Unaccounted loans

Successive governments have drawn loans for the development of this country and these now total approximately 194.27 billion rupees. There is nothing terribly amiss about this on the face of it. But now that someone has put a figure on it, the questions that need to be asked are: how carefully have we utilized such a huge volume of credit, and has spending so much brought commensurate levels of socio-economic change and improvement in the lives of the people? Where do we see stand after spending so much money we didn’t have? Have we managed to spend our way out of poverty, or only into greater national debt? The absence of proper records on how all that money got spent points to a bitter reality: rampant irregularities. In fact, corruption has eaten into our developmental effort as it has into the vitals of the economy as a whole. How many of us take this seriously has been merely a subject of discussion. Everyone who is anyone — be he or she a leader, civil servant or legal expert - has misused state funds at one time or another. Perhaps, the country would have made more progress, had the loans been spent properly in areas deemed appropriate. But successive governments have failed to see to this. They have failed to even audit the books, leave aside any mechanism to ensure financial probity. Amounts that came into this country in the form of loans or foreign grants have often been misdirected for personal benefit through some byzentine channel or other. The poor state of infrastructure— roads, health care facilities and education — point to this. As a result of the past spending spree without much accountability, the government has had to allocate over 25 percent of the annual budget for debt serving. This is a figure that has yet to hit the man in the street the way it should.

The problem is two fold. There is the growing debt burden which will increasingly prove a drag on our developmental effort. And there is the lack of proper book keeping and accountability. This is a serious lacuna in the management of any country. The Auditor General revealed the gross irregularities over loans before parliament the other day. A chunk of loans, as cited by him, has been spent on foreign trips for seminars and trainings. There has been no record on the reason for and objectives of such trips. As such loans fell outside the purview of the annual budget, governments failed to maintain any record, which then led to gross misuse. The situation has been compounded by amounts advanced but not recovered. The government must realize that such a trend will ultimately undercut the country’s development effort. It has to introduce a proper mechanism to prevent irregularities and misuse of loans. Such misuse of state funds or loans has put the country’s development and the future of the Nepalese people at stake.

Whither are we headed ?

By Bijaya Lal Shrestha

The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) warned the Deuba government on 1 Falgun 2052 that they would take up arms if their 40 point demand was not met. The warning failed to generate any interest in the government; it was instead dismissed as a piece of wild imagination.

Sher Bahadur Deuba has ironically come back as Chief Executive to correct his wrong judgement. By this time, the Maoist problem has drawn national and international attention. Presumably this would not have been possible without the support and trust of the people, however much the government blames the opposition for all that may have gone wrong. Threat and coercion alone cannot have catapulted them to such outstanding success. So Deuba has proved wiser during his second tenure in creating a conducive environment for negotiations. Both parties expressed their satisfaction with the first round. But inconceivably, the Prime Minister then launched a sort of campaign against the Maoists, contrary to the usual practices and precedents of negotiation. In a clearly defiant mood, the government imposed restrictions on the Maoists’ planned mass meeting of Aswin 5, despite their assurances of a peaceful demonstration and the evidence of Birgunj. At the same time, it violated the constitutional provision on "freedom to assemble without arms".

Surprisingly, all this was perpetrated despite the Maoist agreement to its withdrawal in exchange for the government’s accounting for the whereabouts of their missing cadres. The government did not stop there. It busied itself with other provocative action, raiding campuses without due permission and arresting people with the use of the army eventhough the peace had remained undisturbed. This aggressiveness only fuelled the fears of the people. Psychologically, Kathmandu Valley appeared to have come under a sword of Damocles. Concurrently, the government in collaboration with the opposition parties started to exploit the misdeeds of the Maoists, which though deserving scrutiny, were ill timed. They appear now to be injudiciously engaged more in smudging the Maoist image than ensuring success for the dialogue. This reflects the government’s incoherent policy. Such action now risks wrecking the peace process.

