Good Governance
Political Commitment Essential

By Uttam Maharjan

GOOD governance would mean good administration aiming at maximising public welfare. In fact, the main aim of governance is to ensure that administration works like clockwork in accordance with the rule of law, which includes justice, impartiality and equality.

In fact, good administration is responsible, efficient and just, and susceptible to public needs, desires and problems. This implies that the public gets relief from their administration. Good governance ignores individual interests for the sake of collective interests on the basis of the welfare state concept.

For good governance, those at the top echelon of administration should be honest, scrupulous and responsible. They should leave no stone unturned to discharge their responsibilities honestly and efficiently. They should give up perfunctory discharge of responsibilities and dereliction of duty.

These days honesty, integrity and probity in public life are taking a back seat. So are credibility and decency. Good characters are required to conduct administration smoothly and efficiently. Those who are corrupt cannot guide the public effectively. Corruption is eroding the good administration.

Corruption is more widespread in the developing countries than in the developed ones. It is due to corruption that foreign aid to the developing countries often goes down the drain. To optimally utilise resources, corruption must come to an end. This is possible only through good governance. Good governance is instrumental in sloughing off nonchalant attitudes and running development projects smoothly. After all, honest discharge of duty would deter corruption and irregularities.

The South Asian region, which is inhabited by 25 per cent of the world population, is now undergoing a good governance crisis due to poverty and corruption, coupled with illiteracy, gender bias, malnutrition, racial discrimination and a delay in dispensing justice. As such, the social, economic and political conditions of this region are serious. There is an economic crisis, low progress in agriculture and industry and an unfavourable balance of trade.

The government should take the initiative in controlling corruption. And opposition parties should also cooperate with the ruling party in corruption control. It would be worth noting that in recent times donor countries and agencies have complained about rampant corruption in the implementation of development projects run with the aid money. They are now concerned about the proper utilisation of such aid money. The World Bank tends to link development assistance with good governance in every sector so that there may not be an unnecessary delay in the implementation of development projects and the quality of the projects may be maintained.

Bureaucracy, an important component of good governance, is an executive organ of the government that implements its plans, policies and programmes. It is due to lack of efficient and responsible bureaucracy that development projects often fail to materialise. It would be disappointing to note that it is often treated as synonymous with corruption in our society. That is why, reform measures are needed to make bureaucracy more effective.

The civil service, the lifeblood of bureaucracy, is bloated due to the haphazard recruitment of employees through nepotism, favouritism and other unfair means. There is an unnecessary growth of organisational structures and incompetent people are appointed to top posts. Meritocracy

has thus crumbled away in the civil service. And objective appraisal of civil servants is lacking and a carrot-and-stick policy is not in order.

Soon after the restoration of multiparty democracy in the country in 1990, a shake-up was effected in the civil service by introducing new rules and retiring some senior employees. The administrative Reform Commission was constituted in 2048 B.S. under the chairmanship of the then Premier Girija Prasad Koirala and its report was submitted to the government towards the end of that year. Prior to this several administrative reform commissions had also been formed. But the reports of such commissions were not honestly implemented.

Similarly, the suggestions on curtailing unnecessary expenditures of government bodies given by the Public Expenditure Review Commission (PERC) are yet to be implemented.

In our society, the general public is not organised enough to resist mal-administration. Action at citizens’ level is essential to expose the activities of corrupt administrators. The Civil society, which has grown in importance since the 1990s, can act as a pressure group to dissuade corrupt administration by sensitising people to their rights and duties and identifying and eliminating social aberrations. In fact, efficient civil society assists in maintaining good governance. It could be a good bedfellow of the government.

To enthuse the general public over good governance, local bodies should be strengthened so that they may render prompt and efficient services to the general public at local level. The general public should also be given a chance to participate in the decision-making process. This would help identify themselves with the development process more enthusias-tically.

For economic growth, economic and governance is essential, which conceives of economic development by ending economic exploitation, developing a system of equitable distribution of wealth, optimally utilising available resources and utilising foreign aid in an effective and transparent manner.

It would be worth noting at this juncture that the Enabling State Programmes (ESP), launched in 1997 in cooperation with the DFID, is concerned with improving governance and empowering civil society. It aims at promoting pro-poor governance by involving people in the advocacy of administration reforms and in the formulation and implementation of development projects.

To promote good governance, a strong political commitment is indispensable. Nothing will come out until administrators themselves realise that a change for the better is necessary to reshape and streamline the administrative machinery.

