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