Arrears Balloon, Accountability Shrinks

Nepal’s unpaid public debts have swollen into a familiar national embarrassment. The latest annual report from the Office of the Auditor General showed that total arrears have reached Rs 755 billion, with another Rs 88.09 billion added in just one fiscal year. The report, submitted to President Ramchandra Paudel, laid bare a system that has wasted public money. Of the newly added arrears, federal offices alone have accounted for Rs 53.49 billion, while provincial offices, local governments and other public bodies make up the rest. Even after recovering Rs 14.63 billion from old dues, the pile has kept mounting. The audit covered Rs 9,484.5 billion worth of accounts across federal, provincial and local institutions. Yet even this scrutiny was incomplete because 179 offices failed to submit accounts, leaving Rs 147.9 billion beyond audit. That should alarm authorities. The report also pointed to a troubling concentration: the Ministry of Finance alone held 70.37 per cent of total arrears, followed by ministries dealing with roads, land management, forests and communications. These ministries are regarded the institutions that shape the nation’s development spending. Arrears in Nepal are symptoms of a deeper governance illness. Every year, ministries spend public funds overlooking rules, delaying documentation, failing to settle advances, or launching projects without proper procurement discipline. The same weaknesses show up in the same agencies because the system rarely punishes anyone. Audit findings are treated like annual rituals and are thought to be unpleasant and are soon forgotten.