-Pushpa Raj Pradhan

Chief Editor, The People’s Review weekly, Nepal

The 20 November elections have not been able to bring in change to the political scenario.

As none of the political parties’ was able to bag the necessary majority, again, there will be a hung parliament. Moreover, the previous five-party ruling alliance may continue further.
Again, the very faces practicing kleptocracy are likely to run the government continuing their daylight loot on the government coffer.

Not a surprise, under the present political system and election mechanism, a single party can hardly bag the necessary majority and it seems, always, there will be a hung parliament.
Understandably, a hung parliament is the mother of political instability and the summit of political anomalies.

Again, we have elected new members for the federal parliament and also the members for the seven provincial assemblies. Talking about the provincial assemblies, they were unable to justify their significance except for spending the government treasury unnecessarily in functioning the federal structures in the past five years.

Even If the federal structure is removed, the system can function perfectly by empowering the local bodies.
Moreover, the nation can save a huge amount of unproductive expenditure, which can be used in the infrastructural development of the nation.

The economic health of the nation is not well. The government was compelled to ban imports of some luxury items including vehicles and mobile sets after a decline in the foreign currency reserve.
It has directly affected the revenue collection of the government. Understandably, when the governments formed under the multiparty system discouraged national industries preferred to depend on imports of all kinds of products, the revenue was also based on customs duty on imports.

When the government imposed a ban on some items, it impacted a decline in revenue collection. If the past governments had encouraged local and foreign investors for establishing industries based on substituting imports, such an adverse situation may not have occurred.

When the government suddenly banned imports of luxury vehicles and mobile sets without providing an alternative to the businessmen, the latter group is facing a huge loss in their business.
Along with imposing a ban on such products, the government could have provided a license to those businessmen for establishing vehicle assembling plants as well as mobile assembling plants by giving incentives and other facilities and they could happily divert their investment in these sectors.

If the government ensures the attractive price of domestically produced vegetables and other agricultural products, the farmers would happily work in their farmhouses. Unfortunately, the government is unable to manage fertilizers for them on time. More unfortunate is that the government is unable to stop the open import of agricultural products from the Indian market.
In such a scenario, we cannot think about a healthy economy.

The first and foremost goal of any political system should be making the nation and people prosperous. Is our political system known as “loktantra” aimed at making the nation and people prosperous, this is the time to debate and if we are convinced that these goals cannot be achieved from the present system, the non-functional system should be thrown away without any delay?
At a time when the political parties were busy with the election, Nepal’s foreign partners Norway and UNDP signed a deal with the federal parliament for support worth US dollar five million to help the Federal Parliament for enhancing federalism.

Madhu Raman Acharya, former foreign secretary and former ambassador, questions, “Why should foreign partners engage themselves in Nepal’s parliamentary affairs?
Nepal can handle its parliamentary affairs on its own. The government should reject foreign aid to vital institutions like Parliament, President’s Office and the Prime Minister’s Office!”
Surprisingly, the aid has come without notice of the Foreign Ministry. Understandably, this is the plan for influencing the MPs for federalism, as of late, the Nepali population is seen against federalism.
Nowhere in the world, has a nation become prosperous from foreign aid. Nowhere in the globe, can a political system sustain permanently without a strong domestic economic base.
No doubt, the present “loktantra” imposed by foreign powers is for serving foreign interests – the flourishing of the Christian population and weakening national organs needed for the functioning of a nation.

End text.

# Courtesy: The People’s Review weekly, November 30, 2022: Ed. Upadhyaya.