UN can play pivotal role in post-conflict scenario

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KATHMANDU, March 14: United Nations can be very helpful in planning and mobilising support for humanitarian action and post-conflict reconstruction in Nepal, said Kulchandra Gautam, Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations and Deputy Executive of UNICEF.

Gautam said that the UN family and the donors would agree to launch an urgent humanitarian action plan for the people most affected by the armed conflict, as the negotiations for peace and reconciliation begin in earnest.

Speaking at an interaction here today, Gautam, who is on a private visit to Nepal for the last few years, said the truce declared in Nepal was an immediate relief to the people but it was an opportunity for the king, political parties and the Maoists as well to arrive at common points of consensus for the betterment of the people.

"I have personally offered to help Nepal on the basis of experience and expertise of the UN family achieved through involvement in post-conflict reconstruction programmes in Afghanistan, Cambodia, East Timor, El Salvador Bosnia and other parts of the world," said Gautam.

"Prospect of receiving enough resources for reconstruction is prominent due to our outreach to donors, and track record of some good work in Nepal itself."

He said that attracting substantial donors for post-conflict reconstruction was a challenging job though. "There is a lot of sympathy for Nepal in the international donor community but the issues of management capacity, corruption and accountability are playing a crucial role," he added.

He suggested quadrupling the budget for the villages to manage unemployment problems in the local level and implementation of a well-designed and credible package of reconstruction programme funded by a mixture of national and increased international cooperation.

Gautam urged the Maoists and the government for their full adherence to the code of conduct they signed yesterday and to allow unhindered access of relief supplies to women, children and vulnerable groups, especially in terror-hit areas of the country.

"None of the political groups should attempt to seek undue political advantage of humanitarian assistance."

Gautam urged the politicians not to insist for final settlement of political dispute in planning immediate relief and long-term reconstruction. "I trust that our politicians will not say that planning for immediate relief and longer-term reconstruction need to wait for final political settlement," Gautam opined, adding that the political settlement might take time but the relief and reconstruction were urgent.

Padma Ratna Tuladhar, a human right activist who worked as a facilitator during the three-rounds of dialogue between the government and the Maoists nearly one-and-a-half-years ago, suggested the negotiating parties to hire international agencies to facilitate the talks.

"They can receive UN’s good office service or appoint an individual or agencies with the consent of both the sides, " he said.

The speakers at the programme, most of them intellectuals and political activists, called for strong commitment from the Maoists and the government, to bring the present cease-fire to a positive end.

They urged the Maoists not to escape from the negotiations on the pretext that the government side rejected to entertain their political demands and suggested to them to continue talks for socio-economic reforms until the last.

Amik Sherchan of People’s Front Nepal and Chakra Prasad Bastola of Nepali Congress stressed the need to go for a constituent assembly election, if the present constitution was declared defunct.

"Whether the constitution is alive or already dead should be identified first before advocating for reforms in the constitution and election for a new constituent assembly, both the leaders said.

Bimalendra Nidhi of Nepali Congress (Democratic) said there was need for dialogue among the king, political parties and the Maoists to effect an agreement on certain points of consensus for the betterment of the people.

Yubaraj Ghimire, Editor of Kantipur and The Kathmandu Post said there was a need to clarify the status of the constitution and not to let the country remain without constitution, if present constitution was already made defunct.

UK firmly behind peace: Envoy
‘Ready to provide military aid if hostilities resume’

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KATHMANDU, March 14: The United Kingdom (UK) would support Nepal to establish peace, stability and development but would not seek to mediate in the peace process, said newly appointed Special Representative to Nepal Sir Jeffrey James here today.

Speaking to mediapersons today, Sir James, appointed on February 24 this year, outlined his two functions as special representative: to provide a focal point in London for co-ordination of the British government for peace, stability and development in Nepal and to hold consultations with Nepal’s other international partners on how best to support Nepal.

But he emphatically ruled out the UK’s mediation in the peace process. "I also want to emphasise that there is no question of either myself or the United Kingdom government seeking to mediate in the peace process."

Significantly, he is leaving for New Delhi on Sunday to hold negotiations with the Indian leadership. "I am going to consult with the Indian leadership on Monday and Tuesday on how to support the peace process in Nepal." India’s response to the cease-fire was muted, unlike many other nations which had welcomed the truce between the government and the Maoists.

Sir James welcomed the Wednesday’s announcement on the agreement on code of conduct on cease-fire by the government and the Maoists, terming it as an encouraging sign of progress. "It ...gives good reason to hope that the foundations for a secure and lasting peace can be put in place. This will continue to require courage, vision and goodwill from all concerned."

