Good governance for better nation
Most people are alarmed at the way the country is running. This is the third time that 'revolutionary' Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal is heading the government, and though he has made many promises, he has virtually kept none of them.
But while the problems and the infighting among the major parties are already there, what has affected the majority of the people is the rising inflation rate and the dents it is making in their way of life. Most 'middleclass' families may have had to tighten their belts once in a while in the past, but otherwise they were living a comparably comfortable life. People were able to build houses, the first priority of almost all Nepalese, pay their rent, buy enough food, send their children to school, and indulge in whatever they considered a luxury once in a while on special occasions. But things have turned upside down in recent times and while the rich have gotten richer, the poor are getting poorer.
There is absolutely no inkling of any good governance on the cards. Instead, leaders, bureaucrats, security people and other officials are using their power and different regulations to cheat the people.
What the country badly needs right now is good governance, but this they have not felt so far. Good governance must have a trickle-down effect, so it is compulsory that the leaders of different parties at the helm of government be the first ones to show a vision for the development of the nation and also for the safety of its independence and integrity.
The bureaucrats and 'learned' planners have an almost equal role to play. With elected governments coming and going in the past few decades, the only things that have risen are disharmony, corruption and, more importantly, poverty, among others. Many regulations have been changed, roads renamed, and nothing has been kept in the names of the former kings, but even basic facilities that should be provided to the people have not been given. Forget trying to control inflation, things that are taken for granted in other countries have not been provided to the Nepalese. For example, the National Identity Card, driving licenses, passports, and such things. But the government keeps on raising taxes on these very facilities, which should be guaranteed to the citizens of the nation. Instead of only raising taxes on things that the government must have provided at a minimum price, the planners should concentrate on how we can increase our trade with other countries and what the country has to export to keep its trade on a balanced footing and not suffer huge trade deficits. Right now, the nation is in a precarious position not only because of the difficult and constantly fluid political developments but also because the country's economy depends heavily on the remittances sent home by skilled and unskilled Nepali workers in different parts of the world. This is a shame for our leaders and planners, who once used to say they would stop the practice of Nepali people going abroad for work forever. Now these very leaders virtually beg foreign countries to take in more Nepali workers. At the same time, no expenses are spared for the luxuries enjoyed both by the political leaders, specially, if they are in power and also the bureaucrats and other government officials.
From fully furnished houses to expensive and sleek vehicles and an array of private office workers, they have it all. Meanwhile, the majority of people can barely make day-to-day ends meet. Sometimes one wonders whether these people do not have any shame. Don't they see the condition of the nation on the roads or the look of despair on the faces of most people while speeding by in their sleek and expensive SUVs?
Why have so many political changes come to the country? To make only a handful of people rich? However, one has to admit that corruption may be blatant now, it did not come from political changes only. This vice has been gripping the nation since the more strict Panchayat period as well. Many people became not only rich but very, very rich through corruption, and though many such corrupt individuals may have passed away, their families are living a life of luxury through such ill-gotten wealth that has made the country poorer. The sad part is, now that the country has democratically elected political representatives, corruption has increased even more and there are cases to prove it. But as the government mechanism to take action against such financial crimes is also not that effective and the punishments are also light by comparison, more individuals, specially, those in power have been tempted to get-rich-quick. Naturally not only those in power are corrupt, but those who are their 'near and dear' ones also take full advantage of the situation. Again it is the nation and the impoverished people who have to suffer.
Now to come back to where we started, that is to have good governance, we must say we have a good enough written constitution, we have tough regulations, though they have many loopholes through which bureaucrats easily maneuver, we have provinces for decentralization, we have elections and all other 'prerequisites' for having a dynamic democracy. But why isn't the country getting this? It is the lack of vision among leaders and officials, their greed for money and their disdain for the problems of the people. Maybe it will take a long time, more than after even the second generation of leaders come to rule the nation when such a thing will happen, but this is if Nepal first survives as an independent nation.