All-party meeting inconclusive

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, May 18 - On the eve of the Royal Address at the 18th parliamentary session tomorrow, the all party meeting concluded today without agreeing on its main agenda.

The meeting which was called to seek consensus on programmes introduced by NC last year -- Bishweshore with Poor and Women Empowerment and Income Generating Programme -- ended without consensus.

Nepali Congress urged parties to support the programmes today. But CPN-UML rejected the request saying the programmes were there to feed NC workers from the state coffers. "We don’t object to such programmes but state coffer shouldn’t be used to feed party workers," said Ishwor Pokhrel, UML’s Standing Committee Member.

Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) walked out of the meeting. RPP boycotted the meeting after the Home Minister failed to respond to RPP’s complaint about police harassment towards its party workers.

Minister for Information and Communications Jaya Prakash Prasad Gupta, however, said that although the parties could not agree on development programmes, consensus could be reached on reforms in educational sector.

Deputy Prime Minister Ram Chandra Poudel, Home Minister Govind Raj Joshi, Minister Gupta, CPN-UML’s standing committee member KP Sharma Oli, Ishwor Pokhrel, CPN-UML’s central member Subash Nembang, RPP’s Krishna Charan Shrestha, Nepal Sadbhavana Party’s Bhogendra Thakur, National Peoples Front Chitra Bahadur K.C and Navaraj Subedi and United Peoples Front Lila Mani Pokhrel attended the meeting. The meeting will be called again.

NBL’s functioning deeply flawed

By Ameet Dhakal

KATHMANDU, May 18 - An investigation report by international audit firm on the financial position of Nepal Bank Limited (NBL), a semi-government owned bank, says the bank’s lending process, loan files and the loan portfolio itself are deeply flawed and the bank is technically insolvent.

KPMG Barnet, in its final draft report circulated to the concerned authorities for comments says, " By international standards, NBL suffers from serious, critical shortfalls in all key areas; NBL is technically insolvent."

The government had asked the audit firm to investigate on the long-suspected financial mess of the oldest bank some six months ago amid rising concerns among the financial experts and donors on the financial position of the bank.

The preliminary estimates of the report has pinned the net negative worth of the bank at 6-10 billion rupees depending upon probable versus worst case.

Another gray area pointed out by the report is poor collateral coverage of the credits.

In its most optimistic estimations, the report says, " among the relatively good category of 8.5 billion rupees of reviewed credits, only 3.1 billion is covered by collateral and 5.4 billion remains uncovered."

However, out of the reviewed 6.6 billion rupees of bad category of loan, only 1.4 billion is covered by colleteral and 4.9 billion is uncovered.

The report has also raised a serious doubt over the status of credits as reported by the bank management.

"Much of the portfolio is reported as current but this is deceiving as it includes questionable renewals and restructures."

The report says it found 2.4 billion rupees of loan restructured without analyses and at least 750 million rupees of loan always remained as "evergreen."

Moreover, out of total reviewed credit portfolio of 8.3 billion rupees 33 percent, of credit is concentrated among the top five groups.

Out of the top-five, credit related to Golchha group represents 39 percent.

Pointing to the credit-portfolio weakness of the bank, the report says, " NBL’s credit portfolio weakness is rooted in fundamentally unsound banking procedures." It further adds, "Paralyzed Board (bank) unable to take decisive action and clients pressure overrules prudent innovations."

The report labels the post-lending follow ups by the bank as "very poor". For over 40 percent of the reviewed borrowers we saw no evidence of Bank contact for over three months and fewer than 7 percent of reviewed borrowers have submitted recent financial information for analysis. Among those overdue, we found little evidence of legal action taken against defaulted borrowers, says the report.

It also reports an interesting finding: repayment rates among the small creditors, especially in priority sector and social sector is better. The message is intimidating: poor repay the loan while rich default with it.

The report has also suggested various extreme and immediate measures to rescue the bank. It recommendations for the dismissal/replacement of the weak and inefficient bank officials and directors by the more experienced and capable commercial bank professionals.

