Get to the bottom

The manner in which state owned and run Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation (RNAC) has gone about leasing an aircraft from Lauda Air no doubt points to something much more serious than meets the eye. For the first time a state controlled enterprise has openly defied government instructions. Why? It may be pointed out that it was during Girija Prasad Koirala’s first stint as prime minister in the early 1990s that Royal Nepal Airlines was involved in the infamous Dhamija scandal. It had also sold a Boeing 727 aircraft at throw away price only to obtain on lease another similar aircraft at a later date. This time around, despite the fact that parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) had directed RNAC to suspend all process related to the leasing deal, the airline went ahead with it. Even the letter from the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry to RNAC to abide by the PAC directive was ignored. The jet has now arrived at Tribhuvan International Airport. RNAC has now hurriedly scheduled regular flights with the newly leased aircraft. The question that has to be raised is not whether or not RNAC needs the aircraft -- it might -- but whether or not RNAC, a body that continues to be subsidised by the government, can go about defying government directives, that too, by a set of board of directors including the CEO appointed by the government. It is clear that the stakes in the Air deal must be high. Why else would RNAC management, including the present set of directors, defy the government and parliamentary instructions? Such things would obviously not have happened unless the top management of the corporation was certain it would be protected. It is, therefore, not unlikely that the present RNAC management did what it did at the instructions of unseen and, therefore, extra-constitutional forces.

The government will do well to order an impartial inquiry into the whole shady and shoddy affair and, if necessary, get the help of the Austrian government in the matter. The help from a foreign government, which we believe has faith in transparency, will involve financial details regarding the RNAC-Lauda deal. Royal Nepal Airlines has, on the face of it, leased the aircraft at 3350 US dollars per flying hour with a minimum guarantee of 300 hours per months. The actual cost per flying hour could be higher than 4688 US dollars. That is a minimum outflow from Nepal to Lauda Air of 1.4 million dollars. RNAC has to meet the cost of at least five -- if not eight -- sets of cabin and cockpit crew. No wonder there was all round opposition to the deal. The nation’s flag carrier is thus being bled white. This is all the more reason why the hidden hand in the RNAC deal must be exposed. Obviously, monetary gains rather than service to passengers have been the motive and a high level independent probe will easily be able to identify and punish the guilty. If ours is even a tenth of the democracy that we pretend it is, the government must ensure a thorough probe independent and free of any government interference so that it can get to the bottom of the issue.

Recent Nepal-India trade relations : A Nepalese view

By Rajat Sharma

Some writers are of the view that the unlucky hijacking episode has put Nepal in an awkward position. It appears to have provided a substantial subterfuge for India to devise some measures with a view to exercising profound influence on Nepal’s security system. The way the Indian media are portraying Nepal as a safe haven for terrorists, particularly those allegedly sponsored by the ISI of Pakistan, gives one the impression that India is hell bent on utilising the hijacking drama for promoting its security umbrella theory, obviously at the cost of Nepal’s sovereign independence. India and Nepal have, time and again, expressed determination to work closely to fight the scourge of terrorism and also showed their commitment not to allow their territory to be used for activities directed against or prejudicial to security of others.

If there is one single source that has brought India-Nepal relations to an all time low during the decade after the restoration of democracy, it is the prejudiced reportage in Indian satellite television and print media. The public in India is so negatively charged now that the pilgrim traffic at Shivaratri is down, casinos are empty, and this summer’s Indian tourists have dipped to an all time low.

Historically, Nepal and India have enjoyed a warm and cordial relationship. Even economic and cultural relations between the two countries have been inter-linked. There has been considerable buoyancy in Nepal-India trade in recent years. Following liberalization measures undertaken by both countries, attempts are being made by India to liberalize its imports from Nepal.

Misleading reportage: There is an Indian media news report that cheap Chinese goods are exported to India through Nepal. However, Nepal’s imports from China have fallen sharply in recent years. It is not only India, but also the international market, which is affected by Chinese products.

It has been noted in an Indian media "it is not just the Indian Industry that is getting affected by the surge of imports from Nepal. Serious security concerns have also cropped up in view of the involvement of Pakistan’s ISI financing Nepal-based traders, nexus between the underworld and business groups, rampant smuggling and undervaluation of imports."

