Nepal soon to have provision for non-residents

By Rudra Sharma

KATHMANDU, Jan 17: The Finance Ministry is planning to introduce a provision of Non-Resident Nepalis in the upcoming budget, solving a long-standing problem of about 60,000 Nepalis, presently living in various parts of the United States and Canada.

This provision would also help thousands of Nepalis living in other parts of the world.

"I have made several provisions in the forthcoming budget including the visa waiver and the
provision of Non-Resident Nepalis (NRN)," Finance Minister Dr. Ram Saran Mahat told The
Kathmandu Post. Over the last decade, the Nepali Americans had tried vehemently for such
arrangements, but in vain.

This new provision would allow Nepalis living abroad to come back to their homeland for a longer
period after this provision of non-resident Nepalis is included in the budget in July. These Nepalis
have been facing many hurdles as the Nepali law recognises them as foreigners once they
acquire the citizenship of other countries.

Since a dual citizenship is allowed in the US and Canada, they need not relinquish Nepali
citizenship while acquiring citizenship there. But Nepali law does not allow a dual citizenship.
Nepali citizenship of such Nepali Americans is automatically terminated by the very time they get
citizenship of another country. If they want to resume Nepali citizenship again, they will have to
relinquish the citizenship elsewhere.

"We are Nepali Americans who have made significant contribution for the restoration of
democracy in Nepal," said Khagendra Chettri through email. Chettri is a Nepali American
practising law in the US for the last 15 years.

"We are treated as foreigners when we go back to Nepal," complains Chhetri. He told The
Kathmandu Post that he and some of his friends have met all the post-democracy Prime
Ministers - Girija Prasad Koirala, Manmohan Adhikari and Sher Bahadur Deuba and influential
leaders like Madhav Kumar Nepal, but nothing has happened.

Out of the 60,000 Nepali Americans living in the US and Canada, about 10,000 have taken
citizenship there, according to Dr. Shyam D. Karki, immediate past president of Association of
Nepalis in the America (ANA). "And rest of the others will also get the citizenship sooner or
later," Karki said via email.

Those living in the foreign countries say Nepal has been not able to tap a huge resource of these
people.

Nepali lawyers practising here opine that the government should offer a package to such
non-resident Nepalis who want to return to Nepal and invest. "A separate provision could be made
in the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act 1992 or a separate Act could be made to
bring this huge resources here," says Dr. Bharat Bahadur Karki, a corporate lawyer. "Investment
of non-resident Nepalis would be more viable since the forces like Maoists may be comparatively
lenient to them than the foreign investors."

Shyam Karki shows a long list that the nation could take benefit from if they are to be provided
with a long-term visa, preferably for "ten years." At present, these Nepali Americans come to
Nepal on a month-long visa and they have to renew it once it expires.

They also flay the legal provision that does not allow them to acquire immovable property here,
like any other foreigners. Thus, they demand the right to own property in the country. If they
government take a more liberal policy, many retired Nepali Americans are looking forward to do
volunteer work in Nepal in their respective field of expertise, Karki further said.

Though the provision of NRN is a new concept in Nepal, similar practice is already in place in
many other countries like India. Experts feel Nepali government can take a cue from the practices
in India where the non-resident Indians contribute a lot in the overall development of the nation.

FNCCI flays changes in taxes

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KATHMANDU, Jan 17: The business community has strongly flayed the latest changes in tax structures, which the government announced Wednesday by amending the Financial Act 2058 through an ordinance.

The government was prompted to change the tax structure contained in the Financial Act for the
current fiscal year to relieve it of the resource strain caused as a result of the recent mobilisation
of the Royal Nepal Army to quell the Maoist insurgency.

The apex body of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI),
issuing a press release here today, said that the changes in the tax structures will certainly prove
detrimental to the business.

The new tax structures have been announced at a time when the country’s economy is fledging
through tough times. May it be the tourism, manufacturing, foreign trade or internal business
confidence, all are on the wane. Increasing taxes at this juncture will prove crippling to business,
the release says.

The FNCCI also lambasted the government for the latest announcement arguing that such a step
was taken ignoring the repeated requests from the private sector for introducing relief packages to
revive the slagging economy.

