A three-day Training/Workshop on public financial management organized for journalists in Lalipur concluded on Tuesday. At the orientation organized by freedom1 Forum, the journalists were given orientation on budget making, implementation, auditing, and accounting in Nepal. Speaking at the concluding day of the orientation, senior economist and chief trainer Keshav Acharya said the journalists could a vital role to ensure people's access to the information on different phases of budget making. The journalists who are in-between the State and general public can help boost the public finance management. But, they too need to have basic concept on the issue, he added. Similarly, Joint Secretaries at the Finance Ministry, Baikunth Aryal and Ram Krishna Pudashaini, said although efforts were made to improve the public financial management, it was yet to achieve the expectation. Joint Secretary at the parliament secretariat, Krishna Hari Khadka urged the journalists to help the secretariat's bid to become a strong organ of the public financial management. Acting Chairman of the freedom1 Forum, Hari Binod Adhikari, said journalists could play an important role to make the governance transparent and accountable. The orientation, he expected, might have catered knowledge on the public financial management. A total of 17 journalists from various media had participated in the training facilitated by Economist Keshav Acharya and thematic experts from different sub sectors of PFM. Former Secretary Shambhu Sharan Kayastha, former Acting Auditor General Mr. Bachchu Ram Dahal, former Comptroller General Bamshidhar Ghimire, former Director General at Inland Revenue Department Narayan Raj Tiwari, and senior journalist Pratik Pradhan had provided their inputs as the thematic experts.
Freedom Forum is a prominent non-governmental organization in Nepal dedicated to institutionalizing democracy, protecting and promoting human rights, press freedom, freedom of expression, right to information, promoting audit accountability, open and accountable budget, public finance reforms, citizen engagement in public finance management and citizen participation in audit. Established in February 2005, the organization emerged in response to the political turmoil following Former King Gyanendra’s coup dated February 1, 2005, which imposed severe restrictions on media and democratic rights. A group of media professionals, legal experts, and academics founded Freedom Forum to safeguard Nepal’s hard-earned democratic freedoms during this repressive period.
