Comments on New Government’s Policies and Programs

Siddhi B. Ranjitkar

Following the tradition of administration, in the legislature-parliament the so-called ceremonial President has read out the policies and programs of the coalition government of the twenty-two political parties but these policies and programs seem to be of entirely of the one party called Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist and Leninist (CPN-UML), as even the leaders of the main coalition partner Nepali Congress (NC) have complained that the government has left out their main policies and programs, too. However, the President reading out the document has said that the government will give the top priority to the consensus politics. Most of other policies and programs are old but brought forward.

On July 9, 2009, the President has presented the annual policies and programs of the Government of Nepal for the fiscal year 2009 (2066) in the legislature-parliament. The Maoist members of the parliament except for the Deputy Parliamentary Party Leader and Chief Whip have remained absent in the legislature-parliament during the speech of the President. The President has read out the twenty-two-page long document with some difficulties.

The President reading out the annual policies and programs has said that the consensus politics among the political parties is very important to achieve the millennium changes the country has sought for. However, if you read the full text of the policies and programs published in the state-run newspaper ‘Gorkhapatra’ of July 10, 2009, you will hardly find the consensus of the political parties on the policies and programs rather the government has made these policies and programs entirely of the CPN-UML government’s. Surely, we cannot expect the sincerity of the government that has come to power through the backdoor entry.

Then, the document says that the government is committed to the supremacy of constitution, rule of law and good governance. The irony is that the government that has come to power forcing the so-called ceremonial President to override the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007 and order the army chief to stay on in the job has committed to honor the Interim Constitution. Rule of law and good governance are the two things that the Nepalis have no access to, as the leaders of the political parties have been more than dictatorial once they get elected to the position of power no matter how. Good governance has been for the party cadres only, as they have reaped the maximum benefits of the administration of any political party so far has governed Nepal.

End of anarchy, impunity and insecurity is one of the main themes of the policies and programs of the government. Only a few days ago, the NC students and the CPN-UML students have fight for awarding a civil construction job to be done at the Tri-chandra Campus in Kathmandu to the contractor they have favored. The CPN-UML students have charged the NC students of forcing the Campus administration in awarding the job to the contractor they have favored. The NC students in turn charged the CPN-UML students of using the CPN-UML youth force to attack on the NC students with pistols and knives injuring several students. Kidnapping school children for ransoms and killing of innocent children and adults have been the order of day but the government has not been able to do anything to stop such things from happenings again and again. The police have been helpless to do anything because of the political pressure they get from the leaders for saving the criminals from punishment. At the same time, some police have been enjoying the benefits of such anarchy, as they have been sharing in the stolen goods and getting paid for releasing criminals; if you have any doubt about it you may check the assets of the high-ranking police officials to see whether their assets are proportional to their salaries or not.  Is it the end of anarchy, impunity and insecurity?

Shame on the President for reading out the portion of the polices and programs stating the border areas will be protected for strengthening the sovereignty, regional integrity and national unity at the time when Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala has said that India has not encroached the Nepalese territory and Indians have not harassed the Nepalis living in the Nepalese territory in the Nepal-India border areas. However, the parliamentary committee on studying the Indian encroachment on the Nepalese territory and Indian harassment of Nepalis has prepared the report on its findings and submitted it to the parliament and the Prime Minister on July 8 and 9, 2009 respectively stating India has encroached on the Nepalese territory and Indians have harassed Nepalis looting their livestock and sexually abusing the Nepalese women. Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala needs to apologize to the Nepalis for lying to the Nepalis about the Indian encroachment on the Nepalese territory and Indian harassment of Nepalis. The Government of Nepal particularly Prime Minister Madhav Nepal needs to write to the Indian government asking for correcting the statement of Indian Foreign Secretary Shivashanker Menon and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Rakesh Sood on the Indian encroachment on the Nepalese territory and Indian harassment of Nepalis on the Nepal-India border areas. A few weeks ago before returning back to India after completing the two-day visit to Nepal, speaking to the reporters Mr. Menon has said that there has been no problem of border between Nepal and India but the problem of border management only, and no harassment of Nepalis by Indians.

