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Kathmandu Thursday January 25, 2001 Magh 12, 2057.
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Monitor properly
The promulgation of an ordinance to establish
an armed police force to contain and control the Maoist insurgency and the ordinance to
amend the local administration act pave the way for the Koirala government to raise the
3-billion rupee paramilitary force. One cannot be certain whether or not the dubious
decision to spend such a huge amount on a virtual gamble has been a wise one. About 1,520
persons have been killed in five years of what the Maoists call "Peoples War"
and the raising of a whole new armed force to combat the Maoist insurgency can only result
in further loss of human life. That much is predictable. What is unpredictable is whether
guns - whether they belong to the government or to the Maoists - can win political and
ideological battles. Talks and negotiations would have been a far better way of dealing
with the situation, and that would have saved the taxpayer money which could have been
re-directed into productive and development areas. Above all they would have saved human
lives which are invaluable assets of the nation. However, the government has been of the
view that only force can get rid of the insurgency. Now, with the promulgation of the two
ordinances, there are several points that the people need to keep abreast of.
A very important thing about the raising of
the new force is the scarcity of resources and how taxpayers’ money will be spent.
The raising of the new force means that the government will be on a spending spree.
Barracks will have to be constructed - renovated if old buildings are used - uniforms will
have to be procured, rations for the men and women in uniform provided for and arms
purchased. It can be safely assumed that the ordinance has no provisions for making any of
these procurements transparent. Even with the best of laws, any provision for transparency
is a bit on the opaque side. And in this instance of a "security law", one can
well imagine how woefully inadequate such provisions are likely to be. We have to be on
guard as corruption has cost this country dear and the common man has become its victim.
For it is the people who ultimately pay for corruption. Since the new armed force will
come at great expense to the people, all concerned agencies including the CIAA must ensure
that there is no hanky panky in any dealings and that all deals relating to the new force
are closely monitored from start to finish. While this may not completely eliminate
corruption, it will certainly bring it down.
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