The government’s ‘about turn’ has ruined the Prime Minister’s initial image as a leader with a difference and a sincere believer in a peaceful solution. What appears lacking with the government at present is the appreciation that the armed struggle originated from the malversation in our democratic exercises, the relevance of which has now begun to be questioned. People are now utterly disappointed and any alternative that emerges - real or imagined - finds immediate reception among the people. Death by violence alone is not what matters. Death by hunger and starvation is equally deplorable. This is what needs to be realised and the dialogue directed through sincerity of purpose to delay death. But the government still does not appear to present itself as a sincere negotiator due mainly to its incoherent utterances, inadequate preparation, inaccurate intelligence and ill-timed actions.

For the talks to succeed, the parties should first recognise the issue as a national problem hindering development. They should have the determination and willingness to resolve the problem. They should realise that there is no quick fix, that it is a long and arduous journey which demands a spirit of ‘give and take’ for the sake of national development. It is a test for the negotiators’ tact and their ability to build confidence to arrive at a compromise for the sake of a greater goal. A responsible government is expected to put in more effort. Particularly, this government must take the blame for the Maoists’ almost unassailable popularity. But the government’s contradictory statements and similar activity by ruling party leaders contrary to what was agreed upon with the opposition parties appear to have cast doubt over the sincerity of the government. Consequently, the talks are deadlocked for now.

The government must bear in mind that while the Maoist strength to counter the army may at the moment be questioned, guerrillas are known for capability of sustained struggle. They have chosen the violent path knowing the inherent risk, and countering such an adversary will not be without enormous cost. The earlier this is realised, the better for the country. Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and even India are some examples in our immediate vicinity.

Worse, our political parties, a rendezvous of discordant thoughts and elements characterised by contradictions and controversy, have not changed for the better, nor have our leaders forsaken their jostling for personal perks and privileges, persistently pushing people to a back seat. The alignments and realignments between and among parties, the new King about whom not much is known, the presence of a number of feuding organisations of students, youths, peasants, workers, women, the proliferation of various organisations based on caste, creed, ethnicity, religion, region, reconciliation effort now being clouded, all combine to pose the question whether these developments promote unity or disunity among the population, peace and comfort or instability and suffering.

And now there has emerged the Madhesee Tiger. Even if Madhesee Tigers fall far short of Tamil Tigers, the government is well advised to remember that anything at birth is small. There may appear as hill Tigers tomorrow.

With a situation like this, one fears that matters will be compounded by fallout from the of US war on global terrorism and India’s deputation of security personnel along the Nepal border. One also feels bewilderment at our leaders and their parties. We appear to be drifting to a situation of abysmal uncertainty.

Pub culture

By Ganesh Khaniya

The pub culture is thriving in the capital these days. Away from the untold hardship and suffering of a majority of the common populace, a handful of the affluent converge on the city pub every day as soon as dusk settles. The city elite throng the glittering gala and start sipping exotic drinks amidst the erotic aura inside the pub. Taking swigs of alcoholic drink and munching palatable meats of various kinds, derailed lads from well-to-do families enter the bustling milieu. As the pint of liquor starts coursing in their veins, boisterous gossip and high talk come into action.

Most pubs throughout the capital are provided with nubile lasses in their teens and twenties as waitresses. The sole role of these lassies is none other than to entice those youths who start to become regular clientele of a particular pub. Many pubs offer exciting dances to their visitors. Navel-gazing is a commonplace phenomenon in those pubs. As the night wears on, dancers are seen in their flimsy dresses arousing the onlookers. A fracas often erupts, matter of ladies, between various groups within the pub, sometimes even ending in a murder.

Today, society has come to dramatic and drastic change in Kathmandu. The haves have developed a culture of visiting dance restaurants, massage centres and discotheques. Creative youths who should bear the onerous onus of nation-building are leading themselves ashtray. Their extravaganza not only impedes their progress and development, it has a severe impact upon their families. Parents and spouses have nothing to do but repent. Thus, the very delicate family bond eventually leads to a crumbling path.