In the policies and programs of the government, the President has said that the government will run the civil administration, the Nepali Army, the Armed Police Force and the Nepal Police following the laws, rules and regulations for freeing them from the political influence. The irony is that the government of the twenty-two political parties, whose leaders under the leadership of the leaders of the CPN-UML have gone to the ceremonial President and requested him to save the job of the army chief, has been for freeing these security institutions from the political influence. They have forced the ceremonial president to save the job of the army chief disregarding the violation of the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007.

It has been clear from the recent events that the CPN-UML and the NC leaders have been for imposing a presidential rule with the support of the Nepali Army. So, these leaders have no fear of the Maoists holding the legislature-parliament hostage rather want them to continue to hold the legislature hostage for finding an excuse to impose a presidential rule. The President is there to dance to the tune of the NC and CPN-UML leaders. Is it the way of freeing the Nepali Army and other security agencies from the political influence?

The NC and CPN-UML leaders have no support of the international community for imposing a presidential rule in Nepal. That is one of the reasons why they have not been able to impose a presidential rule. For example, in May 2009, former American Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Richard Boucher has written a letter to former Nepalese Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala telling him it is better to take the issue of the government’s decision on firing the Chief of Army Staff to the court rather than forcing the President take decision on it violating the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007. However, the NC and CPN-UML leaders have not stopped dreaming of imposing a presidential rule provoking the Maoists for garnering the international support for making their dream come true.

Recently, Chief of Army Staff Rukmangad Katuwal has sent a folder with the recommendation for promoting Major General Toran Bahadur Singh, who has been charged of major human rights violations when he was the chief of the infamous Bhairavanath battalion, to the post of Lieutenant General. In a letter submitted to Prime Minister Madhav Nepal, Nepal Human Rights Commission has expressed serious concern over the government promoting some officials and security personnel to higher positions rather than punishing them for the human rights violations.

In the policy and program document, the government has said that it will adopt a special policy on completing development projects on time with quality work. We have read the news item in the Nepalese media a few days ago that the Finance Ministry of the current government has sent the budget to the Morang District Development Committee only 10 days before the end of the fiscal year 2008 (2065) under the pressure of the cadres of the CPN-UML. Again if you are one of the Kathmanduites you will see currently some contractors have been working on repair and construction of roads in various parts of Kathmandu; they have remained idle during the dry season leaving the potholes on the roads even not filled with gravels making great inconvenience to vehicles particularly two wheelers. We are not far from the end of the fiscal year 2008 (2065) but the contractors have been working even under the monsoon rains to blacktop the roads although experts say that blacktopping roads during the rainy season means wasting money.

The document of policies and programs says that the current coalition government will strengthen and make effective the Commission on Investigation Into Abuse of Authority (CIAA) and other agencies relating to the administration of laws for controlling corruption and irregularities. It has been possible for Madhav Nepal to be Prime Minister only after the President has corrupted the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007. So, can Nepalis anticipate the control of corruption from such a government?

In the policy and program document, it is stated that the current coalition government of twenty-two political parties will set up local governments following the constitutional provisions until the elections for those local agencies are held. We know from the media reports that the NC and the CPN-UML leaders have never cooperated with the previous coalition government on establishing local governments despite one of the leaders of the CPN-UML has headed the Ministry of Local Development. So, the local development projects have remained idle so far. It remains to be seen whether the coalition partners will be sincere in setting up local agencies this time or not.

Concerning the programs, the president has nothing new to present to the Nepalis. The government is putting the same old wine in new Nepal. All the programs the President has read out are nothing unfamiliar to the Nepalis.

One of the old programs, the new coalition government has presented in the legislature-parliament through the President is ‘build your village yourselves’. When the current Prime Minister Madhav Nepal was Deputy Prime Minister of the CPN-UML government in 1994, the then-Deputy Prime Minister Madhav Nepal has personally dug a village road on TV cameras under the program ‘build your village yourselves’ and shown the TV footage on the national TV. Such village roads and other infrastructures created under the program ‘build your village yourselves’ have gone astray and wasted billions of rupees worth of labor and resources, as such infrastructures have never come to use. This government wants to repeat the same mistake.

The government has said that food and other items of the daily use will be made easily available to the people. However, recently, tens of people in the remote areas called Jajarkot and Rukum have died from the common ailment diarrhea due to the lack of basic solutions for saving the patients from dehydration. Minister for Health along with high-ranking civil officers and police have traveled to the areas on a helicopter but patients have continued to die from diarrhea. Shame on such a government that says it will provide the people with the items of the daily use but cannot provide the people with even the basic medicinal solutions for saving the beautiful lives in the remote areas.

