HELLO NEPAL

The Himalayan Times 29 December 2015 Come together It has been high time that the major parties engaged in the serious deliberation to forge consensus on major constitutional issues. Otherwise the country will be in a precarious situation. In the past couple of days, the senior leaders of some parties have traded barbs against each other spoiling attempts at reaching consensus. This is the time to build trust not animosity. We have suffered a lot due to destructive politics. If the parties do not realize the mistakes they have committed time and again their relevance in politics will cease to exist. The general people have now become more socially and politically sensitive than ever. If the 19 party alliances continue thinking of taking to the streets, it could be politically counterproductive as the people have high expectation of getting a new constitution by January 22. The democratic process of deciding the issue through voting cannot be ruled out if ...

The Kathmandu Post 26 th December 2014 JUST DO IT Some leaders from the opposition deserve an applause for their seriousness towards drafting the constitution whose deadline is around the corner (“Not the time for stir, Shrestha tells Dahal” 24 Dec. Page 03). Narayan Kaji Shrestha seems to be working hard to convince UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal not to deviate from constitution drafting process. It is high time senior leaders of all the major parties completed the constitution in time rather than engaging in destructive politics. The country has suffered a lot due to the destructive politics and blame game played among irresponsible political leaders. If they do not realize this on time and act sensibly, they will lose all faith of the people. So the so-called senior leaders must engage in work to seriously complete the new constitution. Otherwise, it might be too late to correct their blunders. So, it is good news that Narayan Kaji has warned Da...

The Kathmandu Post 21 December 2014 UNPRODUCTIVE DELIBERATION The concern expressed by the Members 0f Parliament (MPs) from different political parties in the Constituent Assembly (CA) regarding contentious issues of the constitution seems natural in terms of their party affiliation (“MPS divided over statute procedure” 17 Dec. Page 2). All the major parties in the CA have their own understanding of issues and interpret the key constitutional issues differently. This has complicated the constitution drafting process and will continue to affect it unless and until they will rise above their petty political interests and put their sincere effort to forge consensus. The constitution is the compilation of laws and principles according to which a state is governed and said to be the document of understanding and compromises of different stakeholders. On the one hand, politicians never get tired of talking about consensus on major issues but on the other side but, on...

WASTING TIME It was not surprising to read the news report (“Chances of new statute by Jan 22 slim: Bhattarai” 14 Dec, Page 2) while closely observing the ongoing political activities of the major political parties. Had they been serious, sincere and committed in the first CA, they could have easily drafted the constitution. They completely failed to keep up their promises made to the people. Now this time also, it seems that they will not be able to do so. People are wondering now what they are (major political parties) going to do instead, if they fail to do so. They have already wasted ten months in the name of forging consensus and are still far from doing so. Time has come for them to use their common sense and realize that there is no other alternative to consensus among the stakeholders who had signed comprehensive peace agreement. However, it seems that there has not been any substantial progress made so far on the major issues of constitution: federalism, f...

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The Himalayan Times 12 December 2014 Empowerment It was interesting to read the article “Empowering the other half” penned by Gail Marzeth” (THT, 10 Dec.2014, Page 6). We are talking about socially, culturally and ethnically inclusive society with gender equality in new Nepal. While going through the article, I, for a while, tried to contemplate my 25 years of involvement in the rural development programmes focussing on the empowerment of community specially women folks for the improvement of their living conditions.   I still remember while trying to bring both the men and women into the mainstream of the donor funded programme with the close collaboration of government field based officials. The effort was not successful in terms of generating the feeling of ownership towards the development activities that were designed for them. Appropriate facilitation process with the active role of local facilitators is the crucial management tool to empowe...

The Kathmandu Post 12 December 2014 ACT NOW Time has come for the CIAA to work with an iron fist to control the corruption rampant in the country (“CIAA snubs House panels” 10 Dec. Page 1). Corruption has been institutionalized to such an extent that even the watchdog is finding it difficult to catch big fish. Having said that, it should not get distracted from its job of putting culprits behind bars. The anti-graft body should disregard political interferences and work to win the hearts of the common people who hold high hopes of seeing a strong and impartial CIAA that works effectively to completely curb corruption Still, the CIAA alone cannot do its job well until and unless the political class and the government are equally committed to its cause. The current CIAA chief seems committed to his responsibility. Yet there is more, Lokman Singh and the CIAA team seem still to be sparing cases of large-scale of corruption. I am sure the people want to see the CIAA...

The Himalayan Times 8 th December 2014 For stronger initiatives It was encouraging to go through the news story “Govt to make INGOs more accountable, transparent” (THT, 6 Dec, Page 1). The government’s lack of proper control mechanism is responsible for the mushrooming of I/NGOs that are not accountable to anyone. It should have been done long ago in order to curb the misappropriation of donor funds meant for development projects to improve the living conditions of rural poor. However, it is still not too late to put in place proper monitoring mechanism with the intention of bringing all I/NGOs under the purview of government’s programme and budgeting system. It is high time for the government and I/NGOs worked together for the welfare of rural people who have been deprived to a large extent of their rights to education, food and shelter. For this, the government has to develop policies and programmes under which I/NGO plans and programmes are also reflected. Th...

The days for drafting the new constitution and promulgating it are approaching fast. It does seem that the major political parties will forge consensus over the major issues of the constitution; federalism, forms of governance, electoral and judicial systems in near future. I am nervous and equally worried about the credibility of political parties if they fail to do so. May be the time has come for the people to come out to the streets and put pressure on them. Otherwise, they may start extending the time for drafting a new constitution as they had done during the first CA.

The Kathmandu Post 7 th December 2014 LOSING PATIENCE The people are confused, as the major political pasties are still at odds over contentious issues but have declined to publicly say that the constitution will not be drafted on time (“Oli steps up unity govt talks” 3 Dec. Page 1) . CPN-UML leader KP Oli has started playing another dubious political game luring the Madhes-based parties and UCPN (Maoist) to join the national government at a time when they need to be focused on constitution drafting. Oli’s motives are not clear. There had been talk of unity government after the Constituent Assembly (CA) election was over but it had failed fizzled out. What happens if the political parties fail to write the new constitution within the promised time? Are they going to extend the CA’s term for another year, as they did in the previous CA? Are they trying to hide their political incapability now talking about the formation of a national government? Why don’t bo...

The Himalayan Times 5 December 2014 Come together While closely watching the ongoing political situation in the country, the chances of major political parting coming to consensus on major constitutional issues is next impossible. However, the parties are still saying they would be able to deliver the constitution by January 22, 2015 . What happens if they fail to give the new constitution within the stipulated date? Are they going to revise the deadline for drafting the constitution as they did last time? What I understand is that the parties are not focussing on the constitutional issues; they are more concerned with power sharing in the post-constitution period that could go well for two years at least to come before the general elections are held under the new constitution. Unless the parties keep the national interest at the central stage, they will not be able to draft the constitution. It is high time that the people took to the streets creating pressur...