Good Governance
Political Non-Interference Essential

By Khilendra Basnyat

DEVELOPMENT, which has been the crying need of every country, is a complicated issue that concerns with various factors such as per capita income, education, employment and life expectancy. In other words not only economic growth but also people’s education, health and social welfare fall under the area of development which maximises people’s participation in a country’s social, economic and political life.

Today, most developing countries are in a race for development despite the fact that some are advanced and others are far behind.

In fact, the most essential condition for any kind of development is good governance, which is the product of political stability.

Political factor is essential because it is the ultimate and deciding one. Well-prepared plans and programmes usually fail in the absence of strong political commitment. The experience of the neighbouring countries and, especially Nepal, is an example that the pace of development has been adversely affected by political instability and related maladies.

In general, developed countries are found to display top per capita income ranking, and claim good governance. However, developing countries lack viable democratic institutions for good governance and proper infrastructure for development. Poor governance has been a major threat to political stabilisation in these countries, thus upsetting the development process.

Despite some economic progress and human development in the past five decades, one third of the people in the developing world still live under the poverty line. About sixteen per cent share of global income is earned by developing countries with three-fourths of world population, whereas fifty per cent share of that purse goes to developed countries. The scourge of poverty continues to plague least developed countries, especially because of bad governance.

Until now the benefits of development have not reached to a large segment of women, minorities and other disadvantaged people chiefly due to bad governance. Therefore, developing countries will need to emphasise and facilitate technological innovation and economic dynamism.

Good governance, being fundamental for much needed private sector investment in developing countries, is among the priority areas emphasised in the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB)’s private sector development strategy approved in 2000.

In 1995, ADB became the first multilateral development institutions to adopt government policies. Actually, ADB’s governmental programmes emphasised transparency, accountability, predictability and participation in development management.

In recent times, good governance has been a matter of major concern in our country. Due to poor governance, the authorities of the elected government are rapidly eroding and people hardly believe the presence of government everywhere. The government has reduced its credibility to an all time low in our history.

After the restoration of democracy, overpoliticisation of every sector has impeded to establish good governance. Political interference has lowered the morale of civil servants who play a vital role for good governance.

There have been many instances in the past when closeness with political party and politicians in power was given more importance than the efficiency of the civil servants. Consequently, efficient and experienced staffs were discouraged, and good governance could not be established.

Had it been possible to leave the function of governance to the elected representatives, handling the governance issue would have become much simple. However, government as such has turned out to be far too serious and important affair to be left to the discretion of the elected bodies. This case is testified by the plight of the people in various districts of our country.

Since good governance implies the accountable and transparent government machinery, including ministries, secretariats, departments, corporations and other related institutes, the executive heads, civil servants and other employees should have all sincerity and integrity in doing their duties. The sincere and honest should be rewarded whereas the corrupt punished without any political discrimination.

An unfortunate development in the last one-decade of multi-party democracy has been the rampant political interference in different sectors of the government machinery and other institutions.

In recent years, the intellectuals and the ordinary people are getting disappointed. Aside from this, the sincerity and sacrifices of the leaders, the responsible activities of the bureaucrats and hard labour of the people have already been overdue before exhausting the patience of the people.

After the re-advent of democracy, a crisis of unprecedented magnitude
has engulfed the country, and the government has floundered on almost every front is now a well-known bitter truth. If an outlet to the present crisis is not hammered out, the existing situation may become graver and grimmer in the years to come.

For good governance in our country, political non-interference is essential, and it is indispensable to condemn rhetoric utterance to it.

How Long For Verifying Bhutaneses Refugees!

By Mohan K.C.

IT HAS been a long time since Nepal has been hosting Bhutanese refugees who number around 100,000. It was not mere wish that these Bhutanese people landed up in this country. They were in a way compelled or evicted from the Dragon Kingdom of Bhutan. It was what is dubbed as the ‘ethnic cleansing’ drive that saw these legitimate and bonafide citizens turn refugees in another land.

