Nepalese Economy
Slackness To Recovery

By Gandhi Raj Kafle

FRESH economic statistics reveal some positive facts although they are not encouraging. On an average and nothing substantial to cheer up. The statistics unveiled by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank of the country portray a dismal picture in its economic review for the last seven months of the current fiscal year. These statistics are important indicators of the present Nepalese economy.

Findings

NRB findings show that the government expenditure is higher than the national resources. Although this is not a new fact, the present situation is a little different because of the wide margin. The government in its bids to mobilise indigenous resources is trying hard to minimise this gap. Another notable fact is that foreign exchange holdings of the country has also declined.

For a country like Nepal export of limited commodities is vital for balancing import- export relations. But, the central bank’s statistics show a remarkable decline of exports by 37.3 per cent in third country-trade. All three major components of our export readymade garments, woolen carpet and pashmina products-record a heavy fall. This certainly hints a worsening situation for promotion of our third-country trade.

No doubt, the present economic atmosphere in Nepal is not good. Our trading activities, specially export to foreign countries have suffered several jolts. In this situation, nobody had expected optimistic statistics from government institutions like Nepal Rastra Bank. So, whatever the fact the bank brought out is the recession in most of the sectors.

However, the adverse economic situation is not limited to the country’s trade sector only. Its impacts on tourism is even worse. Nepal, which has planned to increase the number of tourists in its development strategy, is experiencing a drastic decline in their arrival. As a result to number of tourism related businesses like hotel, travel agency, airlines, mountaineering and trekking are badly affected. The country’s foreign exchange reserves has been noticeably suffering stagnation.

A vibrant economy records a situation of higher liquidity. Nepal’s economy, has not been good on it. The country’s current liquidity position is low even in this backdrop. The Nepal Rastra Bank’s record proves it. Due to various reasons seen at monetary front, the Bank also predicts further squeeze in security market transactions. The current economic slackness is also hitting credit flow for investment purpose. In an economy like ours, where banking and financial institutions are in a key positions of production, the slackness in credit flow can never be helped for achieving sustainable growth.

The Nepal Rastra Bank’s economic review for the last seven months of the current fiscal year has, thus, shown some of the remarkable characteristics of the ailing economy in Nepal. The economy has to come out of this situation soon which is certainly challenging for both the government and the private sectors.

Has the government been able to cope with problems for accelerating development works? Has the private sector of Nepal been able to make extra efforts for extending more meaningful cooperation with the government to come out safe from sluggish economic atmosphere of present times?

In fact, both the sectors have their claims to show their enhanced level of participation for the betterment of the economy.

The government claims that it has done its best to check negative outcomes of present day trouble. Measures are taken to reduce administrative expenses. Urgent costs for providing state’s essential services have been met. Resource mobilisation policy has been accorded top priority. The government is also trying to win the confidence of donors. And, in its bid for it, the call for enhanced cooperation to boost Nepal’s economic development has been responded well.

The private sector, which is not in a good condition today is also struggling to uplift the country’s economic condition. As a result a new environment of exchanging views to resolve issues between government and private sector has emerged. This is indeed a good sign because it can help tackle number of contentious matters of our economy like tax policies of the government. The private sector, in fact, always wishes good of the economy, because it always wants to maximise gain.

Yet, the Nepalese private sector seems to be worried now because it has suffered serious setback at both national and international levels. This two-way setback is certainly ponderable. It calls for rational thinking from both the government and private sectors. However, to initiate such valuable discussions on affairs of economic development of Nepal, the government authorities like the Finance Ministry and the Nepal Rastra Bank can play a decisive role. The representatives bodies of private sector like the Chamber of Commerce and Industries too are also expected to participate in talks for national development agenda.

This national discussion, needs to be based on the objective evaluation of the economy. So, the Nepal Rastra Bank’s economic review in this context has its own value. Such reviews prompt the government and private sector to adopt measures in the management of economic jolts. So, each sector needs to think and adopt suitable measures to avoid slackness in production of Nepal’s economy. However this task can’t be performed well from the efforts of a single sector.

Security Management

The government right now is engaging to restore law and order situation in the country. This outwardly looks non-economic job. However, peaceful atmosphere with well-maintained law and order is the prerequisite of development. The government has known it, Therefore it has accorded top priority to maintain security. The improvement in the ailing economy in Nepal is taking time because the nation, despite some achievement, is yet to accomplish the task of maintaining security. Once it takes control of the situation, the ailing economy will surely in the path of improvement.

There Is A Way Out

By Sam Bahour And Michael Dahan

EVERY foreign military invasion has a pre-defined end called withdrawal. The Israeli incursion into-territories internationally recognised as Palestinian is no exception.

Goals

Every military operation has a defined political goal; yet Sharon, if he has one, seems to be keeping this a secret from his cabinet, the Israel people-needed, the world, Tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, Israel will need to determine to which border it will withdraw its troops. Israel can choose to move back to one of the hundreds of its self-defined "security" borders; or it can, once and for all, choose to end the never-ending spiral of violence by finally implementing UN resolutions and withdrawing back to the 4 June 1967 borders, thus closing one chapter of a senseless military occupation.

The Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, knows this very well. He also knows that his time is limited, and that the assault on Palestinian cities, institutions and lives must end. US-armed Israel can occupy, and re-occupy, Palestinian lands over and over, under any media slogan that fits the times, but will never rid itself of legitimate Palestinian resistance to the illegal occupation that has haunted it, and the world, for 37 years now.