In addition, the government has least concern for providing the people living in the food deficit areas with food for survival but continues to say it will make easily available the items of the daily use to the people. The late monsoon has caused a long dry spell in some areas destroying the corn and millet crops in the hill areas. So, the people in such areas have had to go to the forest areas to dig out wild roots for survival.

The government has put forward the programs such as ‘people’s residence’ for the poor, dalits, endangered ethnic groups and marginalized people, and ‘state-benefit ID card’ for the people living under the poverty line. Experts say that such programs have been failure in the past, as the government has not been able to deliver what it has promised to the people. In addition, the government agency has to issue such ID cards indiscriminately under the pressure of the political leaders. Experts believe that the same story will repeat again means the targeted people will not have access to the ‘people’s residences’ but the political party cadres will reside in such residences.

The policy and program document says that the government will introduce the subsidy on the chemical fertilizers. Experts have said that the past experience in providing subsidy on fertilizer has been that the government could not import required quantities of fertilizers and then the only well-off farmers have enjoyed the access to the subsidized fertilizers. The targeted-poor farmers have neither received the subsidized fertilizer nor even the fertilizer at a regular price, as the shortage of fertilizer has hit the poor very hard.

While reading out the policies and programs at the International Convention hall at Baneswor in Kathmandu, the President has said that the government will put a special emphasis on improving the traffic in Kathmandu. Ironically, the police have held even the ambulances and school buses hostage while the President is reading out the policies and programs of the government causing tremendous inconvenience to the commuters and business losses due to the stoppage of traffic in that period. The police have put the traffic on hold since the President has traveled to the International Convention hall for delivering the speech on polices and programs until he has safely traveled back to his residence causing traffic chaos in the area. The President is responsible for the traffic jam and inconvenience caused to the people and the economic loss for the period.

In the policy and program document, the government has said that it will end all sorts of discriminations against women strictly enforcing the laws on the control of rape, domestic violence, and trafficking of women. However, all evils such as rape, domestic violence, and trafficking of women have been daily events but the government neither controls such activities nor enforces the laws on controlling such evils, as some political leaders have involved in such evil activities.

The NC leaders have not been happy with the policies and programs of the coalition government. They have complained that the CPN-UML leaders have put forward the policies and programs unilaterally and have left out the policies and the programs they have suggested to the CPN-UML leaders. So, they have decided to instruct the NC ministers in the coalition government to discuss the issues in the cabinet meeting.

The Maoist leaders have said that polices and programs of the unconstitutional government is not acceptable to them. They have express their unhappiness sending only the two of them: Deputy Parliamentary Party Leader Narayankaji Shrestha and Chief Whip Post Bahadur Bogati to attend the presentation of the policies and programs of the government made by the President at the legislature-parliament on July 9, 2009.

Some leaders of the Madheshi People’s Rights Forum are also not happy with the policies and programs of the government. They have said that these policies and programs are sure to be fruitless and their results will be nothing.

Nepal Workers’ Peasants’ Party (NWPP) Chairperson Narayan Man Bijukchhe has said that polices and programs of the government are made such that their implementation will not be possible and the document will be a scrap of paper.

Chairperson of Federation of Nepal Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Kush Kumar Joshi has said that the inclusion of forming an industrial security force in policies and programs is good; however, the commitment of high-level officials to keep their words is prerequisite for the positive results of such policies and programs.

Chairperson of Nepal Chamber of Commerce Surendra Bir Malakar has said that policies and programs seem to cover all classes of people and regions of the country but everything depends on putting into effect these policies and programs.

The current government has done its duty of presenting the policies and programs to the legislature-parliament that in turn will also pass them paving the way for the Finance Minister to present the Budget for the fiscal year 2009 (2066) to the legislature-parliament. However, the functioning of the government in favor of the people is still in doubt, as the Prime Minister is the leader defeated in two constituencies. So, he may have grudge against the people for not electing him to the parliament, and naturally will be accountable to the people who have made him possible to be the Prime Minister the position he has so desired for. Once he had even went to the palace applying for the position saying he was the best-qualified person for that position.

July 11, 2009.