Speech
3 April 2009
Launch of Nepal Country Business Plan 2009-12
Speech by DFID Minister Mike Foster Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, DFID, 2 April 2009
Thank
you. Can I start by saying how pleased I am to be back in Kathmandu, and in
particular say a heartfelt thank you to the people of Nepal whose courage,
resourcefulness and passion continue to astound me. You always make me feel very
welcome.
Thank you also to the Minister of Finance for taking the time to be here today, and to the Ambassador, Bella Bird the head of DFID Nepal and all the other Government, private sector bodies and donors who we work with.
Nepal continues to impress me with how much it has achieved, especially since the peace agreement of 2006. It has much to be proud of, not least a home grown peace process and a Constituent Assembly that is more representative of Nepali society than it has ever been - with one third of the delegates either women, Dalits or other groups.
While there is no doubt Nepal has made significant progress, there is still much to do. I am here to reassure the people of Nepal that the UK stands firmly with Nepal as they go through deep change and a period of transition towards an equitable, just and prosperous future.
That is why I am very pleased today to be able to launch the UK’s new three year plan to help build a peaceful, more prosperous and more equitable Nepal. It is a plan that builds on what Nepalis themselves have told to me and my colleagues are their priorities.
Our plan will help secure the success of the peace process, help government deliver law and order and support the Constituent Assembly to represent the people. We will help the government get the conditions right to create more and better jobs, and to deliver development to the people.
Economy and Growth
There are four main components of the plan. Firstly, it is a time of major global economic uncertainty – with food and fuel crises last year, and then an unprecedented global downturn from which none of us are immune, but where the poorest countries are being hit hardest.
Today, the G20 leaders will meet in London to agree a response to help stabilise the world economy and secure recovery and jobs, including action to help the poorest countries.
At a time of diminishing opportunities worldwide, Nepal faces additional challenges to tackle constraints on growth while expanding production. Creating jobs has to be a priority and will go hand in hand with peace building in this fragile context.
Our plan will help address the impact of the global economic downturn on Nepal by helping to increase economic growth and making it easier for businesses to invest, as well creating tens of thousands of new jobs, especially for women.
Our plan will fund innovative training schemes will developing the skills of job seekers, particularly women and help small businesses grow, making them more competitive and creating more jobs.
In Nepalgunj, I met young men and women whose opportunities have been transformed by one such training scheme that gives them qualifications in skilled work like plumbing or telecommunications.
I spoke to one young man who is now earning 200 Rs a day as a qualified plumber – compared to 70 Rs when he was a labourer. He told me that, not only is he able to buy all the food he needs to feed his family, but his horizons and opportunities have multiplied.
Giving people the skills they need to find and keep a decent job will transform the lives of Nepalis and will secure their economy for the future.
We will also set up a think-tank in Nepal to develop ideas to generate inclusive
growth. We will establish a challenge fund to support business innovations in
agriculture and tourism – two of the biggest growth areas in Nepal.
I also travelled to the remote Achham district to see a ground breaking road
building scheme that is quite literally providing a lifeline to rural
communities. The workers and villagers told me how a new road can bring life to
a village. Living at the top of a hill, we had to fly there in a helicopter –
something they haven’t seen in almost a decade – but soon they will have a brand
new road connecting them to the outside world.
Decent infrastructure will help secure the foundations of Nepal’s economy. Road building schemes like this not only provide jobs in the short term and help them sell their produce more cheaply and buy cheaper food and goods. In the long term, it will transform their local economy by opening access to new markets for goods.
Our plan will give more than two million people better access to work and basic services, such as schools and hospitals, by building new roads across the country.
Peace and security
However, law and order must be addressed if business is to flourish. When I spoke to local business leaders in Nepalgunj, they said the major barrier to their success was the lack of basic security. During only a short few months last year, 50 business people were killed across Nepal and $200 million lost to strikes – how can businesses create jobs in this dangerous and unpredictable environment?
I met with the home minister this morning and was made aware of the proposal that the Government is preparing to strengthen the security force. We agreed that as these plans become firmer, we will discuss specific areas of UK support to strengthen public security.
We are also concerned about continuing violence in politics. Political violence
can only take the country backwards, and we urge all parties to move away from
violence and towards dialogue and consensus. Strengthening the independence of
the police and judiciary is absolutely essential to ending the culture of
impunity in Nepal. The police and judiciary in Nepal, as they are in countries
such as the UK, are there to protect the rights and freedoms of all citizens.
At the same time as safeguarding the economy, it is vital the peace agreements
continue to be implanted.
I visited a Cantonment in Kailali district and met members of the PLA who had
been there for over two years. This is too long. Agreement needs to be reached
to move forward on the future of armies. I have said repeatedly during my visit
that this must be Nepal’s solution, but we stand ready to support its
implementation.
In particular, the Government must ensure that minors – so called late recruits – and other disqualified persons are released and supported with reintegration in to society as soon as possible. Action on this would send an important signal to the international community that Nepal is moving ahead on the peace process.
Public services
Decent public services are the cornerstone of public life. That is why we will continue to support health and education programmes, where Nepal is already making important progress, such as halving the deaths of young children over the past decade, cutting deaths of mothers in childbirth by at least a third and getting almost 90% of children enrolled in school.
Our plan includes training for nurses and midwives who will help save over two and a half thousand mother’s lives and ensuring 120,000 children receive life-saving immunisations.
Yesterday, I met some of the women and babies who lives had been saved by the staff at the Nepalgunj Zonal hospital maternal care centre. The dedicated work of the trained birth attendants meant that thousands of lives were being saved every year.
One woman from a remote village told me how the cash grant that DFID provided to her meant that she able to get transported to the hospital when she was in labour. She would not have been able to afford transport without it and she would have had to walk the long distance - seriously endangered her life and the life of her baby. Happily, both are now well.
Hospitals and health posts like this are saving countless lives. We will continue to help the Government to implement the free maternal health care service for expectant mothers introduced in January this year.
Moreover, in education we will help more girls and children from excluded groups get a better education, by building 400 classrooms and provide a quarter of a million text books for school children, widening the horizons of millions across Nepal.
Climate change
Finally we will invest more in helping Nepal understand the impacts of climate
change, and help Nepal adapt to them. This will also involve helping Nepal using
its abundant natural resources better, particularly forestry, and helping Nepal
attract international finance for adapting to climate change.
Conclusion
There can be no doubt that Nepal is going through a deep process of change and
faces many political, economic and social challenges ahead.
I’m impressed with the optimism, dedication and passion of the people I’ve met.
This demonstrates the potential here in Nepal to address challenges and take the
country into a more prosperous phase.
The UK will be there to help. Our country business plan will invest £172m in Nepal - that’s around 2,000 Crore Rupees - over the next three years.
This is a long term commitment, and a measure of our desire to continue to support Nepal at this historic time. I look forward to us working closely with government, and with you Minister, and with all of you here today – politicians like myself, government officials, civil society, private sector and fellow donors. We can only help Nepal achieve peace and development by working together.
Now, I also wanted to say one last thing. This is Bella’s last week, she has very ably headed the DFID Nepal team over the last three years. I wanted to thank her for the great work she has done here. I know from meetings with government ministers and others that you hold her in high regard too. So I hope you can all join me in wishing her well as she returns to London to head up our governance and social development policy group.