He ruled out any military solution to the conflict and implied that even the Maoists could not win militarily. In response to a question after his statement, he said that the UK did not have any suspicion about the cease-fire now in effect. But he emphasised that the army her would get the support if the cease-fire broke down. The representative denied having met the Maoists and also ruled out the possibility in the near future. During his stay here, he met several ministers, including the Prime Minister and a cross section of political leaders and other government officials and people.

While the UK believed that the negotiated settlement, within the framework of Nepal’s multi-party democracy, was the only realistic solution to the conflict, the special representative said "we remain ready to provide training and non-lethal equipment to the security forces to enhance their ability to counter any resumption of hostilities".

Sir James also revealed that his government was working with the Nepalese counterpart and others on a package of assistance, "designed to make a quick impact in the areas affected by the conflict. "This may include support for incomes, basic services and initiative will be endorsed by all parties, and so provide substantial and direct benefits from the cease-fire to communities in conflict areas."

However, while replying to questions on UK’s role in rehabilitation if the peace was established, he said it was too early to anything on the matter. "If there is permanent peace, there will be help for those who wish to return. The British government and others are prepared to lend the support But we are not at that stage now."

He also reiterated his government’s commitment to multi-party democracy and constitutional monarchy. He also emphasised on providing good governance, eradicating corruption, good financial management and developing more mature institutions.

Sir James, who has been asked to take the role as special representative after he retired from government service, will be based in London, with frequent visits to Nepal.

Bhutanese refugees seek citizenship prior to repatriation

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KATHMANDU, March 14: Bhutanese refugee leaders said today that they would not be ready to be repatriated until they will be granted citizenship status right at the refugee camps.

"We should be granted Bhutanese citizenship status in the refugee camps prior to repatriation to ensure that the Bhutanese government will no longer victimise us after the repatriation and force us to become refugee second time," R. B. Basnet, chairman of the Bhutanese National Democratic Party said.

Speaking at an interaction programme on "In the Context of Repatriation of the Bhutanese Refugee" here in the capital, Basnet urged the Nepal government to raise this issue and stick to it in the forthcoming 13th ministerial level meeting in Thimpu on March 24.

The Foreign Ministers of Nepal and Bhutan are to meet in the Bhutanese capital in two weeks to reportedly finalise the repatriation of the refugees of the Khudunabari refugee camp, one of seven refugee camps in which verification has been completed. The meeting is expected to publish the result of the verification and is likely to open the gate for repatriation of the refugees who have been languishing in the eastern Nepal.

Another Bhutanese political leader S. B. Subba, Co-ordinator of Bhutanese Refugee Repatriation Committee opined that they are not ready to return Bhutan until the Bhutanese government meet our conditions.

The conditions among others are: revision of the existing Bhutanese Citizenship Act, which does not recognise them as pure Bhutanese nationals and does not give status equal to their fellow Bhutanese, amnesty by the Bhutanese king and their resettlement on their previous lands.

"Besides, we demand that there be an international monitoring team before we return to supervise and ensure our complete resettlement," Subba said.

The Bhutanese refugee leaders also told the gathering that they visited a number of diplomatic communities in Kathmandu recently seeking support for a monitoring team or organisation in Bhutan. They said that the diplomatic communities have assured them on the issue.

Thinley Panjore, chief convenor of the National Democratic Front, charged the Bhutanese government of not showing sincerity in solving the refugee crisis.

Balram Poudel, co-ordinator of National Front for Democracy, suggested to seek political solution of the problem as the crisis has its roots in politics.

Taking part in the discussion programme organised by Bhutanese Refugee Repatriation Support Group, Bhutanese refuges complained of their leaders not showing unity in raising the refugee problem. "We urged our political parties to be united as far as the repatriation is concerned," said Bishnu Samal, a refugee woman.

Sailendra Kumar Upadhyay, former foreign minister, opined that the unity among refugee leaders will facilitate the repatriation process.

No hooliganism Holi, warns Govt

KATHMANDU, March 14 (PR) - The government would take action on those forcefully spraying dirty water, coloured powder and blasting water-filled balloons to passers-by and pedestrians, a Home Ministry statement warned here today. Issuing a notice today, it has strongly warned against those found violating the government notice.

US $ 5 m WB loan for decentralisation of schools

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KATHMANDU, March 14; The World Bank is considering providing a $ 5 million loan to the government for financing the Community School Support Project (CSSP), which aims at decentralising management of education in over 26,000 government-aided schools in Nepal.