On the other hand, the Nepalese government feels that import of certain Indian goods through unauthorized channels have been increasing. It has had impact on her economy which is losing heavy revenue in the form of duties. Some of these adversely affect nascent local industries in Nepal. Third country goods are re-exported into India not only from Nepal, but also from other neighbouring countries. In fact, the smuggling or re-export of goods into India is not evident from neighbouring countries.

The smuggling of Japanese, Hong Kong and Taiwan goods from Sri Lanka to India has increased recently with liberalization of import policy in Sri Lanka. This malpractice is going on inspite of thirty miles of sea separating the two countries. But India has neither advised Sri Lanka to change her trade policy to suit India nor has it changed the trade treaty with Sri Lanka. Isn’t it because India is about to exert, if the recent media reports are correct, pressure on Nepal to follow a less liberal import policy. Just to recapitulate, India can point out any one industry, which has been adversely affected by the re-export of third country goods from Nepal to India? Isn’t this "large scale duty free re-exports", in fact, "marginal". Isn’t the noise made about the threatening import industry, and security, disproportional to the size of the traffic, even if it is true? If Nepal-China joint venture in sectors such as textiles and garments on the Indo-Nepal border have been thought by security agencies as serious security hazards, then it is the apprehension of the big brotherly attitude and Nepal cannot ever forget the India factor in each of its independent policy decisions. Is it fair to do this to a sovereign country like Nepal?

It seems that India wants to plug a politically motivated loophole in Indo-Nepal Treaty that has significantly affected India’s so-called security and economic interests. It has also been learnt that India will insist that the term manufacturing be defined to include a 30 percent domestic content in Nepal’s exports to India, which means going back to the Preferential Treatment Treaty of 1978 with India. This will not be a welcome start in the present context of liberalization and globalization.

Smuggling or re-export regime: So long as import regimes and price levels in two countries with common border are different, smuggling or re-export duty free access is inevitable. Authorities can reduce it but never eliminate it. This is the case in countries with common borders all over the world. However, there are ways of overcoming even stringent laws, including the widespread practice of bribing customs officials. Nepalese officials must note that goods can be smuggled from one country to another, only if there is collusion among sellers and buyers of various countries. Is it fair to blame the seller in Nepal without blaming the buyer in India? Secondly, goods can be successfully smuggled only if there is lack of vigilance on the part of Indian customs officers. If the so-called smuggling from Nepal to India is to be checked, then Nepal will have to stop importing goods from third countries including the People’s Republic of China, and ensure that domestic prices of goods in Nepal are the same as those in India. This means that Nepal will be importing only Indian goods and becoming an economic appendage of India. This further means that Nepal cannot follow an independent economic policy best suited to promote her development. The fact that a fraction of the imported goods are smuggled out is hardly justification for charges against a country’s trade policy and subsequent change in bilateral trade ties. What will happen after Nepal’s entry into WTO. This matter should deserve due consideration both from Nepal and India.

Review present treaty: Just to recapitulate, the most significant development in Nepal-India trade relations was the incorporation of new part V in the Treaty of Transit and Trade with Nepal (1991) under the Protocol on the Treaty of Trade, on the basis of Letters of Exchange between HMG/Nepal and the government of India on December 3, 1996. Under this amendment, the government of India has been providing access to the Indian market free of customs duty and quantitative restrictions on all articles manufactured in Nepal, based on the certificate of origin, issued by the agency designated by HMG. A technical committee under the Ministry of Industries, consisting of representatives of the Ministry and the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) approves the eligibility of list of Nepalese industrial products for export to India under the arrangement of certificate of Origin. It is pertinent of note that no quantitative level of minimum raw material/labour content or value addition norm has been prescribed. Further, amendment implies that all manufactured products of Nepal have duty free and unrestricted access to the Indian market, save for a short negative list of articles of three product categories viz Alcoholic liquors, (Nepalese beer exempted), perfumes, cigarettes and tobacco.

In order to give some preferences to Indian exports, the Protocol states that HMG/Nepal has waived additional duty on all Indian exports during the validity of the treaty. Since Nepalese additional duty is generally 20 percent in respect of products subject to 40 percent and above customs duties and 10 percent on products subject to less that 40 percent customs duties, India gets preferential margin to this extent in relation to Nepal’s imports from third countries.

