SHAME, SHAME
The Kathmandu Post
1April 2016
SHAME, SHAME
It was encouraging to see PM Oli finally
realising the slow pace of reconstruction work initiated by National
Reconstruction Authority (NRA) and criticising it publicly for its failure to
expedite post-quake reconstruction effectively (“PM censures NRA, and by
extension, own govt” 30 March, Page 1). It has been almost one year since
the devastating earthquake hit Nepal. People are still living in temporary
shelter in the quake-affected areas. Some of them are still complaining that
they have not yet received any relief materials and money from the government. Shame
on the government and its concerned authorities for such gross negligence.
Was it not PM Oli who had handpicked the incumbent
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NRA after months of political bickering
over who should lead the reconstruction body? In fact, the Shushil Koirala led
government had already assigned Govind Pokhrel to work as the CEO who seemed
more qualified and competent to lead the NRA. However, PM Oli’s party started
playing foul political game of not letting the reconstruction act pass through
the parliament for its own political interest which remained to be one of the
major factors in the delay of the reconstruction works and which put the lives
of thousands of quake-affected people at risk. It does not seem that this team
of NRA, which is still struggling to hire more staff, will be able to complete
the reconstruction work before the upcoming monsoon- only a couple of months
away.
Recently, a team of German parliamentarians
had shown their serious concern during their meeting with PM Oli about the slow
pace of the reconstruction work. Many other donor organizations have been
expressing their dissatisfaction over the performance of the government and
its concerned authorities for the reconstruction process. One of the main
coalition partners, the UCPN (Maoist) has recently stated that it may quit
the government if it fails to expedite the reconstruction work and give
immediate relief to the quake victims. If this happens, the reconstruction work
will be further pushed back putting the lives of many innocent people at risk.
Rai Biren Bangdel
Maharajgunj
http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/printedition/news/2016-04-01/voice-of-the-people-20160401085408.html