While the private sector is aware that the government is under severe financial pressure, the
decision to impose additional taxes to bridge the widening mismatch between resources and
expenditure was not right, the release says. "The government should have explored other
sources."

Among others, the government hiked the customs duty on various goods, raised numerous
special fees, while imposing some new fees, and also increased the excise duties on other
goods.

Certificates of 108,000 civil servants to be verified

By Nitya Nanda Timsina

KATHMANDU, Jan 17: Parliamentary State’s Affairs Committee (PSAC) will direct all the government offices, including the Ministries, to verify certificates of all the employees, including high-level government officials from next week.

The move of the PSAC comes in the wake of a widespread certificate racketeering in the country
and the growing suspicion that emerged from the CIAA’s recent clampdown on eight government
employees, including a secretary at the Ministry, who have been found possessing fake
certificates.

The PSAC has already issued directive to the Ministry of Education and Sports to probe into the
growing concern of fake certificates in all the public schools in 75 districts while it will issue
directives to the entire ministries after a meeting next week, according to parliamentarian
Mahendra Bahadur Pandey, coordinator, Certificate Investigation Committee of PSAC.

To begin with, PSAC has directed the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoE) to collect the
certificates of civil servants employed under its departments and submit them to the Ministry to
testify their authenticity. The Ministry had in accordance with the directive of the Parliament
decided to collect the certificates of all its employees last week.

"We have asked the Ministry to collect all the educational documents of the employees under its
departments "as early as possible", said MP Pandey.

"Though most of these civil servants had been testified by the Public Service Commission (PSC)
before entering into public services, such an act of the civil servants in the districts cannot be
ruled out completely," he said.

The Ministry has issued the ultimatum to the Department of Education and all the District
Education Offices on Wednesday to begin the collection of educational certificates of civil
servants and forward them to the Ministry by February second week.

"We sent faxed letters to all the offices today to begin the collection of certificates to meet the
deadline," said Yuvaraj Pandey, spokesperson at the Ministry of Education and Sports. "The
CIAA was supposed to file two dozen cases before December 2001 but has so far filed only eight
cases," MP Pandey said. "We are now investigating the total bureaucracy as there are lots of
duplicity of works and reports of bribery coming in while getting into the public services."

The PSAC, after cleaning the entire ministries, will then look into the certificates of those working
in Nepal Police and Royal Nepal Army as these departments are yet to be investigated for fake
certificates.

Powell’s visit in appreciation of Nepal’s support: Diplomats

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KATHMANDU, Jan 17: Leaders of political parties and former diplomats said on Thursday that US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s two-day visit to Nepal beginning Friday is an appreciation of the Himalayan Kingdom’s unequivocal support to "US war on terror and its actions in Afghanistan".

But once in Nepal, an entire gamut of bilateral relations would be discussed, with trade matters in
focus, said Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Arjun Jung Bahadur Singh. Also, both sides are
scheduled to discuss ways to fight terrorism. In this regard, Nepal would welcome any US
assistance, keeping intact the Kingdom’s "dignity and honour", to fight Maoist insurgency.

Singh revealed that Nepal would seek US assistance but declined to spell out the nature of
assistance. "The nature of assistance will depend on the perception of the two sides to the
Maoist problem."

Powell is also likely to discuss the human rights situation during the current emergency and the
state of democracy. "We will present our views on these matters," said Singh, who was speaking
to journalists at a programme organised by the Reporters’ Club, Nepal today.

The minister of state said that Nepal would press for the duty free access for Nepal’s garments
exported to the US. At present, Nepali businessmen pay a duty between 15 to 21 per cent. He
added that US investment on developing water resources energy would also be sought, saying
that that the US role in this sector "has been positive".

The Minister of State said that Nepal was capable of providing security to the tourists from the US
and expressed his confidence that the US would support Nepal vis-à-vis its travel advisory for its
citizens. Singh also said that Nepal has completed all security arrangements for Powell’s visit.

He agreed with Dr Prakash Chandra Lohani, Vice-president of Rastriya Prajatantra Party that
Nepal should ask the US to view Nepal independently, and not "see it through any other eyes".