Due to special Trade and Transit Treaty, trade between the two countries has been on the rise. Nepal’s import from India has increased from 27331 million rupees in 1997/1998 to 32430 million rupees, showing an increase of about 19 percent. Nepal’s export to India has increased from 8794 million rupees in 1997/1998 to 13088 million rupees in 1998/1999, showing an increase of 48 percent.

To sum up, there should be a regular exchange of news bulletins or circulars which provide information regarding smuggling activities, if any, and transparency in exports and imports in each country. For instance, publishing the names of offenders, nature of offences committed, and products seized.

Kaun banega corruptpati ?

By Ritesh Shrestha

Folks dashe for home straight from school, college and offices to grab the remote control. Fingers quickly channel-surf and settle down for their favourite programme after browsing through 60 channels in as many seconds. Thanks to cable networks, for airing interesting programmes for people of all walks of life. We know that the original programme - "Who wants to be a millionaire?" after making successful records on foreign lands, has made an equally creditable debut in our neighbouring country. Kaun Banega Crorepati has become so popular in both the Hindu lands that we witness Big B’s trademark phrases - "as lucky as I, confident, tala laga diya jaye?"

This finds me reminiscing about NTV in the 80’s when TV was new, black and white, monotonous and served only a few hours a day. Back then, it held all the novelty that the Internet holds today. The first TV in our neighbourhood came next door and was the original case of neighbour’s envy, owner’s pride. Hark back to those days when gathering all the neighbourhood disciples to make them watch Ramayan (a religious Hindi serial) was a status symbol. Soon, every one paid a huge sum of money to get the magic machine.

In the early years of NTV, entertainment was in the priority list, and yes, it did include the national programme of music and dance which still continue to bore us; so different from the music and prance bursting forth from every second cable channel. So as jazzy channels have taken over our NTV channel which is still as bleak as in the black and white era, I though of boosting NTV standard.

So here I have come with an interesting programme - Kaun Banega Corruptpati. The rules for the game are simple; in fact there are no rules. Out of 20 thousands tickets on sale (the price per ticket being Rs 2000 only); only one lucky person will have a chance to come in face-to-face with top politicians of our country. The contestants will be asked highly intellectual ten questions, all related with different categories of corruption at home and abroad. A correct answer means that the contestant has to explain how he/she will swiftly get involved in scandals without leaving a single trace of his/her corruptive mission. The contestant who will make out all the questions will be crowned as "Corruptpati" who will receive handsome amount of money from the first class corrupted person together with a certificate. "The certificate will prove more valuable than any doctored certificate for any kind of employment, and most importantly, it will provide an easy access into "casino politics", said the Minister for human resource and employment in an interview.

However, my programme has both pros and cons. It will have access and insight into the problem of all corruption controlling agencies/police bureau. And all questions and answers have to be in black and white copy of what’s actually happening in our society. The positive aspect is that Nepalese will boost up their corrupting capability. So what are you waiting for? Tickets are limited.

Get ready for this dramatic programme which will hit your TV screens everyday from the next month.

Is UML’s call for constitutional reforms justified

The Kathmandu Post and Mercantile Communications conducted a survey on the topic: "Is the CPN (UML) justified in seeking constitutional amendments to control corruption, election irregularities, land reform, better representation of ethnic groups, etc?" This survey was done on the Net last week. Of the total, 466 respondents, 64.8 percent (302) percent said "Yes", 31. 8 (148) percent said "No" and 3.4 (16) said "they did not know".

We regret the inconvenience, if any, that may be caused on account of original names being kept back by some respondents.

Yes, our constitution definitely needs some changes. A few changes can make a lot of difference. Even the method of selecting parliamentarians can make a difference. A decade ago, the country accepted a copy of the British constitution and it contains a lot of flaws that could be misinterpreted. The worst was the one when Girija Prasad Koirala was allowed to go into the election while his party had the majority in parliament. The next time the UML tried to do the same. But it could not do so when the Supreme Court rejected the demand for midterm polls. But I do not agree with UML at this particular time. We have other issues more important than the constitution at this time. The constitution needs a lot of literate loyal people to spend a lot of time. First learn some ethics and refine character before talking about constitutional changes.

