announced at NPR 422.64 billion. This budget is 25 percent larger than the current revised estimate for the fiscal year. While listening, a private sector representative remarked, “The size is appropriate, but the sources are unclear.” According to Finance Minister Wagle, the government plans to collect NPR 1.405 trillion in revenue and secure NPR 6.174 billion in foreign grants in the upcoming fiscal year. It also targets foreign loans of NPR 247 billion and domestic loans of NPR 410 billion. Based on this, the government is confident of achieving 7 percent economic growth.

Prime Minister Balen (Balendra Shah) arrived at Parliament 14 minutes late, resulting in a delay of the scheduled 4 p.m. budget speech. He listened to the entire budget presentation; however, Hark Sampang, Chairperson of the Labor Culture Party, did not remain for long. Briefly stepping out, Hark posted on Facebook, “The Prime Minister is here. It’s my pressure that holds him accountable. That’s why I came to listen to his budget speech. He listened to the budget but not the Policy and Program.” Contrary to Hark’s assertion, Balen had not missed the Policy and Program speech. On April 11, when President Ramchandra Paudel read the Policy and Program, Balen had left midway and only returned to Parliament 17 days later. The opposition parties pressed him for answers on this matter but received none. Prime Minister Balen was also absent for the discussions and question-answer sessions on the Policy and Program and has not participated in the direct question period with MPs scheduled for the first week of Jestha, as mandated by parliamentary rules. Despite MPs posing questions during sudden, zero, or special sessions, answers were not provided. Hark Sampang has consistently displayed protest placards in recent parliamentary sessions. He left Parliament as soon as Balen arrived on Friday. With Balen’s return after 17 days, Hark stresses that the Prime Minister must now respond to MPs’ questions. Posting on Facebook, Hark said, “Today, the deity of cough was removed from the Parliament. Now I will start to speak.” Both Balen and Hark were elected to the House of Representatives in the February 4, 2023 election. They were independent candidates in the 2022 local elections—Balen was elected Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City and Hark Mayor of Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City. Both left their mayoral posts to join Parliament. As prominent “icon” figures in the new House, their interactions and behind-the-scenes exchanges have become a fascinating aspect of parliamentary proceedings.

In a challenging time, instead of the traditional printed budget booklet, the government made the budget available via QR codes, facilitating easy access for everyone to budget-related information. Previously, former finance ministers would bring the budget to Parliament in briefcases, with the red briefcase becoming a recognized symbol of the budget. Some even kept the budget in briefcases made of cloth. Finance Minister Wagle broke tradition this time, bringing the budget in a Nepali paper file. The Rastriya Swatantra Party (Raswap) has been striving to differentiate itself from traditional parties, and Minister Wagle has also sought to distinguish himself from his predecessors.

After the speech, he did not give any media comments but participated in discussions with top leaders in Parliament, including Prime Minister Balen, Raswap Chairman Ravi Lamichhane, and Raswap spokesperson Manish Jha. When asked offline what the main essence of the budget was, Finance Minister Wagle outlined three points: first, a “Big Bang” stimulus to the economy; second, a “Big Push” for infrastructure; and third, a “Big Hit” for good governance. The minister expressed a desire for social discourse on the budget to center around these three themes. Prime Minister Balen and Raswap Chairman Lamichhane also supported this approach. Later, spokesperson Jha commented to the media, describing the two-thirds majority government’s budget as “faceless, contactless; with digital operations from home, many corruption-related activities can be controlled without in-person meetings.”

Another noteworthy scene that caught citizens’ attention was Prime Minister Balen’s attendance at the Parliament session wearing Goldstar shoes. During the approximately one-and-a-half-hour budget discussion, he occasionally expressed support by tapping the table. After the speech, he greeted nearby MPs with a handshake. Upon leaving Parliament, he also met Raswap MP Vidushi Rana. She shared, “As I was leaving, he came close and said, ‘I am wearing Goldstar shoes.’ Initially, I didn’t realize, but later I found out the Prime Minister was wearing shoes from his own company.” MP Rana, who heads this company, said she was very pleased that the Prime Minister was using a locally made product. The company, with a 55-year history, employs 3,000 people, 70 percent of whom are women. Despite obstacles caused by the armed conflict, blockade, earthquake, and the COVID-19 pandemic affecting exports, the company still exports to India. “Despite such hardships, Nepali products remain competitive. I am happy to see the Prime Minister using them,” she added. MP Rana also reminded the Prime Minister of previously using products from the Domestic Development Corporation (DDC) and praised him as a patriotic person who promotes domestic products. Prime Minister Balen has been wearing trousers produced by garment factories in Biratnagar for some time, which have become popular among youth as “Balen Trousers.” The promotion of Goldstar shoes in Parliament on the day of the budget speech marked the first such occurrence.