Directors fool the law

An independent investigation carried out by The Kathmandu Post reveals that the big share holders, who have representation in the bank board of directors, have fooled the law and obtained huge loans from the bank.

Golchha Organization, a renowned business and industrial group, is in the forefront in obtaining such loans. The Organization has the largest share in the bank and has drawn the largest amount of credit. Though it is difficult to exactly estimate Golchha Organization related loans in absence of accurate statistics, a conservative estimate indicates the loan amount to above one billion rupees.

Commercial Bank Act clearly stipulates that the bank board of directors and their immediate relatives cannot draw loan from the bank. Golchha Organization has tactfully fooled this legal provision by abstaining from the board and representing the group by a lawyer. In such case law is not violated technically but the spirit of law is totally dishonored.

Such tendency on the part of board of directors to disregard the law is unfortunately on the rise. Laxmi Bahadur Shrestha, newly appointed board of director has exploited the same legal loophole. Only a month ago, Shrestha obtained a loan of 100 million rupees for National Hydro Power Co. Ltd., a private power developer company where Shrestha’s father Narshing Bahadur Shrestha is a chairman. Again here law is not violated technically as Shrestha is legally separated from his father. But in practice they run the same family business.

Many board of directors including government representatives had earlier opposed the sanction of the loan to National Hydro on the same ground and the proposal was withdrawn. But the same board endorsed the proposal later on, though some board of directors abstained the board meeting.

Buddha Jayanti celebrated

KATHMANDU, May 18 (PR)- The 2544 Buddha Jayanti (birth anniversary of lord Buddha) was celebrated at different places today.

Lai Buddha Club organised a programme to mark Buddha Jayanti here today. The club pointed out that Buddha’s special message of peace had relevance in today’s modern world more than ever. Speaking at the programme, Chairman of RPP Standing Committee, Keshar Jung Rayamajhi called on all nations to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty on Nuclear weapons. "We still haven’t learnt from Hiroshima and Nagasaki and on such a day as this we must emphasise peace throughout humanity." Two colourful processions accompanied by music were brought out in Kirtipur today mark Buddha Jayanti.

The first jatra, was brought out by Jagatpal Mahavihara Development Committee (JMDC), Chilancho started at 1.45 p.m., forty-five minutes behind schedule. JMDC took out the procession for the first time today. The other group, Jagatpal Mahavihara Improvement Committee (JMIC), Chilancho began theirs at 4 p.m. Meanwhile, in Lumbini a great number of visitors turned up at the Mayadevi temple to observe Lumbini Day today. Lumbini Development Trust has started organising Lumbini Day since last year.

The Ambassadors were there to celebrate as the United Nations has agreed to mark Buddha Jayanti as Vesak Day. Twenty eight countries, including Nepal, had proposed for it.

"It is a matter of great pride to us that the Buddha Jayanti has been declared an international festival," Sri Lankan Ambassador Pamela Zedin had said. "May peace from these lighted candles flow to all parts of the world."

Lhakpa conquers Everest

By Binaj Gurubacharya

KATHMANDU, May 18 - A Nepali woman today scaled the world’s highest mountain becoming the only second Sherpa woman to scale the 8,850-meter high Mt. Everest, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation said quoting message from the base camp.

Lhakpa Sherpa, 26, reached the summit with three Sherpa men — Ang Phurba Sherpa, 40, Ang Pasang Sherpa, 32, and Ang Mingma Sherpa, 30, — at 6:30 a.m. local time and spent an hour on the summit.

She is part of a five-member Sherpa women expedition to the mountain, trying to break the stranglehold of male mountaineers on Everest and become the first team of Sherpa women to scale the mountain.

Lhakpa now joins the ranks with Pasang Lhamhu, the first Nepali woman to scale Everest who died on her way down in 1993 from the peak. She had joined a team of male climbers.

There was no immediate news on where other members of the team led by Migma Yangje, a 33-year-old hotel owner, will attempt to scale the mountain.

Although Sherpas have won international fame as Everest guides, most Sherpa women like in most parts of the country have been left to do household chores and attend children.

