Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Editorial

We of late more so after the tumultuous April change have been listening to some eloquent and at times fiery lectures as regards the future political course of this country. We have also been listening that Nepal will soon attain the heights of some countries in the world which have already made a place in the comity of nations of several fronts including that of the economy.

However, what is surprising is that no one so far has talked of how they have been thinking of the country's economy. The fact is that tall political talks and claims have been dominating the country's economic sphere which is according to some acclaimed senior economists has already touched a new low and the slide is continuing at a fast pace. They also claim that if the economic slide that is already in existence if not controlled on time then Nepal as a nation-state cease to exist economically.

To recall, some senior economists also have alleged that the Nepali media so far has remained shy in highlighting the economic conditions either for lack of knowledge or for that matter ignoring the economic aspects for a variety of political reasons. They presume that Nepali media should have given equal weights to the politics and economics. Without economic development, they argue, no system could prove to be beneficial to the country. It is the economic development which should be accorded top priority than politics. Politics has its own course that it charts for itself as the events unfold. However, to develop a country's economy, efficient and effective policies must be in place that time permitting will guide the economic course of the nation. To accomplish this, the leaders talking only of politics should also begin chatting as regards the measures and guidelines they envision in order to develop the country's sagging economic conditions.

Dr. Hari Bansh Jha very freshly has said that the political brains of the country must begin now on how to bring about a visible change in the economic conditions of the country or else political developments sans economic development will have no impact upon those who fought for the change last April. Not so in the distant past, yet another senior economist, Raghav Dhwaj Pant, too hinted that the Nepali leaders must not provide overdose of politics to the people but do some thing very concrete that enables the down trodden people to live a dignified life that is their due. Tall lectures and claims will do little for those who need a change in the livelihood and have had shed blood for bringing about the said political change in the country.

Question then arises: what is Koirala's path-the way, vision for the economic development of the country? Similarly, the people would love to know as to what the comrade Prachanda-path have for them as regards the would be economy of this country? It would be more than rewarding for the people of this nation if they were told that the future economic course of the country will run like this or that. By and large we have already witnessed the results of a "command economy".

We presume that Koirala's path for the economy would be, as usual, a mixed one. Prachanda-path would in this regard be entirely different than what have others for the people.

Talking and only talking have consumed decades and decades. The country's economy has suffered from such irrelevant talks and bogus and stale lectures. We are no better that what we were beginning 1950s. Others who began thinking on this theme around the same period, have accomplished miracles. Examples galore. Look at what Republic of Korea is today. Nearer home, look what China and India have attained over these periods.

Nepali leaders should feel shame looking at what our immediate neighbors have attained in the not so distant past. Question then once again arises as to what factors pushed the country's economy down the hill? Surely and definitely, either we talked much or lacked proper knowledge in this regard or were subservient to some one's economic interests causing immense damage to our own economy.

Shame on us. Fiery lectures and high flying claims would do little. We need such a band of Nepali leaders who talk less and work more. Let's wait what Prachanda-path has for the Nepali destitutes.