Mountaineering & Rescue Operations

By Gyan Rai

THERE was a time in the nation’s mountaineering annals when news of a mountaineering expedition’s conquest of any one of the over 8,000-metre peaks used to occupy considerable space in the front pages of the local papers. Or, for that matter, of the mountaineering expedition’s trials and tribulations, including the casualty or toll claimed by the mountain’s snow, crevasses, avalanches and slippery or treacherous slopes.

Nowadays, only exceptional conquests of the nation’s towering mountains by mountaineering expeditions tend to be given front-page treatment by the local papers. Or, news of major accidents—like those that occurred on the slippery slopes of Mt. Everest (or Sagarmatha to the Nepalese) some years ago. As for the rest, the mountaineering expeditions could consider themselves lucky if the local papers carry the news of their conquests (or casualties) at all. That too, in the inside pages (usually in the sports pages).

This seemingly unpalatable (at least to the mountaineering expeditions and their members) treatment meted out to the mountaineering expeditions’ news by the local press nowadays could be due to a surfeit in both news and mountaineering expeditions themselves. Especially of the usual news of the conquests of the already over-climbed peaks by one or the other mountaineering expedition—or of casualties sustained by them while climbing the majestic peaks.

For, just like the popular Nepalese saying " Even sugar, when consumed in large quantity, becomes bitter", so too the surfeit of mountaineering news in the country seems to have engulfed the local papers with a sense of "mountaineering (expedition?) fatigue". And thus the reason for the local papers to place such news in the inside pages. That too, sans the coverage and photos like in yesteryears.

Be that as it may, one probable cause of this "mountaineering fatigue" among local papers could be the exponential proliferation of the mountaineering expeditions themselves. Yet another cause could be the fact that by now, all the major peaks (those over 8,000 meters) in the country have not only been climbed umpteen times by climbers through all the known mountaineering routes but also throughout the year by mountaineers, whether in groups or solos.

But then, when mountaineering expeditions just seem to proliferate like lemmings on the one hand and the number of mountain peaks, just as Mother Nature ordained, stays solid and constant on the other, such a phenomenon is not unusual.

Nevertheless, for a nation that derives a considerable portion of its foreign exchange currencies from the tourism sector—more specifically, the adventure-oriented tourism field and activities like trekking and mountaineering—the proliferation in the number of mountaineering expeditions coming to the country to climb its mountain peaks is undoubtedly good news. For, not only would a large number of locals be getting employment opportunities, but it would keep the national exchequer’s cash register ringing away merrily. Since the national exchequer never seems to have enough of the turo-dollars earned from tourism-related activities to expedite the nation’s development endeavours, the more the mountaineering expeditions, the more advantageous it would be for the nation’s coffers.

The same phenomenal growth in the number of mountaineering expeditions clamouring amongst themselves to book a mountain peak years, if not months, in advance is also an eloquent testimony to the mountaineers’ abiding love for the nation’s mountain peaks. This, at a time when many developing nations are going all out to develop their own tourism-related sites and places so as to reap in more turo-dollars, should be music to the national exchequer as well as to all those engaged in the tourism sector of the country. For, how much these developing nations may try to lure trekkers and mountaineers, only a few of them can give Nepal a run for its mountain peaks. Even then, they cannot provide the mountaineers with a mind-boggling choice that Nepal, with 10 peaks glittering over 8,000 meters into the stratosphere and a few hundred peaks 1,000 meters below these towering giants, can possibly give.

As all know by now, the mountaineers’ tryst with Nepal’s formidable mountain peaks began ever since it opened up its borders to the world in the early fifties. Since then, with the passing of each year, Nepal has fast become a mecca to mountaineers seeking to pitch their will and endurance against Nepal’s towering giants. Or, for that matter, to hone their mountaineering skills and techniques so that they would be able to climb other higher and more treacherous peaks in the Nepal Himalayas.

However, if the mountaineers’ love for the nation’s mountain peaks is one side of this adventurous sport, then the other side is the ever present danger to both the lives and limbs of the mountaineers from, among others, avalanches, crevasses and frost-bites. The over 400 corpses said to be buried under the snows of the nation’s mountain peaks do testify to the dangers inherent in this adventurous sport. Yet, mountaineers, inspite of knowing the dangers that they will be facing while climbing the nation’s mountain peaks, continue to come in droves to pitch their will, stamina, endurance and skills against the mountains. One likely reason for this could be that behind all mountaineers are many years of climbing experiences—which, in turn, provided them the much-needed chance to fine tune their physique and hone their skills. As such, whenever a mountaineer goes to a mountain, he/she is in fact taking a calculated risk. In other words, he/she takes all the factors that could hinder him/her from standing on top of a mountain peak into consideration.

