The Day Ten Years Ago Beginning Of New Era

By Prem N. Kakkar

TODAY is the day when the panchayat regime which was in practice for three decades came to an end ten years back. It may be worthwhile remembering that it was ten years back that democracy was once again reinstated and peopleís voice found an outlet.

Launch

It was on Falgun 7, 2046 that the Peopleís Movement was launched under an alliance of the Nepali Congress party and the United Left Front. It was a daring step taken by the political leaders and activists opposed to the Panchayat system. The panchayat system that was in force in the country for almost thirty years had to bow down because the people were against it.

With late Ganesh Man Singh as the supreme commander of the anti-panchayat system movement, many speculations were rife at that time whether the movement would be successful. But all negative thoughts were wiped out with the success of the movement and on Chaitra 26, 2046 democracy reemerged to the delight to every democracy lover.

This day ten years ago marked the beginning of a new era in the annals of history. The people who were suppressed during the thirty years of panchayat regime were now free and could express themselves without any fear of reprisals.

There were many people who even sacrificed their lives to usher in democracy so that the people would be free in the real sense of the word. The new found freedom was celebrate with great enthusiasm and the martyrs who had sacrificed their lives were paid glowing rich tributes.

It was a day when the black days came to an end and rays of hope flickered and the rights to freedom of expression, justice and peace once more found its real place. An important aspect of the ushering in of democracy was that no act of vengeance for the sake of vengeance took place. It exhibited the tolerance of the Nepalese people by the simple fact that even the erstwhile panchas found a place in the mainstream of national politics.

There was every attempt to thwart the thrust of the Peopleís Movement but when the will of the people is uppermost no force can suppress it. It goes on to show that if revenge had been the motive the country would have been thrown into a turmoil. But that did not happen, despite the martyrdom of many freedom lovers.

It can be said without doubt that, to some extent, there was peace after the handing of power to the democrats. The days between Falgun 7 and Chaitra 26, 2046 were filled with terror for the general people especially in the Kathmandu Valley. The curfews that were imposed had many repercussions and had a negative impact on the daily life of the people. But Chaitra 26, 2046 marked the end of the repressive regime and a new day dawned for the Nepalese people.

The old constitution was scrapped and a new constitution keeping in mind the peopleís aspirations and rights was formulated. A new interim government was formed with Krishna Prasad Bhattarai as the Prime Minister and the other members of the cabinet belonged to the other political parties. The two major tasks that the interim government had on hand was to formulate a new constitution and hold the general polls as per democratic ideals and norms.

The new constitution that came into effect on Kartik 23, 2047 made the people sovereign with the King as a Constitutional Monarch. The people were empowered to choose their representatives to rule the country. Elections became the medium for choosing the lawmakers unlike in the past when handpicked men did the job. Now the legislators were responsible to the people and it was their duty to look after the welfare of the people.

It is now ten years that the remarkable event took place. And in the past ten years there have been many events which has strengthened the multi-party polity. It can be said without doubt that the people have been given their fundamental rights. Much has been done to make the lives of the people better in a democracy.

Three general elections including the mid-term polls have been held within a span of ten years. The local bodies have been empowered so that the development activities at the local level could pick up pace.

The past ten years have seen some unpleasant moments with some vested interests trying to get the upperhand. But with a solid basis the democratic system has flourished and new lessons are being learnt and which has been helpful in strengthening the system the way it should.

The time is now ripe to reevaluate the gains made during the past decade after democracy was once again reinstated. There is also a dire need for soul searching among the political leaders. With the new millennium already in the fourth month, new and efficient strategies have to be devised to meet the growing aspirations of the people and make their lives better. As peace is essential for development, well thought out plans and programmes are needed so that poverty can be eliminated and the living standard of the people upgraded.

Tributes

Chaitra 26 once again reminds us of the responsibilities and duties that we have to adhere to so that the democratic system gains more strength. It is also a time to pay tributes to those who sacrificed their lives so that the people in general could once again taste the fruits of democracy and freedom.

The Privatisation Scenario

By   Rajkumar K.C

Privatisation of Public enterprises (PEs)  has now  become a major economic agenda of the government. The recent decision of the Cabinet to proceed with the privatisation of   five corporations including the Rastriya Banijya Bank (RBB) has  given vent to this process again.

Decision

However, the decision has   come at such a time that the  post -privatisation performance of the 16 PEs seems to have  bogged down in the morass of confusion. The performance of almost all the PEs has  raised a big  question mark upon the privatisation aspect itself. 

In fact, privatisation is inevitable to expedite economic growth in the  market economy. One cannot  always expect government’s involvement in running factories, business houses and banking institutions. There are several areas such as education and   health where the government should place  top priority  for overall development of the nation.