Speaking earlier at the programme, Dr Lohani suggested that Nepal should hold candid
"one-to-one" discussions with the Secretary of State, "without hiding anything". Damodar Prasad
Gautam, ex-ambassador to the US, said the talks that Powell would have here with the King, the
Prime Minister and other distinguished personalities during his stay were crucial as they would be
instrumental in guiding the superpower’s policy vis-à-vis Nepal. Since the US was aware of the
situation in Nepal, Gautam suggested the government to discuss terrorism with Powell.

Mohan Man Sainju, another ex-ambassador to the US, too observed that the US had displayed
sensitivity to Nepal’s current situation and said "we need to apprise them of our prevailing
situation and they can give us logistic support."

Sainju also revealed that Nepal would "get some logistical support", as an outcome of the visit.
There are unconfirmed reports that Nepal had sought arms and ammunition from the US
government in its fight against the Maoists. The former envoy said that a US policy paper on
Nepal was "highly positive".

CIRDAP Council meet opens

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Jan 17: The two-day meeting of the 13th Ministerial level Governing Council of the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP), kicked off in the capital today with the representatives focussing on pushing out poverty from the region.

Inaugurating the meeting, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said, "Nepal too is committed to
poverty reduction." Since a vast majority of the people of Nepal depend on agriculture and live in
the rural areas, rural development and the agriculture sector has been given high priority in the
development endeavours, PM Deuba said.

"Regional institutions like CIRDAP should play a proactive role in the formulation and
implementation of new pro-poor global initiatives, which needs to be more practical and
result-oriented," he added.

"Development efforts in the region have been hindered by terrorism as we are forced to divert our
already scarce resources in maintaining peace and security," he said.

The meeting is attended by cabinet ministers of four countries, including Nepal, while other
countries have sent either ministry secretaries or director-generals as representatives.

The meeting, which brings together 13 countries, has unanimously elected Nepal as the
chairperson of the organisation, and Indonesia as the vice-chairperson of the Governing Council
for two years. The chairmanship of the council was previously held by Myanmar.

During today’s meeting, several topics passed by the 22nd meeting of CIRDAP earlier this month
were discussed. Member countries also presented their country reports on activities aimed at
developing rural areas and eradicating poverty.

Taking over the chairmanship, Minister for Local Development, Chiranjibi Wagle, expressed the
hope that help from the CIRDAP member nations as well as donor countries would be
forthcoming, and pledged to lead the organisation effectively.

CIRDAP was established 22 years ago by the initiative of the Asian countries and the Food and
Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) to serve as a regional forum for promoting
technical co-operation and exchange of experiences in the field of integrated rural development
and poverty alleviation in the Asia Pacific Region.

Speaking at the inaugural function, Major General Nyunt Tin, Myanmar (former Burma) Minister
for Agriculture and Irrigation, and the former Chairperson, said that despite economic recession all
over the world, many of the developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region have made remarkable
achievements in agricultural and rural development in the last decade.

"However, the member countries were still facing major challenges like productivity, development,
and sustainability, and in providing basic needs such as food, education, health, homestead and
employment for the rural populace," he added.

Addressing the function, Dr. Mya Maung, Director General of CIRDAP, urged for policy changes
in the action programmes of the member countries to narrow down the rural-urban gap so as to
benefit the rural populace. "Member countries should frame strategies and plan of action suitable
to their requirements," Maung said.

Representatives from the 13 members countries including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri
Lanka, The Philippines, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Nepal are taking part in
the two-day meeting.

Hundreds of manuscripts gather dust at Academy

By Perina Pathak

KATHMANDU, Jan 17: Ram Sharan Darnal is an authority on the country’s indigenous musical instruments, having devoted much of his life to carrying out research on these instruments.

But Darnal, like many other authors, still does not know when the Royal Nepal Academy (RNA)
will finally publish his work.

Sixty-four-year-old Darnal’s life-time work, Nepali Baja (Nepali Musical Instruments), has been
lying at the Academy for the last two years.

"This will be a historical book about Nepali musical instruments. Even the long-forgotten
instruments find a mention in it," says Darnal.

