COVID 19 Budget: Review and Expectations
Khimlal Devkota
Senior Advocate
Start:
Nepal has been infected with the
Novel Corona Virus COVID 19, which has been invading the world. The world has
expended all its energy in developing global standards because of the need to
fight globally. The World Health Organization (WHO) is committed to monitoring
the world and developing appropriate policies to protect people around the
world from the virus. It is time to present the budget in Nepal in this context,
this article is intended to give you a brief overview on how much and what kind
of budget can be spent to fighting against Corona.
Nepali Context:
The strong wave of Corona has badly
invaded Nepal. In a country with a population of 30 million, it is not uncommon
for tens of thousands to be infected and more than 300 to die daily. The pace
of transition cannot be stopped. Its impact has been seen in every house, not
the community. This is the condition of Nepal at this time when the family is
infected at the same time and when all the circumstances are met, everyone has
to win the corona. The total number of infected people is four and a half
million and the number of deaths is reaching five thousand and the number of
infected people is increasing by ten thousand daily. Similarly, two hundred thousand
has been actively infected after being tested in three and half hundred thousand.
During this period, the number of ICUs are just less then sixteen hundred and
ventilators are only four hundred and eighty. Lack of oxygen is another
alarming condition. Even the government hospitals have not been able to save
the patients due to lack of oxygen and have issued notices to arrange for their
own discharge or discharge. There have been reports of rushing to get oxygen.
Only seven percent of the population has received the first dose of the
vaccine. No trace of the second dose. The vaccine has not been able to import
from India due to disagreement in the commission even after amending the law
and paying in advance. On the other hand, the northern neighbor is busy
subsidizing or selling vaccines all over the world. Nepal does not seem to be
its priority. The Nepali government does not seem to want to return to the
north except to return to the south. There is no doubt that the situation in
Nepal is dire due to this fact alone. Everyone is interested in how the budget
should come to face such a dire situation.
Corona Budget:
A comparative study of budgets
over the past three decades shows that there has been an increase in GDP. But debt
has risen alarmingly to nearly 40 percent of the National GDP. With no more
than two percent of GDP being borrowed; the percentage has now tripled to six
percent. The debt burden per capita has reached sixty-five thousand. Even so,
owning one is still beyond the reach of the average person. Experts recommend
an effective review of public spending to strengthen the economy and health
system by establishing a strong health public fund focused on the health sector
to have a budget capable of fighting Corona. In addition, the current budget
will focus on how much and how much can be spent on Corona, how to manage
spending to speed up the fight against Corona by amending existing financial
laws, and on the effective implementation of the allocated budget and the
manpower to fight Corona. It is also suggested to prepare the budget only by
thinking about how to manage the adequate budget for proper security.
In the midst of the Corona
climate of the previous year, China issued a budget order in January 2020 for
the control of the Corona, removing all obstacles to the spending of the Corona
budget. European countries such as France, Germany and Italy have pledged to
fight the disease by issuing various orders to free up the search and
management of budget resources. Indonesia's finance minister has set up a large
relief fund. Developed countries like Japan also set up health insurance funds.
There are examples of France setting up a health insurance fund of more than
two billion euros for masks and corona tests alone. Similarly, Korea, France,
Germany, Japan, USA and other countries met their needs through supplementary
budgets. Extensive cost-cutting plans made public. The budget also includes a
number of measures to ensure that there is no shortage of security guarantees
for the manpower at the forefront of corona control. As a result, countries
with stronger health systems and stronger health systems in the same period did
not face a state of relative fear and terror. What these and similar
experiences have taught is that the economy needs to be dedicated to saving the
lives of the people. The statement that the life of the people is not greater
than the economy cannot be true. World experience has also shown that building
an economy to save the people is the need of the hour.
Expectations for the forthcoming budget:
Based on Corona's first
experience, Nepal is at the crossroads of a tough second budget. Due to
constitutional constraints, it is mandatory for the federal level budget to be
submitted on May 29, the state level on July 15 and the local level budget
within July 29 at their respective levels. However, due to the loss of
confidence in the parliament, the minority government is functioning as a
caretaker government. The budget to be brought by such a government is already
being commented on. However, the state has to bring a budget. In the midst of
this constraint, the budget must address public concerns. What is needed now is
a budget capable of protecting the people from both disease and hunger. Despite
the ban, the infected people are forced to give up their lives due to lack of
oxygen, health workers and medicines in the hospital. Daily life has come to a
standstill due to the ban. It is also important to find ways to save the daily
wage earners from starvation.
30 million population is not an
unmanageable number. For this, extensive testing, extensive vaccinations, and
extensive precautions to prevent the spread of the disease must be the focus of
the forthcoming budget. Due to Corona, the money has been deposited in the bank
account for the employed and salaried people, dignitaries sitting in the
position of profit and those who have food, however unemployed people are empty
hand and mouth. It is a coincidence that even if the salary for not working has
been collected, it is a coincidence for this class. But for the haven’t class,
this period has become another disaster. For those who are not allowed to work,
are not allowed to go out for work and have no other means of subsistence,
there is a fear that they will die of starvation. The announcement of relief
for this class and the implementation of that declaration must be the first
priority. Access to testing, treatment and vaccines is a priority for those
with access to benefits and salaried employees. There is no plan for
vaccination for those who do not have access to anywhere and who are suffering
from double disease and hunger. Such a situation does not mean that the responsibility
towards the people has been fulfilled at all.
Finally:
The state must ensure easy access
to testing and treatment to prevent disease. For this, it is necessary to focus
the budget towards the expansion of treatment services including hospital bed,
oxygen and ventilator. The forthcoming budget needs to provide relief packages
to address the sensitivities of the underprivileged, realizing that the basic
classes are losing their lives due to starvation. Vaccination is the only way
to overcome coronavirus in the long run. For this, the state needs to win the
trust of the general public by ensuring adequate supply of vaccines and a
reliable system of immunization. If there is no state for the people in crisis,
the state will not be able to find the people easily. Stakeholders need to pay
attention to this.
