HELLO NEPAL

The Himalayan Times 27 June 2014 Bad Practices The political parties of Nepal have not so far been able to play productive political roles for the nation and its people other than engaging in factional politics. In virtually all the so called big political parties, there are such bad practices undermining the decisive roles to be played by them in nation-building. It is very unfortunate to see the senior leaders engaging in self-centred and factional politics as reported in “Both Oli, Nepal factions claim majority” (THT, 26 June, Page 5). Albeit they claim such practices are democratic processes within the party to make it more vibrant, it does not sound healthy for various reasons. It can be clearly seen among the UML cadres who are preparing to attend their General Convention (GC) beginning July 3 where Oli and Nepal are seen flexing their muscles to contest for the post of chairman. This has clearly invited factional politics within the party hampering the c

The Himalayan Times 25 June 2014 Meaningless deliberation The debate on forms of governance continues in the Constituent Assembly with the participation of lawmakers representing different political parties “Forms of governance debate continues in CA” (THT, 19 June, Page 5). I still find it difficult to understand why the debate on this issue was necessary when the country was smoothly moving ahead after the restoration of multiparty democracy in 2046/47 Andolan. The same leaders of the major political parties had claimed that the then promulgated constitution was the best among the constitution of other countries. They were the ones to run the country in their own ways. There was nothing wrong with the constitution. They make the mockery of the constitution by not properly abiding by it. As a result, the Maoists insurgency came into existence with a new political agenda taking the opportunity of bad governance of the then political parties. Even if the

The Kathmandu Post 24 June 2014 WHAT FOR? If the political parties of Nepal are to continue practicing self and party-centred politics and undermining the national agenda, it does not make any sense or difference to form an alliance (“Maoist parties closer to working alliance deal” 22 June, Page 1) . So far, most of the political parties are engaged in petty politics rather than working on issues of national interest. It’s very unfortunate that this unproductive practice has prolonged Nepal ’s transition. The major political parties failed to draft a new constitution in the erstwhile Constitutional Assembly (CA) because of these bad political practices. However, it was encouraging to read the news of the Maoists coming together and trying to collectively work towards addressing the national issues. But, it seems a bit unnatural to see these Maoist parties coming together at a time when the second CA is preparing for drafting new constitution within the promised

The Himalayan Times 17 June 2014 Suu Kyi’s word of praise It was encouraging to read the news “ Nepal far ahead in democratic practice: Suu Kyi” (THT, 15 June, Page 1) when the country is still in transition period. However, the country is gradually moving towards stabilization of democratic norms and values in the country through negotiated political approach. According to her, Nepal is ahead than Myanmar in democratic process citing two aspects, first one was the professionalism of the army and the second one was the decision making through negotiated compromise among the political stakeholders. To further prove this second aspect, the major political parties of Nepal have to work hard to draft the new constitution within one year as promised by them during the CA election. Albeit the democratic practice in Nepal is alive and healthy, the sincerity and commitment of the major political parties towards the nation and its people are still lacking. As result,

The Himalayan Times 13 June 2014 Words and action World Day Against Child Labour was also marked in Nepal on June 12 with various programs. According to the news report “Child labour still a real scourge” (THT, 12 June, Page 2), more than a million and a half child labours have been deprived of their basic rights to education, health and above all their childhood. Likewise, around 1.6 million between the ages of 5 and 17 are involved in some kind of child labour. Out of this, 621,000 children are engaged in life threatening work. Child labour is work that deprives the children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity. It is harmful to their physical and mental development. Simply marking Child Labour Day once a year does not make any sense unless the concerned authorities become sensible and act responsibly for the welfare of these children. Strict measures should be taken to completely eliminate the child labour if possible. It is encouraging to kn

The Himalayan Times 10 June 2014 Elusive basic health services Albeit it was not surprising to read the news report “Bajura folks deprived of basic health care” (THT, 5 June, Page 3), it was definitely heart touching one considering the carelessness and irresponsible acts of the state in providing basic health services to its general public in many remote villages of the country. It is really sad to see the people walking two/three days for seeking minor health services in the absence of such services in their respective government owned health service outlets. What a shame they (people) have to still believe in shamans and witch doctors? The regular absence of health workers and lack of medicines in those service outlets have been the major setbacks. In fact, the health delivery system of Nepal is one of the best organizational structures in the SAARC region. The government has the responsibility of supplying medicine in the beginning of each fiscal year as p

The Kathmandu Post 1 June 2014 LACKLUSTRE The government’s performance during the last 100 days has been less than praiseworthy. except for the promulgation of the transitional justice law (“Government’s 100 days fail to cheer watchers” May 31, Page 1). However, this law has also drawn wide criticisms from civil society members, human rights activists and victims of the insurgency. Koirala’s government also received a huge blow from the Supreme Court (SC) when it was directed to abide by the Interim Constitution (IC) while nominating the 26 lawmakers. Koirala’s lobbying to endorse the Judicial Council’s controversial recommendations of Supreme Judges has also been a matter of public’s concern. The government lacks specific plans and programmes. It needs to convince the population that all the promises made during the CA election will be fulfilled. Rai Biren Bangdel Maharjagunj.

The Himalayan Times 3 June 2014 Check misuse of allocations It has been common practice for the political parties in power to transfer the unspent budget from one heading to another for their petty political purposes towards the end of the fiscal year. This practice has been promoting gross misutilization of state coffers and needs to be immediately stopped. Transferring program budgets to non program headings needs prior approval and transparencies. Every year, the Auditor General’s annual report points out the growing amount of misappropriated budget hitting the state coffers hard. None of the past governments had shown any interest to address these serious issues. It is encouraging to see the opposition political parties seriously raising this issue in the ongoing house as reported in “Parliament meet adjourned again till tomorrow” (THT, 2 June, Page 1). The NC led government has been blamed for transferring about Rs. 4 billion of the unspent planned budget to

The Himalayan Times 30 May 2014 Now, some optimism The ascension of Narendra Modi to the highest political helm in India has definitely sparked new hope in the field of development and sustainable peace in Nepal and the SAARC region based on his long and outstanding political background. His tenure and performance as the Chief Minister remained to be extremely successful, extraordinary and exemplary in terms of the all round development of Gujarat State . The political situation of Nepal is still in precarious and passing through a transitional phase. The first Constitutional Assembly failed to accomplish its mandated job of writing the new constitution. Looking at the poor presence of lawmakers in the ongoing CA, it does not seem that they will be able to deliver the new constitution within the promised one year. It seems natural for Prime Minister Shushil Koirala to be optimistic about the new political dimension between Nepal and India in this changed politic