Having served the RNA for the better part of his life, Darnal says that’s the reason he wants the
Academy to publish it, however long it might take. "Throughout my life I did all I could for the
Academy, so it’s a cherished desire that it will publish my work," says the music scholar.

He hopes the book will find recognition even among international readers as there are many
scholars from abroad who are interested in Nepal’s musical heritage. Darnal also hopes that
Nepali Baja will fill the gap that the country’s music students run into while looking for for an
authentic Nepali work on music. "These students have nothing to rely upon except the Indian
books," he says.

Nepali Baja consists of more than 250 pages of text, and over 100 illustrations. Music buffs, says
Darnal, will especially find it useful since even notations are mentioned in his work.

Another book that has been lying with the Royal Nepal Academy, waiting to be published since
the last three years, is Lok Sangeet Ek Parichaya (Folk Songs: An Introduction), written by
Shova Tiwari, Department Chief of Folk Music at Lalit Kala Campus, the only college for the arts
in the country.

"When I went to know about the delay in publication of my book, an Academy official said that it
might even take 30 years to publish it," says an angry Tiwari. "That answer really hurt me, in fact
the RNA should be encouraging and commissioning such works."

Tiwari’s sentiments are echoed by Darnal. He too is unhappy with the RNA’s indifference towards
recognising scholarship. "Knowing the importance of these books, the RNA should have given
priority to publishing them without us having to put pressure on it," says Darnal.

Tiwari’s book, Lok Sangeet Ek Parichaya, stems from her 40 years’ work, experience, research
and "personal interactions". She says this will be the first authentic work on Nepali folk music.

Tiwari is furious that the RNA seems to be only encouraging literature-related works. "RNA
publishes books only on literature, which is very unfair. The Academy officials should know that
the institution is also meant to promote music. I think the RNA is not much interested in the
country’s musical heritage," says the 48-year-old aficionado.

Academy watchers say there are hundreds of other manuscripts, like Darnal’s and Tiwari’s, which
has been waiting for years to see the light of day.

On their part, the RNA officials defend the delay saying that it arises from the Academy’s
"financial and technical" problems. "Over 100 books have been passed by our Council, but our
resources do not allow prompt publication. They will be published when their turn comes," says
RNA Member Secretary, Dr. Tulsi Prasad Bhattarai.

To get the Academy to publish his or her book, the author has to first register the manuscript with
the Publication Committee. Then a screening process takes, after which the work is presented to
the Pragya Parishad (Council of the Academy). It’s finally upto this Council to decide the fate of
the work.

Talking about the budget for publication, Bhattarai says annually Rs 250,0000 are set aside for
publishing books and the Academy’s magazine.

"From this budget, the Academy has the capacity to publish only 20-25 books yearly."

As per the Academy provision, authors are entitled to 25 per cent royalty. After publication, 60
percent of the total copies are given to the state-run Sajha Prakashan, while the RNA keeps the
rest—for exhibition, in its library and for its showroom outlet.

But even that amount for publication was slashed recently by the government—by about 25 per
cent, says Bhattarai. "This will only further decrease the number of publications this year."

Bhattarai says the RNA gives priority to commissioned publications over that of
non-commissioned ones. "As we have to bear all the expenses on an Academy’s book, we give it
priority," says Bhattarai.

But even so, one work commissioned by the RNA has been gathering dust for the last seven
years. Sorathi (a traditional dance form), written by Subhi Shah, was commissioned by the
Academy a decade ago.

Says a frustrated Shah, "For the last six to seven years, the Academy has been giving me the
same answer: ‘we will publish it in this fiscal year’. Hope one day they will get around to doing it!"

Nepal very safe, says Hashimoto

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KATHMANDU, Jan 17: Former Prime Minister of Japan, Ryutaro Hashimoto, said here Thursday that he found Nepal "very safe" and not at all like what the rumours have to say about the Himalayan Kingdom.

"Though people in my country take Nepal as dangerous due to the Maoist activities, I found it very
safe for travelling," he said, talking with journalists before departure.

He stayed in Nepal for four days during this private visit.

