Development Some Key Challenges

-By G. P. Pandeya

THOUGH development lacks an accurate meaning, it is usually conceived as human development or development in totality. To quote J. D. Wolfensohn, development is not just about adjustment, development is not just about sound budget and fiscal management. Development is not just about education and health, development is not just about technocratic fixes. Development is about getting the macro-economics right-yes; but it is also about building the roads, empowering the people, writing the laws, recognising the women, eliminating the corruption, educating the girls, building the banking system, protecting the environment, inoculating the children. Development is about putting all the component parts in place together in harmony. Indeed, the concept of development has been accepted holistic in approach and humanistic in nature. In short, the development is the enhancement of human capabilities; human being is the end of all development endeavours.

Aspiration

After the restoration of multi-party democracy, the aspiration of Nepalese people has been increasing. Ever-changing regional and global economic and environment systems have compelled ask to adopt our national policy accordingly. Political parties have mostly enjoy talking tell but delivering a little to the people. Our administrative system lacks the components of good governance: competency, commitment, meritocracy, efficiency, responsibility, rules of law, people’s participation, accountability and transparency- the free flow of information. Having these traits, the bureaucracy seems to be non-productive or non-performing.

In the same way, our past development experiences are not encouraging. Despite the planned development efforts for five decades, the total development planning depended on the ‘top-down’ approach based on the classical economic principle—supply creates its own demands. This approach undermined the civil society and their participation in developmental activities and made accustomed to look up on government even for minor activities like local trails and local water supply projects etc. Policies and programmes reform could not be sustained as the planners had expected. Slackness instead of expansion started to surface in economic activities thereby affecting our social life adversely.

In short, the political economy of development operated against the poor, rural and marginal groups. The roles of private sector, CBOs and citizen groups were disregarded. Political and bureaucratic elite became the mastery of the fate of masses and centered to their own benefits. The living standard of the general public remained unavailing. Perspective and periodic planning executed without clear-cut vision on development priorities and strategies, human resource development, decentralisation and local self-government. Similarly, other hurdles remained inability to direct foreign aids towards development priorities, distribution of resources without analysing the cost benefit weaknesses in different aspect of good governance, and failure to adopt the basic principles of market mechanism and commercialisation. Ad-hoc policies and programmes, ineffective implementation practices and apparent deficiencies in project management limited the means and resources of government and scattered them in unproductive manner.

As a result, over 42 per cent of the total population still live below the poverty line. Many basic services are still underdeveloped, for example, only 6 per cent population having access to sanitation, and only 61 per cent having access to drinking water facility. The literacy rate is only about 48 per cent and gender gap is still very large. Only 22 per cent of the very poor are literate, as compared to 40 per cent for others. Average life expectancy remained in 56.1 against targeted 61 years. Electricity facility covered only 15 per cent population with only 3 per cent of the very poor. Only the primary education enrollment for boys is satisfactory. The growth rate of GDP achieved only about 3 per cent in average. Agriculture still remains mostly only one source of income generation and employment. Income generating and productive employment opportunities are lagged behind population growth.

Similarly, backward, disadvantaged tribe and ethnic groups are deprived of the delivering and consuming the real fruits of development. People at large are far from obtaining the realised level of outcome compared to the gradual increment of investment. Most of the projects are turned over without pre-determined time and cost and obtaining sustainable outcomes from the projects. Uncertainties in economic reforms, slowdown in internal resource mobilisation, depression in the fifth of investor remained mostly unexpected. Public corporation is becoming more and more burdensome. The existence of this situation, even after the ten years of restoration of democracy is of grave concern and challenge to us.

In this light, the government can not realise the desired goal of economic and social development of the nation, collective efforts of all sectors and people right from the grassroots to the central level is must for overall and sustainable development. Because, greater participation of the people envisages the expansion of productive capacity, as well as greater accumulation, greater investment, and higher level consumption. Hence, the fate of development depends on the succession of empowered civic society. Sometimes, government needs to support and nurture by providing opportunities such as professional advise and training for community members.

All indigenous forms of knowledge, technology and culture, a part of civil society, must be utilised without considering as an irrelevant or obstructive to smooth transition to development. Since, the latest development experiences also prove that no single policy will trigger development, no model is sufficient, and no single institution enough or comprehensive development. This is also a lesson to the western thinkers who thought only about western technology, education, money and machines, political and legal institutions and ideology must be adopted in all places and time, and marketed from the western.