"The World Bank stands ready to provide this loan and the process is on to approve it in this fiscal year," said Dr Rajendra Dhoj Joshi, chief of education section at World Bank.

"We are encouraged by the strong government intention to hand-over schools to the local communities," he said.

The World Bank is to initially support the CSSP for three years on a pilot project and once the experiments prove encouraging, it would continue providing funding for the decentralisation of all the public schools, which number about 26,000.

As per the plans, a large chunk of the money-about 41 percent of the total bank loan would be provided to schools as grants, about 25 percent would go to underprivileged students as scholarship and nine percent in developing monitoring and evaluation mechanism, according to Ministry officials.

The objective of the proposed project-CSSP is to gradually transfer the ownership of existing government-aided schools to the local communities-the parents, teachers and the School Management Committee (SMC), said Laba Prasad Tripathee, spokesperson at the Ministry of Education.

"It is a measure that is expected to give parents a free reign to run the schools," he said. "But it does not mean that the government will shy away from its responsibility. We will continue to have control over providing teachers’ training, developing curriculum, providing educational equipment, textbooks and other teaching materials to schools."

Drawing on project experience and success stories of community-owned public schools in the Latin American countries-El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua, the government has spearheaded a new approach to school education policy, said Dr Joshi.

Apart from this, a similar effort to decentralise education emanates after the success of UNDP-funded Community-Owned Primary Education (COPE) project in Nepal.

This UN-aided project is currently being implemented in about 83 VDCs under six relatively underprivileged districts of Achham, Baitadi, Bajhang, Kapilvastu, Okhaldhunga and Rautahat. There are 120 schools, all run by the local community and a majority of the students are girls and disadvantaged children.

FNGO charges influential NGOs of irregularities

By Kulchandra Neupane

POKHARA, March 14: Officials of the Federation of Non-Governmental Organisations (FNGO) today said NGOs run mainly by influential people were indulging in financial irregularities and they spend more than Rs three billion annually in the name of social services.

Delegates participating in the fourth national conference of FNGO charged that such NGOs run by the family members and close relatives of former prime ministers, ministers and secretaries apart from members of National Planning Commission (NPC) and influential politicians were indulging in financial irregularities.

More than 1500 delegates from 2000 NGOs are taking part in the conference.

According to NPC statistics, about Rs six billion is spent through the NGOs on an annual basis for a number of social works across the country. NGO leaders said there was no records of the percentage of the total money earmarked for the social works that had reached the targeted communities.

"A major share of the foreign currency is spent by these NGOs, operated by the influential people and their close relatives, " outgoing president of FNGO Gauri Pradhan said.

Pradhan said that none of the members of his federation had spent the amount as mentioned by the NPC. "Then, where was the money spent?" he questioned. He said that the NGO federation had already begun an investigation on the NGOs, who had tarnished the image of other NGOs that were really working on grassroots-level.

Donor agencies provide grants for a development project on the condition that 20 percent of the total grant should be spent through NGOs. FNGO members allege that ministers, secretaries and NPC members run their pet NGOs simply to meet the donors’ precondition. On the other hand, even the donor agencies also have their own set of local NGOs through which they get projects accomplished.

They accused the donor agencies of appointing foreigners as consultants of projects and spending huge amounts of the grant on administrative purposes, in the name of strengthening the efficiency of Nepalis.

"Still, the organisations, which earn in terms of dollars, are working only on "briefcases". These organisations do not require any transparency. But the others, who collect small amounts of money at the local-level, are required to be transparent," Pradhan said, adding, "Government should first work to bring transparency in its expenditure."

Ministries have not set any basis to allocate its budget to the NGOs. About Rs 200 million to be spent annually by various ministries through NGOs, is divided among the NGOs that are close to the ministers and secretaries.

Bhupdas Rajbhandari, director of FNGO, said that the government’s wrong policy was responsible for non-transparency on the spending of the NGOs, run by the relatives of those having political clout.

He, however, claimed that the NGOs affiliated with the federation had kept their annual expenditure transparent.

An estimated 14,000 NGOs have been affiliated with the Social Welfare Council. But only 2200 organisations have been affiliated with the federation, said federation officials.

The conference that concluded today has also adopted a code of conduct so as to improve the tarnished image of the NGOs affiliating with the federation.

SC order controversial, development efforts shaken: PADT

By Bikash Sangraula

KATHMANDU, March 14: The Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) has labeled as controversial the order of the Supreme Court (SC) that came yesterday, prohibiting the PADT from implementing schemes without completing any legal frameworks.

The SC’s order followed the petition filed by nearly a hundred priests in the Pashupatinath temple claiming their traditional rights to the money offered at the temple, something that the PADT attempted to channel into development efforts in the area.