"In my four-day visit in this Himalayan Kingdom, the biggest impression I am taking with me is
from Kanti Children’s Hospital which I visited just today," he said. Hashimoto said the spirit of the
doctors and nurses in Nepal have not changed at all in the past six years.

At the Hospital today, the former Japanese prime minister also handed over a cheque of US
dollars 2,000 for health services for children. The hospital management is to set up a Hashimoto
Fund out of this financial assistance.

Chairman of the Kanti Children’s Hospital Development Committee, Roshan Krishna Nyachou,
and Director, Govinda Prasad Ojha, felicitated Hashimoto for his contributions.

Hashimoto was given an audience by King Gyanendra on the first day of his visit. He had also
visited the Water-born Catastrophe Mitigation Department, where he was honoured for being an
old friend of Nepal.

He arrived in Nepal Monday to be present as the guest of honour at the inaugural ceremony of the
Multipurpose Martial Arts Centre at Naya Bazaar, built under the co-operation of Matsumoto City
of Japan. On the occasion, he had also demonstrated a few steps of Kendo, a traditional martial
arts of Japan.

Hashimoto had also made personal financial contributions for the maintenance of the building and
had presented sports material related with Kendo, of which he is a known player.

Left leaders fear extension of emergency

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KATHMANDU, Jan 17: The left parties here today expressed their fears that the emergency won’t be called off after the stipulated period. They also said that matters have turned more complex in the emergency period which began on November 26.

Bharat Mohan Adhikari, Standing Committee member of the CPN (UML), claimed that a
conspiracy is on to prolong the period of emergency. He said that internal and external pressure
is being applied to delay the calling off of emergency.

"The army can always say that the situation is still not under control and blame the Maoists for
it," said Adhikari.

RK Mainali of the CPN (ML) said that the country is embroiled in so many problems that the
emergency won’t be called off within the constitutional time frame.

"When the matter comes to Parliament, the CPN (ML) has an option to walk out of the voting but
that will only lead the country towards a greater crisis," he said.

Both the leaders underlined the need for unity among the left political parties, and also stressed
that they have to forge a common strategy with the ruling party.

But Adhikari flayed Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala’s proposal of a broader
democratic alliance. "What is being advocated by Koirala is vague and abstract," Adhikari said.
He added that what the country is looking for is concrete action, and not "mere speeches and
talks". Other leftist leaders like Narayan Man Bijukchchhe, Chitra Bahadur KC and Amik
Serchan, among others, also emphasized the need for unity among the left. They said if they
could arrive at a common position, then they would be able to put pressure on the government
and the Maoists to get back to the talks table.

Maoists kill ex-Mugu DDC chairman, two others

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KATHMANDU, Jan 17: Outlawed Maoist rebels on Wednesday killed three civilians, including former Mugu District Development Committee (DDC) chairman and a school Headmaster, in Mugu, Palpa and Khotang districts, said reports compiled from the Home Ministry and other sources.

A report received from the far-flung district of Mugu said that a group of armed Maoists shot dead
Bakhat Bahadur Shahi, former Mugu DDC chairman and Convention member of the ruling Nepali
Congress, at his house in Gamgadi, the district headquarters, yesterday night. The Home
Ministry said that security forces have been mobilised in search of the culprits.

In Palpa, the rebels shot dead Man Bahadur Thapa, a Nepali Congress cadre and ex-army man,
at Darlam Danda VDC-6 yesterday night. Our reporter added that the rebels woke him up asking
for water and shot him dead.

Harka Raj Rai, Headmaster of Chisapani High School in Khotang, was shot dead yesterday
evening by the Khumbuban Liberation Front, our reporter quoted the local police as saying. The
Front owned up to their hand in the murder.

However, a press statement issued today by the central office of the Nepali Congress, claimed
that the Maoist "terrorists" were responsible for the Headmaster’s murder.

Rai was kidnapped at around two in the afternoon by a group of 10 armed men from his home at
Pathivara of Chisapani VDC-7, according to eyewitnesses. Rai was shot twice on the chest in the
nearby Kahule VDC-9.

The Kumbuban, which is fighting for the establishment of a separate state, pasted posters on
Wednesday night saying that Rai was killed for conducting the Sanskrit exam, and for not
conducting the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) exams properly.