On the basis of the fifty years of development experiences, the World Bank Annual Report 1999 cities four critical lessons about the development. First, macro-economic stability is an essential prerequisite for achieving the growth needed for development. Second, growth does not trickle down; development must address human need directly. Third, no single policy will trigger development; a comprehensive approach is needed. Fourth, institutions matter and sustained development should be rooted in processes that are socially inclusive and responsive to changing circumstances.

Realising these vision and experiences, the government should empower community considering as an ultimate responsibility by ensuring that community needs are met resources and services are being delivered in fair, equitable and efficient manner. Because the degree of efforts of active civil society for the support of development is remarkable.

Furthermore, there must be social and political consensus for reform, there must be fighting against corruption and establish good governance in place. The government should introduce social safety nets for indigenous minority women, children and the poor. It must ensure transparency, accountability and effective competition regarding its functions. It should also establish environmental and human sustainability, infrastructure development and competitive market economy.

Idealistic

At the last, if the political and bureaucratic elite do not leave their insincerity of using double standards side by side, by keeping one set of value for use and another for display, if the they do not re-shape their moral and ethical values, if they do not change their will power, the whole development efforts remain only on idealistic principles.

Message For The Millennium

-By Isha Acharya

WE have entered the twenty-first century. We experienced lots of good and bad things during the second millennium. Lots of developments were seen in the field of science, industry, art, literature and other fields. Developed and developing countries are flying high with technological development. We will be seeing many things with wonder in the coming days. It is sure that things which we had never imagined of will be seen in this century. But where are we? It seems that we, the least developed countries, are still in the sixteen century and fighting like a child. We have not been able to rise above our petty concern and interest. We are always fighting among ourselves which invites only conflict and hatred among
us.

In wars, Millions of taxpayers money is spent every time, thousands of lives are lost on both sides. Do they get anything out of it?

They are where they were, will be there even if they continue fighting. Nothing is achieved but everything is lost. Sense of living together as good neighbours; feeling of brotherhood among the citizens of the countries, all evaporates within days which took years to built. This is “a big loss” to the world.

The world is so full of conflict and hatred. The only way to overcome this is to bring people together in mutual understanding, to build bridges between them and to share our common humanity and love. People have to be won over by love only. Then only there will be peace in world. The message for the millennium must be “LET’S FOSTER PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP ON EARTH”. This can never be done at government level because the government uses only diplomatic language, conducts diplomatic meeting and arrives at diplomatic decisions. It carries so many meaning and can be interpreted in so many different ways that it creates conflict later.

So why not try on our own level? Let’s foster peace and friendship among us. Let’s live in understanding and and happiness. Though we are from different caste, religion, colour, culture, country we can live together as good friends. We fought in the past, are fighting today and will continue fighting so long we are friends - sometimes for big reasons, sometimes for small reasons and sometimes for no reasons at all. But let’s forget all those things and live like a big family by joining hands together for peace, prosperity and progress of mother earth.

It is the duty of every citizen of the world to take this responsibility in their own hands. We should start creating a sense of brotherhood among the citizens of our own country as the first step towards the mission. The best way to do this is person to person, family to family and organisation to organisation contact.

In our country, 5 per cent of the over twenty million people are students studying in schools, colleges and universities. If they make even one friend in each of the countries, six million students in other six countries can be made pen-friends at time. This number goes on increasing every year. Students can develop friendship among themselves which will grow and develop as the time passes. Slowly others will follow them, so within a small period of time we can make millions and millions of friends throughout the world. We can exchange views and ideas and even work in “mutual benefit” basis. When friendship developes, geographical and religious boundaries starts fading away. Egoism and individualism are removed. There remains only one heart full of love in every individual body irrespective of who is from which country. In the long run, these people or group of people become our ambassador or our spokesperson if any conflict or tension arises between two countries at government level.

Time has come and demands that students, professionals, individuals of each country must initiate this philosophy befriending people of other countries under the umbrella of peace and friendship. Our relation with one another will have a better impact in influencing bilateral decision in government level. So, in this way we can establish peace on earth. There will be no war or conflict between us when we all are friends and this world will be a better place to live in.