"We haven’t received the copies of the order. That may take sometime. But from yesterday’s announcement, it is more or less clear that the decision is flawed," Shyam Shekhar Jha, spokesperson of PADT told The Kathmandu Post, adding that the trust is yet to form any official opinion about the matter.

In 1996, a 10-year plan was proposed by PADT to address the development needs of the Pashupati area. The ambitious project with an initial estimated cost of Rs. 2 billion suffered early setbacks as it had to wait for three long years to get government approval. It kicked off only since the last year. Since 23 percent (Rs. 466.9 millions) is to be contributed by the trust’s internal sources, the trust looked into the money offered at the temple by pilgrims as a possible source of funds.

"We declared a set of procedural regulations that formulated provisions to channel the offerings to the developmental efforts," said Jha. The Cabinet approved the set of procedural regulations. Article 10 of the regulations clearly states that all the offerings made at the temple has to be submitted to the PADT, said Jha. However, sensing the impracticality of the provision, PADT framed an internal work procedure that required only 40 percent of the offerings be given to the trust.

"After facing inordinate resistance from the priests, we reduced it to 25 percent. But then, the priests opted for petitioning at the SC rather than cooperating with us," said Jha. The recent order from the SC questions the legality of the internal work procedure, stating that such provisions have to be clarified in the procedural regulations itself.

"If the question is about legality, then the procedural regulations makes it mandatory to channel all the financial offerings to the trust and not to the pockets of the priests. The leniency has been unduly punished," disclosed Jha. An estimated amount of Rs. 120 millions is collected annually as financial offerings at the world famous temple, according to PADT.

With the latest development, the dream of developing the Pashupatinath temple as an international pilgrimage center has suffered a huge setback, point out pilgrims. According to Ram Kaji, a flower shopkeeper at the temple, the attitude of the priests and the SC order is turning the face-lifting efforts at the temple into a meaningless pastime.

"We were displaced from our shops and houses. Now it all might prove inconclusive if the original master plan does not come to fruition," he told The Kathmandu Post. Kaji is one of the locals whose house was demolished last year by the PADT in a bid to revamp the area into an international pilgrimage center.

While the project cost has gone up to as much as twice the initial estimates, the priests submitted the mere amount of Rs. 195,000, Rs. 187,000, Rs. 173,000 and Rs. 1.1 million during 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001 respectively.

Writ against Principalities Abolishment Act filed

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KATHMANDU, March 14: A writ petition has been filed at the Supreme Court today demanding scrapping of the Principalities Abolishment Act, 2017 and the regulations made under the Act, claiming that they are in direct contradiction to the spirit of the present Constitution.

The Act provided that several heads of the principalities, which remained as independent states before the unification of Nepal, would be paid a privy purse, although they longer enjoyed power.

The kings of Salyani, Jajarkoti, Mustangi and Bajhangi are eligible for lifetime facilities and the same would be transferred to their eldest sons or successors.

The Act has authorized the princes of Bhirkot, Darnal, Bajura, Thalahar, Galkot, Gulmi, Gahrounkot, Malneta, Dullu, Parwat and Nuwakot to use the title of king throughout their lifetime.

Similarly, the princes of Pyuthan Khumrikot and Pyuthan Udhyayapur were also given authority to use the title throughout their lives. The Act also states that these kings will be eligible for privy purse as set by His Majesty the King of Nepal, throughout their lives from the Consolidated Fund.

Advocate Om Prakash Aryal filed the writ petition claiming that the provisions envisaged in the Act were unjust as they provided special facilities to the kings of Salyani, Jajarkoti, Mustangi, Bajhangi and their wives during their foreign visits, daily lives and other rights. The petition has been filed against the Cabinet’s Secretariat, both Houses of Parliament and Parliament Secretariat.

Maoist leaders seek PFN support

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KATHMANDU, March 14: In a series of consultation with the political parties, the Maoist leader duo Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Dina Nath Sharma today held meeting with the leaders of People’s Front Nepal(PFN).

The Maoist leader duo sought incessant support from PFN as well as other political parties to bring the ongoing peace process to a logical end and reiterated their commitment not to bypass the political parties that are already practising politics under present constitution.

A press release issued by PFN stated that the Maoists have taken the progressive political forces into a positive line and expressed their willingness for joint endeavours with them.

PFN urged the Maoist leader to take the decision of political parties to go for a joint agitation against "the king’s regressive steps" positively.

"Maoists were urged to strictly follow the code of conduct for peace process announced yesterday in order to bring the process into a conducive end," said the release.