A few weeks ago, the Khumbuban rebels had kidnapped DSP Dambar Bahadur Banjara and
released him 15 days later for the ransom of 60,000 rupees.

Meanwhile, issuing two separate press statements, the central office of the ruling Nepali
Congress condemned the Maoists for brutally killing three of their cadres. The press statement
also demanded that the government should take stern actions against the culprits and provide
security to the people.

Party President Girija Prasad Koirala today issued a condolence message and condemned the
Maoists for their "barbaric" acts.

Likewise, the Palpa and Mugu District Working Committees of the party, in separate statements,
condemned the rebels for killing their cadres.

Time to revive old ways of excreta as manure

By Razen Manandhar

KATHMANDU, Jan 17: Panna Ratna Maharjan, an elderly Kirtipur farmer, often worries that the vegetables he grows these days are not "as big and tasty" as they used to be two decades ago. He says that’s because he no longer uses human excreta as manure.

"In the earlier days, we used to use human excreta and kitchen waste as manure. That was a
productive way of doing agriculture," he says.

Maharjan says the old practice of mixing human faeces, urine and kitchen waste in the soil to
make it more fertile is now being regarded as "unhealthy" in the face of so-called modern
scientific ways of agriculture.

The only farmers who are still sticking to the old ways are the Sherpas in high-altitude districts
like Dolpa and Solukhumbu.

"Our grandfathers were much more scientific, they used to manage solid waste in such a way
that it became an essential resource in agricultural production," says farmer Maharjan.

In those ‘grandfather times’, the human faeces in public toilets were collected by sweepers in
buckets and deposited in pits dug beside the fields. Then the farmers would add other types of
manure to it before pouring it into the field.

Maharjan says pouring human excreta "directly on the earth is a sin".

He says the vegetables grown in such fields have better colour, are more tasty and bigger.

Raj Bhai Jyakami, the Secretary of Jyapu Mahaguthi, a farmers’ organization, says that the
practice of using human waste as manure stopped with the change in structure of houses.

Using human excreta as manure is a popular method among the farming communities in many
parts of the world. While it might not have been an old practice as in the case of Nepal, it is now
being introduced in countries like Zimbabwe, Vietnam and Sweden.

This method started dying out in Nepal also because toilets with water closets came into place.
Although many may think water closets are the best way to deal with excreta, environmentalists
say this is a waste of a lot of water and also has a contaminating effect on rivers and ground
water.

Dr Roshan Raj Shrestha, the Executive Chairman of Environment and Public Health Organization
(ENPHO), says urine and faeces are great fertilisers, and have a good effect on the soil. The
Sweden-returned scientist says this method of excreta as manure can be easily revived in the
Kathmandu Valley.

"An adult produces on an average 400 litres of urine in a year, which is in fact 4 kg of nitrogen,
0.4 kg of phosphorus and 0.9 kg of potassium," informs Shrestha. "Similarly a person releases on
an average 25 to 50 kg of faeces in a year, which is 0.55 kg of nitrogen, 0.18 kg of phosphorus
and 0.37 kg of potassium."

He says it’s a tragedy that such fertile elements are flushed out by the larger world population.
"Instead of using them as life-givers, these wastes are now polluting water bodies," he says.

Dr. Shrestha says the human waste ought to be mixed with lime or ash in the soil to drive away
bad odour. He, however, says it is important to separate urine and faeces because if they are
mixed, they lose out on their fertile properties.

"The sanitised or composted faeces become humus that act as soil conditioner which increases
water-holding capacity, reduces pests and diseases, improves soil structure, breaks up organic
matter into the basic elements that plants need, and neutralize soil toxins and heavy metals,"
says Shrestha.

Apparently, this system of "ecological sanitation" will also help reduce use of water in flushing. Dr
Shrestha says people on an average use 15,000 litres of water to flush 50 litres of faeces and 500
litres of urine.

Says Dr. Shrestha, "If human excreta is not flushed out, the problem of water scarcity can be
reduced to some extent. And the use of excreta as manure will also solve the big problem of
human waste management."