Ours is a nation where poverty and misery are predominant. Amidst this plight and pathos, going to the pub every day in the outright imitation of alien culture is sheer absurdity. It leads us to nowhere but the abyss of mental perversion. The whole nation is reeling under the poverty, illiteracy and backwardness, and enjoying nights amid the hubbub of the city pub is beyond rationality.

Gender and development

By Prativa Subedi

The word gender is difficult to define, particularly in the Nepali language. Gender is not the same as sex. Sex is whether you are born a female or a male whereas the concept of gender refers to the  expected and actual roles, relationships and responsibilities of your sex. Sex is  based on biology: gender is a social construct.

Society expects women to be subordinate to men. This is a social construction put upon women by our patriarchal society, it is a woman’s gender. This gender approach is essential to focus on women and their exclusion from development initiatives.

In the past, development efforts in our country have not properly considered the role of gender. A development programme assumed for example, that setting up a livestock raising project in a particular community would improve the living standards of local village women. The organisers of the programme reasoned that the livestock would improve the nutritional status of children in the family (for the cattle’s milk would be given to them) and lead to a rise in the number of young girls going to school, for the cattle’s milk would be sold, and the family would then have access to more money.

The programme, however, did not yield the expected results. In fact, the nutritional status of female children declined and the number of school going girl children did not increase much.

The reason behind this unexpected result is that gender roles and the sexual division of labour were not considered. What really happened when the cattle were introduced into the family was that the women had to work harder than previously, for they were made responsible for looking after the cattle. The girls in the family had even less time to pursue their education for they had to stay at home and help their mothers. Nor was the milk used as expected. Men sold the milk and kept the extra money and much of the resulting income was put towards educating the sons and not the daughters.

Development work that takes gender into account is a prerequisite for the creation of a gender equal society. Fortunately, nowadays, gender roles are considered when development projects are being designed. Questions such as who has access to the resources, who does
what work in the family and who benefits from any income raised, are now addressed.

Gender theory often uses work to analyse the role of men and women in society. Gender analysis helps to understand the pattern of division of labour, relationship and ownership between men and women in a specific situation. Work is commonly divided into three types: productive work, reproductive work and community work. Productive work is work that directly generates a cash income. Community work is that which works towards creating a society. Politics, volunteering and organising large social, cultural or religious activities all fall under this definition. Reproductive work includes bearing and raising children, cooking, cleaning and other associated home based activities.

To a large extent, the majority of work that women do is reproductive work, and the majority of work that men do is productive and/or community work. Reproductive work is not valued as highly as the other two forms of work. It is hardly even defined as work at all for it does not yield a direct income.

Reproductive work, however, is essential for the short term and long term survival of any family. If women did not look after the children and the home then men would not have the time to go out and earn an income directly. They would need to cook for themselves, for example.

In recent years, gender sensitive economists have been assigning an economic value to women’s work. When they did so they realised that women are the main contributors to any economy, be it rural or urban.

If we include all types of work, women do 66 percent of the world’s work, earn 10 percent of the income and own only one percent of the world’s property. It’s estimated that women worldwide do the equivalent of 11 trillion US dollars of unpaid work per year.

This change in attitude towards women and their work is part of a general shift towards giving women the respect and rights that their sex deserves. In Nepal, there has been some progress towards empowering women. More and more women are entering politics and participating in grassroots activities. Many women are also mobilising themselves by setting up credit cooperatives and starting their own businesses.

It seems that the government is also starting to consider gender. Recently, the Government addressed the gender bias that is prevalent in our legal system. The Property Rights Bill, which relates to women owning property, for example, was recently discussed and approved by a Parliamentary Committee. The bill is now ready to be passed through Parliament and made into law. This is a step in the right direction.

Gender theory can be used to construct an effective development model that works towards creating an equitable, sustainable democracy. A gender theory framework helps women to challenge the ideologies and institutions that subordinate women and create a gender equal society that benefits all.