Public participation in economic activities  is one of the  most essential factors for the consolidation of democracy.  It has already been proved that a country’s economy cannot gain  a momentum without people’s participation. The efforts of the state alone cannot fulfill the objective of economic development.

However, it should be taken into consideration that  to what extent  public participation is acceptable in a country like ours where  per capita income is less  than $ 200. If  privatisation is inevitable, how far is it successful in accelerating economic growth  and how does it assure the economic opportunities  to common people.

The logic behind the privatisation  of PEs is too simple that the government should no more  waste its resources on PEs. But what should be the role of government if privatisation fails  to serve the economic interest of the nation?  How far is it logical to brush aside the public accountability  by privatising PEs ?

In fact  need of the PEs emerged, at a time when the country’s economy was in its incipient stage during the period of first to fifth Five Year Plan. Establishment of PEs served the economic interest of people to a great extent.  Till the end of Fifth Five Year Plan around 60 PEs were established with the aim of providing services to the private sector.

On the one hand PEs provided economic opportunities and employment  to people, on the other the nation was benefited by the revenue paid by them. However,  contrary to its   basic objectives most of the PEs failed to function satisfactorily. And some of them proved to be burden to the state. Billions of rupees have been spent on PEs, but the turnover had always remained less than the expectation.  According to a recent report of the Ministry of Finance the industrial and professional sectors suffered a loss of about Rs 9.79 billion in the past years.  

In Nepal, privatisation process was initiated during the Sixth Five Year Plan (1980-85). Two ailing PEs such as-  Chiuri Ghee and Chandeshowri, Textile were sold to the   private sector and Rice Exporting Company were closed down. During the Sixth Five Year Plan, the then government decided to privatise 12 PEs. But only four per cent of the shares were sold. The response of people towards  privatisation programme was not positive then.

Following   the restoration of democracy in  1990, the country was swept by the wave of liberalisation and market economy. Planners and policy makers and even politicians till before the first general election had a single voice, that the ailing economy of the nation could be revived by optimum  resource mobilisation and equity participation. As the nation entered into a new phase of political phenomenon, the concept of   privatisation of PEs emerged with the goal of accelerating economic growth. 

As the country was passing through  several economic vicissitudes, three major SOEs like Bansbari Leather Shoe Factory, Harishiddhi Brick and Tile  Factory and Bhrikuti Paper Mill, established under the  foreign assistance were  privatised  in 1992. But the  Privatisation Act - 2050 B.S came into practice only   in 1994- January 3  ( 2050-9-19 B.S). However, privatisation of three PEs trigger a debate as to why PEs were sold without addressing their problems. And much doubts had been raised as to why PEs were privatized before the enactment of Privatisation Act- 2050. 

After completion of  the first phase of privatisation, the then government initiated the second phase by privatising four other PEs in 1993.

Similarly three other PEs were privatised in 1994, three in 1996, in 1997 three others  were privatised. In the span of six years 14 PEs were privatised (two were liquidated).

In fact, the  financial position  of most of the PEs were not sound.  They were sick and the government always  had to  bear heavy losses every year. They were on the verge of collapse.  Either the government had to run the PEs by overhauling them or they had to be privatised. The second option was easier to be carried out.  As a result of which PEs including profit making were privatised without calculating any correlation and regression.

However,   the reports on the   post-privatisation  performance of 16 PEs have been found very gloomy. Despite this harsh reality of post privatisation performance,    the decision of the government to privatise 30 PEs by the end of the Ninth Plan has created much  confusion and doubts.

There is a fear that privatisation of  30 PEs would further worsen the situation, if government fails to privatise them  without addressing the existing problems. On the one  hand there is a problem in selecting modalities while transferring the   ownership to the public, on the other  there is lack of  system to monitor the post-privatisation performance of PEs.  Still there is much room for improvements. Although    privatisation  as of now has failed to yield a positive impact  in  the national  economy, there arises a question as to why the  focus has been laid on privatisation.

Well, if ‘financial inefficiency’  of PEs is to be blamed, why can’t the government take initiatives to curb such absurdities and anomalies in the PEs and give autonomy to each PEs. Isn’t there any possibility of taking measures  to revive the public  enterprises  having national  or  strategic importance ?

In fact it is a of matter serious concern for everybody. Transfer of ownership of PEs which have more potential in the private sector  is a certainly a positive move. But haphazard privatisation of PEs having strategic importance will never serve the economic goal of the nation. It will rather serve the interest of handful of people.

Participation

Instead of  haphazard privatisation, a  healthy competitive atmosphere between private and public sector should be encouraged. No doubt, public participation is essential to expedite economic growth , but that participation should serve the interest of larger group of people. If  country’s economy becomes stronger, private sector spontaneously begins to involve itself in different areas of economy. The success of   privatisation largely depends upon people’s participation.