Police in Kathmandu fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters expressing opposition to a US-funded infrastructure program that was presented in parliament for ratification on Sunday, witnesses and officials in Nepal’s capital said.
Some protesters were reportedly injured in the clashes.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a US government aid agency, agreed in 2017 to provide US$500 million in grants to fund a 300km electricity transmission line and a road improvement project in Nepal.
Photo: AP
Government officials said that the grant does not need to be repaid and has no conditions attached, but opponents said that the agreement would undermine Nepal’s laws and sovereignty as lawmakers would have insufficient oversight of the board directing the infrastructure project.
Despite loud protests, Nepalese Minister for Communication and Information Technology Gyanendra Bahadur Karki put forward the agreement in parliament.
He said that the projects would benefit 24 million of Nepal’s 30 million population.
“The grant will be an important tool for the socioeconomic development of the country,” Karki said in parliament.
Major political parties, including members of the ruling coalition, are split over whether to accept or reject the US grant.
The US embassy in Nepal described the MCC grant as “a gift from the American people and a partnership between our nations that will bring jobs and infrastructure to Nepal and improve the lives of Nepalis.”
“This project was requested by the Nepali government and the Nepali people, and designed to transparently reduce poverty and grow the economy of Nepal,” the embassy said in a statement on Saturday.
“Whether Nepali leaders ratify MCC is a decision for Nepal to make, as a sovereign democratic nation, and Nepal’s decision alone,” it added.
Nepal relies heavily on foreign aid, and donors coordinate development aid policy through the Nepal Development Forum, whose members include donor countries and international financial organizations.
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