Yet, the moods of Mother Nature are such that whatsoever leeway mountaineers may give to them, they can sometimes become very capricious, thereby never failing to convert the mountain slopes into treacherous traps for the mountaineers either pushing their bodies to the limit to reach the peaks or, after having imprinted their footsteps on the snowy summits, descending to their base camps. Reports of mountaineers stranded, maimed or even killed by howling blizzards or snow storms on the mountain slopes are enough proof of Mother Nature’s vagaries. Needless to point out, mountaineers climbing in the Nepal Himalayas are said to be still relying heavily on their own skills or that of their climbing companions to rescue them whenever they get into trouble.

By no means is this to imply that the nation lacks associations/organisations that can mount search and rescue operations as and when mountaineers send out S.O.S calls. There are. Some have even carried out daring rescue missions. Nevertheless, they still have many more rescue missions to undertake to fine tune their operations to snatch mountaineers from the jaws of imminent death in the Nepal Himalayas. Since the lack of reliable search and rescue operations could discourage mountaineering expeditions from coming to the country, it looks to reason for the tourism authorities to upgrade the existing search and rescue operations so that mountaineers will continue to climb the Nepal Himalayas. And with it, their activities will keep on generating employment opportunities to the locals and their royalties keep on filling the national exchequer’s coffers.

Festive Facets Of Life

By Bhimsen Thapalia

DASHAIN is the recent past now and the Tihar prepares to knock at our doorsteps soon. The two post-monsoon Hindu festivals coming in a span of a fortnight in between them have significant bearing in the life of the people. Festivals are meant to herald joy and merriment. But joy is only for the innocent kids who are not concerned with managing things. The fact of life is that festivals bring both joys and sorrows. For some it is a refreshing break from daily routine while for others it is an addition to the economic burden.

No sooner one has forgotten the pain of managing goats, clothes and spices for the Dashain, Tihar comes with trumpeting call to buy necessary items that are so various and sundry. So the impact is not only cultural but also economic. For those having their jobs far from homes, it is the issue of journey that causes concern. Booking tickets in advance, buying the gifts experiencing exhaustion are what one should be bracing for. In some communities brothers are to visit sisters, while in others sisters will have to. It is a sweet bond of love that should not be broken come what may. It is regarded sad and inauspicious to leave the forehead undecorated with colourful Tika from sisters. For those who already made Dashain visit, it is double difficulty.

For those who are engaged in business of festive supply, it is the season with hectic and sleepless working days. Be it the garland-Tika sellers or the dealers of dry fruits and festive cuisine, it is the time to hit the iron when it is hot. They are active from dawn to dusk. Marketplace wears a bright and exciting look with unique brisk business. Lights, incenses, utensils, fruits and nuts, sweets and a host of ritual items witness hot business till the day of Bhai Tika. Let us pray, perhaps unsuccessfully as in the past years, the administration puts a check on harmful firecrackers that invite accidents.

The important day of the Dashain, Bijaya Dashami, carries a significant message of the victory (Bijaya) of the truth over the evil. In every era in the human history, the forces of virtue and the vice are at war. All the noble ideals and goals cherished by the human society will come to an end if the sinister has an upper hand over the good. These festive occasions thus serve to renew our resolve against baneful elements. There is a Nepalese proverb that says fabrication won’t sustain and truth won’t fade. Truth with its strong traits will prevail in all ages. Tihar is the festival of light. Light in its symbolic significance stands for knowledge. Dawning of knowledge in our minds will immediately do away with ignorance. Prosperity and civilisation follow the victory over blind forces.

It seems it is timely to see festivals in relation to the messages they carry. This outlook will help to continue our cultural events with their refined scope for the good of the society. As times change, there is a greater need to come out of the stereotypes. When we learn to celebrate festivals in this new light, they will not come to us as mere economic burden. For instance, if the enlightening aspect of the Tihar is understood to overcome ignorance, the principal factor for our backwardness, poverty will be won over forever. The motto of Sarbe Bhavantu Sukhina (Let everyone be happy) will keep the much-dreaded deprivation at bay in the true sense. Then the festivals will be marked with the excitement and joy worth their names.