“Crackdown on businesspeople has discouraged private sector”

KATHMANDU: Nepal’s leading private-sector umbrella organisations have said that the government’s crackdown and detention of industrialists and businesspeople have discouraged the private sector.

In a joint statement issued on Friday, the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), and Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) said the private sector had expected the formation of a new government to bring stability and foster an investment-friendly environment. “Instead, they said, the arrest and detention of entrepreneurs had created a sense of discouragement,” they said in the statement.

The joint statement came a day after police took industrialist and FNCCI Chairperson Shekhar Golchha into custody on Thursday.

“The private sector has no disagreement that anyone found guilty should be held accountable,” the statement said. “However, we urge the government to uphold the constitutional right to live with dignity and the principle that no one should be considered guilty until proven so. We also call on all concerned parties to recognize that the country’s prosperity can only be achieved through private sector investment and the entrepreneurial spirit.”

The three business bodies urged the government to adopt a principle of first hearing the accused in cases involving economic offences and detaining them only after any wrongdoing has been established, particularly when arrests are made solely based on reports from regulatory bodies.

They warned that creating an atmosphere in which the private sector, which is responsible for 81% of the economy and 86% of employment, feels threatened could have serious repercussions for the economy, employment, revenue generation, and infrastructure development.

The three organisations further cautioned that such actions affect not just individuals, but also millions of jobs, supply chains, the banking sector, and the broader economic system, potentially pushing the economy into a serious crisis.

FNCCI President Chandra Prasad Dhakal, CNI President Birendra Raj Pandey, and NCC President Kamlesh Kumar Agrawal.