Sherpa women take up the task of looking after the yak herds taking them to grazing pastures during the warm spring months when their men are employed by western mountaineers.

These five women were bidding to break the tradition and become the first team of Sherpa women to scale the world’s highest peak Mt. Everest to show their men that "they can climb mountain as good as their men or even better".

Though women have been included in the mountaineering expedition their jobs have been limited to cooking, cleaning up and carrying climbing gear to lower camps.

Before leaving for the mountain team members had said that they have had many of their men scale the mountain, tell them heroic and tragic tales but they have always discouraged the women from climbing telling them they were not good enough to face the harsh conditions on the mountain.

The most Sherpa women have been allowed to do was carry supplies and equipment for smaller trekking groups climbing low altitude peaks.

"We are tired of being the shadow of our men ...if they (men) can do it so can we and we are going to prove to them that we are equally good if not better at climbing,’’ team leader Yangje had said before heading for the mountain.

Though Everest has been climbed over 800 times since two men first set foot on it in 1953, every climb comes with its own set of risks. The mountain has been the icy grave for nearly 180 people who have been killed in their bids to step on the highest point on earth.

All five women have never scaled any big mountains but have practiced on smaller trekking peaks that are below 6,000 meters in height.

Antibiotics no longer ultimate remedy

By Surendra Phuyal

DHULIKHEL, Kavre, May 18 - Inappropriate use of antibiotics in both human medicines and animal husbandry has started turning most of Nepal’s urbanites resistant to some antibiotics.

"Ten years ago Ampicillin, or Amoxycillin, was very much an effective drug," said Professor Kumud K Kafle of Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics (APUA-Nepal), "but now, according to data from various hospitals, 80 percent of the patients who take this drug show no reaction. They have been found to have developed resistance to the drug."

The drug now is useful only for some people in the villages who have little or no access to such antibiotics, according to him. He was one of the experts converged at a workshop on national antibiotic policy that got underway at this scenic resort town, 30 km east of Kathmandu, today.

Other antibiotics which have already developed, or are in the process of developing, resistance among the urbanites--who have easy access to healthcare--include, Tobramycin, Gentamycin, Nalidixic Acid and so on, according to a paper presented by APUA-Nepal.

A study conducted by the Alliance shows that "88 percent of encounters from medical out-patient department, and 98 percent of in-patient children of a hospital in Kathmandu received one or more antibiotics...In another hospital, 83 percent of the patients received antibiotics without any microbiological investigation."

This trend makes it clear that inappropriate use, or misuse or abuse of antibiotic drugs is rampant in our cities, said Prof Kafley.

Experts blame lack of awareness about judicious use of antibiotics among medical practitioners, dispensers, farmers, and general public as a prime factor leading to the resistance which, "as a matter of fact, is a global phenomenon," to quote Dr Keith Johnson of United States Pharmacopoeia (USP).

Those who ask for, or sell, only one or two capsules of an antibiotic drug, are not the only ones who develop resistance to the antibiotics. Equally responsible are those who use antibiotics in commercial vegetables, or cereals, and in poultry products, say experts.

"Poultry industry in Nepal is consuming the highest quantity of antibiotics among the livestock sector," said Dr Subh Mahato, Chief Veterinary Officer at Animal Health Division. "Livestock and poultry sector poses the greatest risk to public health for antibiotic residues and to a limited extent antibiotic resistance."

Mahato feels that the government is allowing local feed industries to use various antibiotics as feed additives--which are considered as the easiest and cheapest means to disease prevention and production enhancement--"as an alternative to poor bio-security and hygienic conditions".

Experts say those who regularly consume chicken overdosed with say Tetracyclines might find themselves resistant to Tetracyclines.

According to data made available by him, the feed industries imported 48.2 tonnes of antibiotics--such as Oxytetracycline, Tetracyclines, Chlortetracycline, Doxycycline, Bacitracin and Salinomycin--during the last fiscal year. The local industries manufacture feed premixes with an aim to export these to India, he said.