The Palestinians went to Madrid, Oslo, Camp David and Taba. They extended the greatest concession ever voluntarily made by an indigenous people: to relinquish 78 per cent of their ancestral homeland so Jews around the world could fulfil their own dream of a homeland. In return, the world
community expected the Israeli occupiers to dismantle their illegal occupation of the 22 per cent of Palestinian land that remained: the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. What Palestinians received instead was a package of unprecedented Israeli aggression.

Israeli policymakers are so blinded by the suicide bombings, they cannot comprehend that their military occupation of Palestinian land is generating not only more suicide bombers, but a community increasingly convinced that any future coexistence may be impossible given the deafening silence of Israeli public opinion toward the continuing occupation. Suicide bombings are totally immoral and serve no strategic goal, but have been successful in feeding into the political plans of maniacal military professionals like Ariel Sharon and Shimon Peres.

Well-oiled public relations campaigns designed in Washington and Tel Avivi portray Palestinian victims as the rapists and Israeli rapists as poor souls who desperately need security. Yet Palestinians are going out of their way to facilitate Israel’s entry into the Middle East as an equal, legitimate entity and a partner for the future.

Now, with the Arab League offer for normalisation with Israel if UN resolutions are implemented, the Arab world too, as a whole, is giving Israel a respectable way out as well. Unfortunately, Sharon and Peres are missing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and would rather than turn every single Palestinian citizen’s life upside down in the hope of mass submission, which will never come.

Demographic Dilemma

History will judge the Palestinian leadership on the basis of its political wisdom, but Israel cannot wait for history. It must choose today—between peace on internationally recognised terms with the dispossessed indigenous people of its state, and another half-century of isolation against the backdrop of a rapidly encroaching demographic dilemma.

As two citizens of this troubled region, we offer President Bush and his administration a history book of Palestine and the Palestinians. For the Palestinian and Israeli leaderships, their part starts with an Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 borders and a Palestinian pledge to remain committed—as Mr Arafat, amazingly, still is, even under gunfire—to resolving the remaining issues of refugees, settlements, and security in a new and improved peace process.

Today, we write not as colleagues, but as a Palestinian living under Israeli attack, a few hundred metres from Arafat’s compound, and an Israeli, living a few hundred metres from one of the latest suicide bombings. There is a way out.

Sam Bahour is a Palestinian-American living in the besieged Palestinian city of Al-Bireh in the West Bank and co-author of Homeland. Oral Histories of Palestine and Palestinians (1994). Michael Dahan is an Israeli-American political scientists living in Jerusalem.

Radio Generates Cultural Awareness

By Shaphalya Amatya

MASS media has a very important role in creating cultural awareness among the people. It has even greater role to perform in developing countries like Nepal where literacy percentage is very low.

The country like Nepal, where people cannot buy even a newspaper worth two rupees, radio has become the most effective media because it is easily available and it is cheaper than any other means. As such much attention should be given for the development of radio, which can provide necessary informations and knowledge on different aspects of culture, cultural properties, monuments, sculptures, heritage preservation, folk arts, folklore, religion, religious and social rites and rituals, songs, music, dance, and so on.

Radio Nepal can be heard almost in all the districts of the country but Radio Nepal and other FM radio stations should develop and transmit religious and cultural programmes, cultural education, debates and discourses, talks, dramas, folksong and folklore competitions regularly.

Interviews of cultural personalities, singers, dancers, musicians, heritage conservators, cultural administrators, academicians, and other such related persons should be broadcast regularly. People should be informed about heritage conservation, temple restoration, museums, heritage sites, archaeological achievements and discoveries, heritage theft and vandalism, heritage awards and functions.

Whatever informations the radio communicates to the people it should be always true or at least ninety per cent near the truth. Wrong and misreporting will always bring negative impact in the society. Therefore radio script writers, programme producers and other related persons should be given proper training, education and sufficient authentic reference materials on the subject. In fact every Radio Station should have a good reference library for consultation. Like in developed countries, if possible Radio Nepal and other radio stations should keep panel of experts on different subjects for necessary consultations.

The twenty-first century is the age of cyber media. Traditional means of media such as newspapers, magazines, radio, even television have become old fashioned. Electronic media such as fax, e-mail, web-site, Internet, and some others are the need and the demand of the day. These modern means of media are not only gaining popularity day by day but also having optimum use. In such a situation the cyber media can play a great role in bringing and spreading cultural awareness among the general public.

To a modern person time has great value both timewise and moneywise. The electronic media has helped them save their valuable time tremendously. Many people think that in the near future postal services too will be outdated.

This advancement in media or information technology has brought the world on our palm as the cyber media has turned this world into a global village. Therefore to every country, community and culture it is becoming very easy these days to communicate and disseminate informations wherever, whenever and whatever they want through this media.

Since world has become a global village it has only one culture now i. e. the culture of the world peace, brotherhood, and humanity. No doubt we have other cultures too which can be categorised as the local cultures or cultures of different countries, commu-nities and people. When we talks of these local cultures and the role of mass media in bringing cultural awareness among the masses, there is no other better and effective means than the radio. We should forgot the role of education and the role of family and the society which can influence a person and bring consciousness in preserving, conserving , popularising and utilising the fruits of culture which are cherished.

We should try to use this means of mass media, which is cheap and can be afford by a vast majority of the population for the optimum benefit of the masses. We should also encourage both government and non-government organisations in opening new radio stations and monitoring them effectively for broadcasting interesting, authentic and recent news and views on cultural heritage and heritage preservation covering the whole country. If a country desires to save and preserve its culture, cultural heritage and cultural traditions necessary messages should reach the rural and remote parts of the country where majority of the people live.