Nepal herself being a poor country can hardly afford to have so many refugees on her land. The resource crunch that Nepal is facing is a serious one. To meet the basic needs of the Nepalese there are many hurdles to cross and upon the burden of the refugees is showing its effects.

The many overtures by Nepal to sort out the problem bilaterally have not been taken up in earnestness by Bhutan. Though there have been a number of ministerial level meets either in
Kathmandu or Thimphu, nothing substantial has emerged. The dilly dallying has not been of benefit to Nepal at all. Despite the fact that Nepal has been insisting for the early and dignified return of the Bhutanese refugees to their motherland, Bhutan on its part is giving serious attention and efforts on its part is clearly lacking.

The refugees living in camps in eastern Nepal too are bothered by the state of uncertainty regarding their imminent return to their home country. As is the case with refugees, they have problems of their own. Nepal, despite all its efforts, is having difficulty meeting the needs of the refugees living in the various camps. Hence, it is but natural that Nepal wants the problem to be resolved at the earliest.

It was only a few months back that there seemed to be a breakthrough in the Nepal-Bhutan talks. It was agreed to form a joint verification team consisting of officials from both the countries. It was agreed to work to investigate and check the papers of the refugees so that after the verification work was done they would be repatriated to Bhutan thereby reducing the burden that Nepal had to carry all these years.

It is a fact that the work was started and there was some optimism in the Nepalese side that the light at the end of the tunnel would soon be visible. But the way the verification process is being carried out, there is much room for disappointment. It has been a very slow process. Till date barely 600 families have been interviewed and told to fill in the requisite forms. It is even estimated that the snail’s pace that the verification work is taking would mean might be a decade for it to be over. But that would still not mean an end to the problem of Bhutanese refugees in Nepal.

Other formalities would have to be completed. Such a delay is not in the interest of Nepal. Nepal should not be a victim of the delaying tactics of Bhutan. It must be firm on its demand and create modalities whereby the verification process can be speeded up.

The double-talk aspect of Bhutan must be clearly taken note of. For Nepal there is much at stake as the whole economic status of the country has been strained by the presence of the 100,000 Bhutanese refugees. It has not only led to the deforestation of vast tracts of land but criminal activities too have increased. The people of eastern Nepal are under immense pressure as the refugees vie for work and food that is available. The refugees offer their services at a cheaper rate in the labour market and that is of great concern.

Though some donations come from the donors, it is not enough to sustain the refugees. If things go on in this manner without any solution in sight then the only possibility is that the refugees will intermingle with local population creating as an after effect a social problem. The earlier the problem is solved, the better it is for Nepal and its people.

Despite the fact that the joint verification team is at work, the pace is so slow that it seems to be only for namesake. May be this is what Bhutan wants: that the problem should linger on and the refugees stay in Nepal forever. This is totally against the feelings that Nepal has.

Nepal has always wanted cordial relations with Bhutan which is also a member state of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). When the stress is so much on economic cooperation, Bhutan has created a problem of big magnitude together with not cooperation sincerely in seeing that the problem of the Bhutanese refugees in Nepal is resolved at the earliest.

Keeping in mind the clamour of the refugees to return in dignity to their own country, Nepal must see that the joint verification work not only goes on smoothly but the pace must pick up. Without being alert we might be playing into the hands of Bhutan’s uncooperative attitude. season. Their research appears in Thursday’s issue of the journal Nature.

But fireworks are far from a big concern in one of the United States’ most notoriously smoggy regions - the Los Angeles area - said a spokesman for that area’s air quality district.

That’s because the ozone increase detected in New Delhi - about 9 parts per billion - is minuscule in comparison to ozone produced in L.A. due in large part to auto pollution, said Bill Kelly, a spokesman for Southern California’s South Coast Air Quality Manage-ment District.

Los Angeles recorded a peak of 180 parts per billion of ozone in 1999, fa