"A judicious use of antibiotics is unquestionably required in agriculture," he said. "But those who permit the use of antibiotics, and those who use antibiotics in agriculture shall have to make sure that there aren’t any residues left in human food...An intensive monitoring mechanism to check antibiotic residues in food and emergence of antibiotic resistance should be implemented."

Dr Asfaq Sheak, Chief Drug Administrator of Department of Drug Administration (DDA), said that the problem has arisen due to the lack of adequate trained manpower and a national antibiotic policy that could check and regulate Nepal’s antibiotic market.

According to him, hardly 1,400 of the country’s 2,000 doctors are practising medicine in day-to-day life, diagnosing and prescribing drugs. And only around 8,500 of the 15,000 dispensers trained by DDA are selling drugs.

"Both of these need to be trained according to our National Antibiotic Policy," he said, referring to the Policy’s draft which is being discussed at the three-day meeting here. "And other measures too will have to be taken." Minister of Health is due to formally open the workshop Friday.

According to Dr Sheak, doctors in Kathmandu currently prescribe a composition of Amoxycillin and Clauvanic Acid to those pneumonia patients who are already resistant to only Amoxycillin. "If they once again develop resistance to this composition then there’s no alternative left," he said. "Scientists haven’t yet discovered one."

Rights activists flay mobilisation of children in action

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, May 18 - Government representatives and child rights organizations from 20 countries today asked government and armed groups to stop recruiting and involving children under 18 in armed conflicts.

"We are urging governments and armed groups to immediately stop use of children under 18 in armed conflicts," said Jo Becker, steering committee chairman of the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers that organized the four-day Asia-Pacific meet on child soldiers here in Kathmandu.

The group said that there are more than 300,000 children in over 30 countries around the world who are actively participating in armed conflicts and little has been done about it. During the Asia-Pacific Conference on the Use of Child Soldier, participants asked the nations to reduce the availability of arms and to use sanctions if necessary against the country that manufacture arms and make it available to children.

"Our call should effect tens of thousands of children being used as soldiers in the region. We will call for concrete steps of action in the region," Becker said. "This was the first opportunity we had to discuss in depth the issue in this region."

The Katmandu declaration asked the nations in the region and around the world to prevent entry of children in conflict situation, protect the children who are caught in armed conflicts and reintegrate children who have been demobilized to join the civil society. The use of children in armed conflicts is particularly widespread in Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Afghanistan, said a survey by the organizers. The two-year-old Asia-Pacific Conference has been campaigning that no child under the age of 18 be recruited into the armed forced or participate in an armed conflict.

A report released by the group said that Asia ranks close behind Africa in the use of child soldiers by government forces and rebel groups alike. Modern lightweight weapons enable children as young as 10 to be efficient killers in combat.

They can carry bombs and infiltrate enemy lines. They can undertake high risk jobs like de-mining, the report said.

In Afghanistan and Pakistan, students are recruited from religious schools and trained to fight a "holy war" in Kashmir. In India, armed militias also are reported to recruit children to fight in Kashmir, among secessionists in the northeast, and by Maoist rebels in south-central India, it said.

Myanmar has one of the highest numbers of child soldiers in the world, both within governmental armed forces and non-governmental armed groups.

Coke, Pepsi ad war creates a storm

By Madhu Nainan

BOMBAY, May 18 (AFP) - A Pepsi-Cola television commercial parodying Indian latest film hearthrob Hrithik Roshan, who endorses rival Coca-Cola, has created a national storm, with fans of the young star Thursday venting their anger in letters to newspapers.

The one-minute-long Pepsi commercial revolves around romance and shows established film star Shah Rukh Khan beating a Roshan-lookalike to win the attentions of a beautiful young woman.

The muscular Roshan — arguably the most popular stars of Indian teenagers — endorses Coca-Cola. His debut film "Kaho Na Pyar Hai" (Tell Me You Love Me) is an unprecendented hit and has catapulted him to dizzying national fame. Roshan has been described in the media as a "phenomenon", and a leading magazine, which ran a cover story on him, said that all women — from children to the aged were drooling over the 21-year-old actor.

