Kathmandu. Minister for Information and Communications, Bikram Timilsina, has said the government would adopt zero tolerance to the corruption and irregularities seen in the telecommunications sector. Minister Timilsina said this while speaking at a meeting of the Education, Health and Information Technology Committee under the House of Representatives on Friday.
Responding to the queries raised by the lawmakers in the meeting, Minister Timilsina said that it was not necessary to say much on the issues related to telecom service providers including Ncell as some issues are sub-judice in the court. He, however, said that the government and the concerned authorities are carrying out serious investigations on the basis of the popular reports. “The government will take action against those where there is corruption and irregularities,” he said.
Minister Timilsina said that more than Rs 16.78 billion in the Rural Telecommunication Fund (RDTF) is currently unused. Recalling the past when people’s money was stalled in various pretexts to spend the people’s money for targeted purposes, he pledged to utilize the fund for the development of rural telecommunications. Minister Timilsina expressed dissatisfaction saying the existing laws and bureaucracy have taught more to stop than to work.
According to him, it is difficult to work due to the legal obligation to disclose in advance which organization to conduct research and what research while trying to allocate budget for research and development (R&D). Minister Timilsina said that preparations are underway to bring OTT as a new technology under the ambit of regulation.
According to him, the purpose of regulation is to manage the industry, not to kill it. Similarly, accepting the fact that the full potential of the 4G service has not been fully utilized in Nepal, he clarified that there is no alternative to going for the trial of 5G as per the global trend.
The government has a plan to modernize the postal service and develop it as an effective courier service. He also said that proposals have been received for the operation of its own satellite and there is a possibility of providing satellite facility from Nepal soon. Minister Timilsina said that the government was working with priority on how to connect the expertise and capital of Nepalis living abroad for the development of Nepal.
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