BY NARAYAN PRASAD MISHRA Balen, Botswana, and Nepal
Some countries may be rich and beautiful enough with their natural resources fertile land, dense forest, high mountains, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, oceans, mines, etc., but they may remain undeveloped and backward. The countries and their people may be poor and unfortunate. They may have many difficulties with living and shelter, health and education, food and medicine due to mismanagement, instability, corruption, nepotism, violence, authoritarianism, etc. We often see these problems mostly in African countries. We know Africa contains 54 sovereign countries. Since independence from colonialism, most African countries have experienced a military coup and civil war and are not in good shape due to the problems mentioned above. Cameroon, Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia, The Central African Republic, and The Democratic Republic of Congo are called the ten least peaceful countries in Africa. Not only in Africa, we see that problem in some countries in Latin America, Asia, etc. In Latin America, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador are also considered the countries of disturbance and violence. Though our country Nepal is far better than those countries with strife and disturbance, in some ways, we are also in the same condition. Our country is not poor, but our people are poor and need to go to foreign countries even for ordinary jobs and unskilled labor.
Among all African Countries, Botswana, a country with an area of 581730 square Km and a population of 24 million, is considered the most stable and democratic country in Africa. The country is a republic with the President as the head of state and government. The President is indirectly elected to a 5-year term and limited to 10 years. According to the country's constitution, the cabinet is composed of the President, the Vice President, and no more than six ministers and three assistant ministers who are appointed by the President from the National Assembly and the permanent secretary and deputy permanent secretary to the President and cabinet. It gained independence in 1966. At independence, the country was the poorest in Africa. The economy has flourished since the mid-1960s, with the gross domestic product per capita increased more than a hundredfold. There is no hostility between the blacks and whites, in contrast to neighboring South Africa and other nations in the region. The country is peaceful. It is said that this country is out of corruption, racial strife, poverty, and dictatorship. It is also said that it could happen because of the able leadership and excellent policy of Sir Seretse Khama, the first president and the leader of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP). According to Charles Chen, the historian and Quora writer, "He lived and taught his followers to live like the Botswanas they governed frugally and without excess, and all the ministers drove pickup trucks. There was no mention of tribal or racial allegiances anywhere. All Botswanans were Botswanans. They focused on addressing peoples' needs: clean water, infrastructure, education, and livestock. The BDP rejected any "isms" and approached policy purely from a perspective of benefiting the people. They said, "our first duty will be toward the people of this country rather than to any world political ideologies."
His protege, Masire, also said: "We do not care whether we are called capitalist or socialist... what interests us is to see Botswana developed." What beautiful thoughts are they? It is indeed a truth that we do not need to adopt any "isms" - socialism, communism, capitalism, except to think about the welfare of the people and the country's development. We do not need to hang the pictures of Marx, Mao, Lenin, Stalin, or any other foreign leaders and worship them to work for our country. Everything, including politics, government, policy, and programs, should be for the country and the people, not the other way around. I have been advocating and propagating these things for our country and people for many decades through my writings and speaking. I recently wrote many articles in People's Review concerning that. I read many beautiful articles written by Pushpa Raj Pradhan, the Chief Editor of this paper, in that line for the people and the nation. That is why this idea of Sir Khama appeals to me. I admire Sir Seretse Khama, the first President of Botswana, for his leadership in his country. We recently had our election for local bodies - municipalities and village development committees. Some independent candidates of the above thoughts were elected though not in many places. Among them, the municipalities are Kathmandu, Dharan, Janakpur, Dhanagadhi, Mahotari Bardibas, Jumla Chandanath, Kalikot Khadachakra, etc. Similarly, there are some elected independent candidates in village committees. We know that independent candidates mean the candidates who do not represent any political party and do not belong to any political" isms" It means the candidates whose interest is only the nation and the people, their welfare, and development. That is really a good sign for the country to see the victory of the free-thinking people of the country against the mighty parties rich enough with money, followers, and state power. It is encouraging to see that the number of people is increasing against the parties who think that the nation and the people are for parties, not the parties for the nation and the people.
In this context, the victory of Balen Shah, the independent candidate for the Mayor in the capital Kathmandu is an unforgettable event in the history of multiparty democracy. As I am currently in the USA, not in the country, I missed participating and observing the victory rally, but I saw it on YouTube. Thousands and thousands of people came to the street to celebrate and enjoy it. Most amazing and exciting for me was to see the people who came from other districts to Kathmandu and enjoyed participating in the victory rally with overwhelming joy and happiness. I was so happy to hear some of them who were so true, sincere, honest, and wise in their speaking and comments and seemed entirely devoted to the country and people without any political dogma. They were against the existing political parties and considered them exploiters and cheaters. At the same time, they also wished those leaders would be punished without mercy for their dishonesty and crime. In this context, I heard a man named Kalyan Shrestha, who was at the rally full of enthusiasm. I saw that on YouTube of Harek News TV on May 27, 2022. When the reporter asked him about his coming and what he had to say, he said," I am a farmer from Dolka and came to participate in the rally with joy, forgetting my essential duty to look after my ailing father and the time of planting corn. I think victory in Kathmandu means the victory of the whole country. The people who raised money by extortion (party people) became the leaders (Naike) and exploited the people with the state power in hand. That should end. I got some hope from Balen Shah's victory. That is why I came to participate in the rally. We need good governance rather than other things. I wish the people coming from other districts for official work in the capital would be able to get the work done without much trouble." His presentation was so simple but represented the honest wish of an ordinary person with not much expectation. I admired him silently when I heard him.
I did not know about Balen Shah before he became the candidate for the Mayor of Kathmandu. I did not even know about his rap songs. But I listened to his rap songs recently and found the songs full of admirable thoughts for the development of the country and the welfare of the people. I also studied with great interest his development plans and programs for Kathmandu and what he would do if he became the Mayor. I found that it is also very praiseworthy and not impossible to achieve. But I know most of the ward offices' secretaries and their municipal staff are corrupt and exploiting the people who have to go for their service. I saw, experienced it, and even wrote an article, "The Culture of Corruption in Nepali Society" which was published in People's Review" on 15 and 22 December 2021. That is the center of corruption, just like the Land Office and the Survey Office. Because of that, he will have to face a big challenge to achieve his goal, even in his own office. First, he needs to bring total revolution to eliminate it. Besides, there is an extreme possibility of non-cooperation by the ruling parties, making it difficult for him to succeed. He should be prepared for that with the strength of the people who voted for him. I wish for his success. Besides, I also wish him to be like Sir Siretse Khama and lead the country with the Party for the Nation and the People (PNP). The party is totally different from the existing political parties and political dogmas but with the country's development policy, plans, and programs. I wish him great success.