Dynamic Local Institutions
The Key Achievement

By Mukti Rijal

THE democratic change of 1990 has heralded consequential changes in several areas. Though the governments formed following the change have not been able to assure to a bright future for the people and the stable social order we did enjoy in the past is disturbed to an extent, some quiet but significant results achieved over the last decade should not be allowed to diminish without proper recognition. One meaningful change is enlisted in the development of social consciousness accompanied by a rise of active and vigilant civil society. This may be due to the rapid expansion of education and other measures addressed to social uplift. Another change one can not ignore but appreciate is witnessed in the area of strengthening local government institutions and decentralisation. The strong part of the local government institutions—VDCs, DDCs and municipalities—lies not in their enhanced technical and administrative capability to deliver services to the popular constituents. The important aspect is the growing awareness of the people to recognise the value and rationale of the local bodies in accessing services of their day to day concerns and regular needs. Moreover, the concepts of democratised good governance have made inroads gradually at the local level with elected local leaders having started to feel that their responsibility has been to fulfill pledge made to the people at the time of elections.

There is a long way to go to ensure that the local government institutions are capable and competent to deliver services to the people effectively out of the resources generated at the local, level. But the beginning is well pushed on the right track and it is likely that the process moves towards achieving the much applauded goal. There are difficulties ahead as well because the centralist tendencies will always seek to revert the process alleging that the local governments are not strong enough to assume the responsibilities devolved upon them. However, this is the cleverly invented excuse of those who are been on keeping the central power undisturbed or un—eroded. Those who argue that the capacity constraints of local governments should be assessed before giving responsibilities to them are guided by top down precede decentralisation. However, this should not be the case as this will again lead to halting or slowing down of the decentralisation process in the country. Rather a more dynamic and demand driven relationship between decentralisation and capacity building can be established. Shifting responsibilities to local governments will provide incentive for public officials to invest in capacity building or seek creative ways to tap into existing sources of capacity.

Exactly some of the district development committees have started their own initiatives towards capacity building of the elected officials and personnel through training and interactions. They have financed the trainings implemented in association with civil society organisations specialising in the relevant areas.

There are instances too in other countries like the Philippines where opponents of decentralisation talked of withdrawing powers and functions devolved upon the local government units. Not very long back the members of Parliament of the Philippines mounted challenges against the Local Government Code and wanted it amended so that the health services that have been devolved to local government units would be returned to the central government. The Congressmen had cited the cases of poor services rendered by hospitals after they were shifted to the purview of the local government units. However, the real story was that the financial difficulties had convulsed the poor provinces and cities because the transfer of the responsibilities was not accompanied by the corresponding transfer of whatever funds were necessary to run those hospitals. Counting the centralist argument Aquiline Q. Pimentiel, Jr. who was the author of the local government code and also the anti-corruption crusader masterminding the exit of the President Joseph Estrada, writes," the solution does not lie in amending the Code so that the central government will once again run health services. The solution is to implement the Code’s provisions that mandates the central government to augment the funds of those local government units whenever these are unable to deliver the health services required in the communities. The same solutions may be invoked in so far as problems that hobble local government units as a result of certain unfunded mandates imposed on local governments by the central government."

It is expected that the decentralisation and democratic process for empowerment of the people advanced in the country goes ahead as desired. The critics of decentralisation should allow the process to go ahead as it takes time to ensure the process reaps benefits. It needs to be considered the strong decentralised governance provides a bed rock foundation to multiparty democracy and development of the country.

Reminiscence
Juddha Shumsher And The Sorceress

NOBODY knew her name. She was just one yogini (nun) who had come to Kathmandu from India on Shivaratri. During the Rana Regime, the Indians were not allowed to come to Nepal without passport and visa. Only on such occasion, they could come to Kathmandu for a day and visit the Pashupatinath temple. Next day they had to depart. The hermits and the yogis could remain for three days and leave. They also got travel expenses from the government treasury. The yogini who had come during the regime of Juddha Shumsher, did not go back to India in stipulated time. She roamed around the Pashupati area for many days and surprised people with her accurate prediction. She was a middle-aged lady of dark complexion and wore a cotton sari, blouse and a shawl. She smiled while speaking but anyone could guess she never cleaned her teeth. She accepted the invitation of some devotees if she was pleased, and went to their residence was well. But she never entered the house and preferred to stay out: on a bench or under a tree in the garden.

The relatives and neighbours of the host used to come to see the lady. Many of them brought some fruits and even clothes as offerings to the lady. But she did not accept anything and told the host to distribute it among friends present in the garden. Sometimes she would point towards a person and say to the host that the man was a criminal-he had taken bribe just a day before. Sometimes she would not allow a lady to touch her feet saying the lady was a concubine of some rich person. Almost all the devotees charged by her did not stay there and quietly returned bowing to the assembled crowed. But they spread rumours that the so-called yogini was a sorceress and she was in command of an evil spirit called Karnapinchash. The then prime minister Juddha Shumsher also heard about the rumour. He ordered the police chief Chandra Bahadur Thapa to expel the sorcoress from Nepal within a week. She used to stay in Pashupati area and was always sorrounded by devotees who regarded her a divine yogini, not a sorcoress.

The police chief also was one of her devotees and he did not dare to arrest her immediately. He was trying to get the opportunity of begging the PM to let the divine lady remain in Nepal. He got no such opportunities for three days. On the fourth day a strange event happened. The Prime Minister had gone to Balaju for a stroll in the evening there he saw the sorcoress on a platform under a tree. She was speaking to a few devotees. The Prime Minister saw a young lady from the audience got up and promptly left the place as soon as the sorcoress pointed her forefinger towards her. At that very moment the sorcoress saw the Prime Minister approaching in rage and she ordered all the devotees to leave her. Juddha, Shumsher stood before her and signalled Major Thapa to come forward. The Major ran to him with folded hands but before he could speak, the yogini stopped him raising a hand. Then she asked the Prime Minister to lend her his ears so that she could tell him some matters of importance privately. Major Thapa also urged his master to listen to the divine lady. She wispered in his ears for three minutes and he nodded several times. In the end, he saluted her and requested her to remain in this country forever. He further told the police requested her to remain in this country forever, He further told the police chief that he has cancelled his former order to expel the yogini. Nobody knows that the divine lady told Juddha. Some guessed that she must have told him his past and future, otherwise he or would not have cancelled his own order. After some months the sorceress from India disappeared. Her devotees too did not know what happened to her. When Juddha abdicated in favour of Padma Shumsher and went to Ridi in the guise of a hermit, people started spreading rumours that she had predicted Juddha’s future to him in Balaju garden. No one knows whether
this is true or not but people, including myself, still remember the lady who had created sensation in Kathmandu more than five decades ago.