- Save Nepal

Constitutional amendment is another hoax with which political parties are trying to distract the people to cover up political blunders done during the last ten years. They know there are ample provisions available within the constitution to form different laws. Unfortunately, the people have been unable to experience of the 1990 constitution as these exploiters have made the rules for their interest only. Everybody understands that these leaders and intellectuals have failed to lead the country in poverty alleviation and, on the contrary, politicians have become blood suckers and pawns of the Mafia. Since 1990, none of the parties have tried to form stringent laws under the constitution to control corruption. Everybody would have welcomed it had the Special Police or CIAA been made an autonomous body like CBI of India.

In other countries of SAARC, even ex-PMs can be can implicated, but in our country, only Khardars and Subbas are getting punishment. In no case, should politicians be left scotfree for their wrong doings. There have been lot of corruption scandals during NC, UML, RPP+UML, NC+RPP rules. It is strange to hear police and courts saying there is no law against kidnapping, eveteasing, Indian currency smuggling, border and airport daylight smuggling. What were these lawmakers doing in the parliament all these 10 years with the tax payers’ money - just sleeping or cracking porno-jokes.

- Damachi

In this universe everything is changing. The constitution, thus, cannot be unchangeable or untouchable. In the last decade, the main problem, however, seemed to have been with the practice of the constitution. The constitution is sometimes misinterpreted or misused by political parties for their vested interests. We should remember that, this is not the fault of the constitution. Political parties and legal experts are to be blamed for the downgrading of the constitution. The present constitution had provided a common and open platform for leaders. Unfortunately, they could not use it properly. Making rules is very easy but it is hard to practise. By amending the constitution, are they sure of improving the working style? Unless the political parties improve themselves, changing or amending or making new rules will not help. This will be old wine in a new bottle.

- KP

The constitution can neither be the Veda nor the Bible. The UML is, however, trying to shift mounting public pressure from politicians to the constitution. The other reason could be UML may have nothing to do other than raise the constitutional issue. There might be a few technical errors, but it is too early to amend them. The present need in the country is to clean the soul of power hungry folks who are playing with the constitution like all breeds of Communists, Congress, RPP, etc.

- Surendra Devkota

It is an election gimmick without ethics and morality. UML leaders are eyeing the next elections. The UML has been able to get the highest number of popular votes, even after they broke the party. It has, however, been unable to obtain the electorate votes needed to be in power. This clearly shows that there is something wrong in the selection of electoral areas. That is what they have realised a need to amend the constitution.

- Roshan

Illiterate electorate elect leaders under the illusion of development. However, what leaders do is make a big house in Kathmandu, get imported cars, send kids abroad, and establish themselves. They have literally pushed the country’s development 25 years back. Now, they are seeking constitutional change. The question is not the amendment of the constitution, I believe, but the right to change. It has given us the right of speech, freedom, liberty and the right to practise self-growth and development. What else do we need? All we need is some well-educated leaders who have a good vision for the country and above all, the right sense of morality.

- Jaggu Raj Pandey

The UML is preaching without specifying the need for amendment. If it were the ruling party, it would not have uttered a word. They are leaders without qualification. The amendment that our constitution needs at this juncture is to add a clause that clearly outlines the minimum qualification of an MP to contest in the election - education, age limit, number of children, etc. If there is a limit for a civil servant why not for politicians?

- Raja Ram Sharki

The constitution of any country is a living body that needs to be updated, changed and modified in order to keep it relevant and up-to-date. Let us hope that the changes will focus on making Nepal a more open, accountable and responsible society.

- Sitamani

I have lost faith in Nepali leaders though I love the country and the poor. They have betrayed us. There are Nepalese who cannot afford two square meals a day. Is it because the constitution denied them the food and now, they want to provide them food after changing the constitution? Half of the population die of preventable diseases. Is this too due to the fault of the constitution? Whoever is elected has an imported car and a bungalow in Kathmandu. Who has provided them the money to afford such luxurious things? There are more questions about political leaders than the amendment of the constitution. It is better to raise these questions now, instead of listening to corrupt leaders.

- JFK

Nepal is a nation of many races, languages, and religions. Constitution should acknowledge such diversity by declaring Nepal a secular state to ensure human rights and religious freedom. Constitution is never static it is always dynamic. It should change according to the need of the nation.

- Bal Krishna Sharma