Challenges for the upcoming Maoist-led govt

While some political parties are advocating a prime-ministerial system, the Maoists and the MJF have advocated for the presidential system. The overwhelming support for the Maoist agenda in the CA elections clearly indicates that the people’s choice is for the presidential system. The challenge, however, is how to design an efficient presidential system that will safeguard democracy, people’s rights, and ensure the modernisation of the nation.

BY Dr Durga D. Poudel

With the successful closure of the historic event of the Constituent Assembly’s election, the CPN (Maoist) emerged as the largest political party in the Nepalese political landscape. While the CPN (Maoist) certainly enjoys the people’s verdict, the CA election results clearly endorsed the drastic and radical changes on the political and the socio-economic structures of the nation. This means the upcoming Maoist-led government, which is apparently going to be formed in the near future, faces enormous challenges ahead.

Institutionalisation of republican order is certainly one of the major challenges of the upcoming Maoist-led government. As the first meeting of the CA will implement the republic, the 240-year old monarchical system will cease to exist in any form in the nation. Since the monarchy has ruled the nation for almost 240 years now, a decision like this will certainly be unpleasant for those who are close to the King, and those who still like the monarchical system, or those who have occupied high ranking offices, including in the military.

Similarly, restructuring of the nation is going to be the next challenging. As there are numerous ethnic, linguistic, and cultural groups existing in the nation, finding an agreeable solution encompassing the interest of every major group and geographic region is difficult. Conflicts at the local and the regional levels may arise due to misunderstandings or for other reasons in the process of restructuring. Political leadership will be judged according to how such conflicts are dealt with.

Framing a highly democratic, all-inclusive, and people-oriented constitution for the nation is another challenge. While some political parties are advocating a prime-ministerial system, the Maoists and the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) have advocated for the presidential system. The overwhelming support for the Maoist agenda in the CA elections clearly indicates that the people’s choice is for the presidential system. The challenge, however, is how to design an efficient presidential system that will safeguard democracy, people’s rights, and ensure the modernisation of the nation. Many problems of a nation can be solved by designing an appropriate governmental system. For instance, in Nepal where the elected members of the legislature head the ministry, problems such as corruption, incompetency in management, nepotism, and other malpractices are routine. These problems can be solved by developing a system in which ministers would not have to come from the electoral system. The heads of the ministries, or the departments, can be nominated by the president and approved by the parliament or the house. Such a system will recruit truly capable individuals with excellent management skills and background for leading the ministry or the department. These individuals do not have to worry about accumulating wealth for upcoming elections.

Integration of the PLA and the Nepal Army may invite some controversies and unforeseen challenges. Appropriate adjustment of the rank and file of the newly integrated National Army could be another challenging task. However, since the CPN (Maoist) is going to lead the coalition government and every institution of the nation (including the NA) has to follow democratic principles and norms, PLA integration may not be as tough as many people have envisioned.

Maintaining law and order in the nation will be another challenge for the upcoming Maoist-led government in Nepal. As some armed outfits have boycotted the CA election, and many new outfits may emerge in the processes of political transformation of the nation, the upcoming government must be firm and clear on its role and obligation. To tackle these problems, all the political parties must be united, determined, and prepared. Whether all the political parties will be in agreement on how to deal with these outfits is certainly a matter of concern.

Fulfilling the tall promises on the economic front is another serious challenge that the Maoist-led government will have to face. The sky-rocketing market prices, the negative balance of payment, declining export and foreign reserves, rampant poverty, food deficit, massive unemployment, broken and insufficient critical infrastructure, etc, are some of the major economic problems that the country is currently facing. However, the institutionalisation of the republic, the restructuring of the nation, and the heading of the government by a new political party that had fought a decade-long war against the old establishment, exclusion, corruption, and other social injustices may very well attract funding for infrastructural development and other economic activities from international aid agencies and friendly nations. Private capital investment on infrastructural and industrial development could be enhanced by formulating appropriate policies and programs that build confidence on the part of private investors for their long-term investment.

In a country where over 80% of the population is based on agricultural production and where over 40% of its GDP comes from agriculture, no socio-economic development is possible in a balanced way without developing its agricultural sector. In Nepal, 40% of agricultural lands are owned by 10% of the farmers, and most land holding size is 5 to 7 ropanis in the hills and 10 ropanis in Terai. These land holdings with a fragmentation of 7 to 8 parcels of land per household clearly indicates that the current land ownership situation and farm size is the main bottleneck for any agricultural development programme in the country. These extremely small land holdings and the fragmentation will not be economically profitable for any producer. This situation warrants a very radical land reform and land consolidation program in the nation for economies of scale of agricultural production, which might be one of the major challenges for the Maoist-led government.

As the nation went through a decade-long people’s war and many economic activities were either discontinued or interrupted during this period, people were displaced, families separated, and families were economically as well as emotionally devastated. The Maoist-led government has to come up with a post-war relief package for people. Together with the cost of infrastructural repairs and reconstruction, these relief packages will increase government expenditures. Meeting these expenditures will certainly be a big challenge for the upcoming government.

Another challenge for the Maoist-led government is the administrative reform. Nepalese people have suffered from corrupt and inefficient administration for decades. Any administrative reform that ensures efficient governmental services, corruption control, and checks nepotisms may win the hearts and minds of the people.
Nepal has witnessed a massive out-flow of its youth to foreign jobs, especially to India, the Middle East, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia in recent years. The immediate challenge for the Maoist-led government is to regulate these foreign jobs in such a way that the job-seekers are not betrayed or cheated by the middlemen or their potential employers. Their basic rights such as job safety, medical facilities, living conditions, minimum wages, and other issues that impact their lives while at work in foreign countries must be preserved and protected. Many foreign job seekers have to borrow money at home with very high interest rates to pay for their air fares, middleman fees, visa processing fees, and to meet their expenses while staying in Kathmandu prior to leaving for the foreign country. The Maoist-led government may also have to develop some financing mechanism for the foreign job seekers.

On the international front, the foreign powers will have their microscopic view on the Maoist-lead government in Kathmandu. Conflicting interest of the political parties may translate into misunderstandings among the foreign powers and donor agencies.

People have given their verdict for radical changes through the CA election, and have established the CPN (Maoist) party as the largest political party in the nation. They are certainly hopeful that the upcoming Maoist-led government will be efficient, transparent, democratic, all-inclusive, and successful in bringing drastic changes in the Nepalese society and moving forward in the making of a better and prosperous new Nepal. Whether the upcoming Maoist-led government will meet people’s expectations remains to be seen.

Poudel, a Ph.D., is Professor of Applied Life Sciences at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, USA. He can be contacted at: ddpoudel@louisiana.edu

(Editor’s Note: Nepalis, wherever they live, as well as friends of Nepal around the globe are requested to contribute their views/opinions/recollections etc. on issues concerning present day Nepal to the Guest Column of Nepalnews. Length of the article should not be more than 1,000 words and may be edited for the purpose of clarity and space. Relevant photos as well as photo of the author may also be sent along with the article. Please send your write-ups to editors@mos.com.np)

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