In the Pepsi advertisement, Shah Rukh Khan plays spin-the-bottle with a stunning model. The bottle points to Roshan’s lookalike, who is shown flexing muscles and reveals braces when he smiles.

The girl kisses Khan instead.

Rakesh Roshan, however, said he did not plan to sue Pepsi.

"You see, they have not named him and I do not want to get into a legal battle," he said. The elder Roshan, who is now a successful film producer and director, said Pepsi had made the offending advertisement "out of sheer spite."

"They had approached my son to do a commercial film for them. He turned them down and opted for Coke. They retaliated by doing this kind of an advertisement," he said.

Rakesh Roshan said the Pepsi advertisement was "trying to damage" his son’s image.

"Lots of people have told me they are with me on this issue. The advertisement shows Pepsi’s attitude and capability and how dirty they can get. It is not very imaginative to promote your product by pulling down another individual’s image," he said.

Rakesh Roshan said his son was "unaffected" by the advertisement. "He told me: ‘Let them (Pepsi) do what they want. They cannot dent my popularity and fan following.’ He is not in the least bit upset." Prahlad Kakkar, the director of the controversial advertisement, said Rakesh Roshan was "overreacting". "They (Coke) want to create a controversy. I think the advertisement is very good and it will complete its full one-year term. Rakesh is overreacting and unnecessarily making a noise," he said. Coca-Cola officials in India declined comment.

Tarun Khanna, the Hrithik Roshan-lookalike in the commercial, is non-plussed by the controversy. "No one ever told me that I look like Hrithik Roshan ... It is probably a sheer coincidence that I look like him. My brief (in the commercial) was to look like a macho hanger-on type who thinks no end of himself and thinks every girl will fall for him. I think this kind of reaction is totally silly."

Hrithik Roshan topped the popularity charts with his debut film directed by his father. The film is 19 weeks old and is still running to packed cinema houses. It is set to become one of the biggest hits of Indian cinema.

Movie stars rival only cricketers in the celebrity stakes in India, which annually produces some 900 films — the world’s largest number. Some 20 million Indians watch movies daily in 13,000 cinemas across the country.

Pepsi and Coke have been fighting it out the past several years for control of the Indian aerated drinks market, which is estimated to have an annual turnover of more than 40 billion rupees (919 million dollars).

NC campaign  against groupism

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, May 18 - The first phase of the Nepali Congress led "anti-groupism" campaign concluded here today.

The campaign is being led by its leader Shailaja Acharya.

The march today was the part of "Haamro Sankalpa, Haamro Drishtikon" and kicked-off from Sundarijal Prison where NC’s leader B P Koirala was imprisoned for a long.

It ended at the NC party office in Teku after Acharya handed over a list of signatures to party president and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala.

Accepting the signatures, Koirala said that he would take strong decisions since the country is in serious state. Koirala said although the Popular Peoples Movement was waged on the basis of unity, parties like CPN-UML and RPP have forgotten the people and the country.

Addressing the concluding ceremony Acharya said they were compelled to wage the campaign to save the party and the country since the country was about to face serious crisis.

ANWA 3-day meet on

By a Post Reporter

LALITPUR, May 18 - Vidya Bhandari, Chairperson of All Nepal Womens Association (ANWA), the sister organisation of CPN-UML, today asked party members to get over the mentality of considering men as super beings.

"Even women leaders also consider that unless there is a man with beard and daura suruwal on dias the programme will not be a success," said Bhandari while inaugurating the four-day 3rd National Council meeting and training programme of ANWA here today.

"I protest such thinking. Such wrong perceptions should be protested strongly," she said. Bhandari said the training programme was organised to inform women about gender equality, globalisation, law and other issues.

Stating that women cannot achieve their rights unless they fight against the male chauvinism, she said that though CPN-UML was progressive compared to other parties it still suffers from the same psyche when it concerns women.

The programme venue was decorated with banners that read: "The hand that can rock the cradle can rock the world", "You creator woman don’t become a slave", women are not subjects of pity but the source of power.

Bhandari said the association is pushing forward the campaign for gender equality.