FEATURES NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

Economic Development
NGOs Play Vital Role

By Uttam Maharjan

THE world underwent a sea change in the 1980s, when, with the demise of the erstwhile Soviet Union, it went unipolar, with the USA emerging as the sole superpower in the changed global context. The collapse of communist regimes across the world gave rise to open-market economy and liberalisation. Nepal, too, underwent a political transformation with the collapse of the Panchayat dispensation and the reinstatement of a multi-party democracy in 1990.

With the adoption of liberalisation policy by Nepal, a number of NGOs and financial institutions have come into existence. In fact, these institutions are essential for the economic development of the country.

Nepal is a poor country classified by the UNO among the least developed countries (LDCs). The per capital income of the country is around US $ 220. Most of the people in the country earn less than a dollar a day and so find it extremely difficult to have two square meals a day. This would epitomize the socio-economic status of the Nepalese. Therefore, it is the greatest challenge of the country to raise the standard of living of its people so as to enable them to live dignified lives by meeting their basic needs like food, clothing, shelter, education, health care, transportation and communication.

The government has initiated development planning since 2013 BS by formulating periodic plans. We have completed eight such plans and are at the last leg of the current Ninth Plan. From the next fiscal year, we will be initiating the Tenth Plan. But the irony is that despite having made such initiatives for 45 years, no positive changes have yet taken place on the socio-economic front.

The NGOs scattered across the country are helping the government in one way or the other. Such organisations are concerned with various socio-economic aspects such as poverty alleviation, education, health care, community forestry, tourism, women and children, the disabled, the Dalits, corruption, local development and micro-finance. There are also other NGOs involved in emergency relief, construction works, skill development and savings and credit programmes.

NGOs are important community-based entities that can reach where the government cannot. There are a number of remote and outlying parts in Nepal, where government employees do not like to stay for a long period of time. In such a situation, NGOs can render valuable services to the poor and marginalised people living there.

NGOs have made some commendable impacts on society. The credit for banning highly polluting Vikram tempos from the Kathmandu Valley with effect from Bhadra, 2056 BS goes to some environmental NGOs. It was indeed a major initiative in de-polluting the Valley to some extent. Similarly, the emancipation of the Kamaiyas (bonded labourers) in Sharwan, 2057 BS was also facilitated by the NGO sector to some extent.

In the same vein, some NGOs are working towards uplifting the status of the Dalits, women and children. The Dalit movement is getting fresh impetus through the efforts of such NGOs. The Dalits have, as a result, embarked upon a campaign against untouchability and other social discrimination. Similarly, the women’s properly bill was tabled in the last session of Parliament.

Most of the NGOs running in Nepal rely on donors to meet their financial requirements. This would imply that they are donor-driven. As long as they get support from such donors, they will continue to keep body and soul together. The moment they are balked of donor support, they will go down like a ninepin if they cannot mobilise financial resources either by themselves or from outside.

With some NGOs indulging in self-interest rather than honestly involving themselves in the tasks they are supposed to perform, the general image of NGOs
has been tarnished. They are alleged to be begging bowls for some vested
interests. It is true that not all NGOs are active in their respective fields. This may be due to self-interest, lack of expertise in mobilising and utilising resources for institutional building and development and the like.

It need not be reiterated that local participation is a prerequisite for making any development project a success. This accounts for the emphasis given by Nepal on decentralisation and local self-governance. But the reality may be otherwise. Local people may take development initiatives made by NGOs as not concerned with their benefit simply because such organisations are mostly donor-driven. So it is really a daunting challenge for NGOs to convince the local people along their lines of thinking that NGO activities are designed to uplift their socio-economic status.

It is obvious that NGO activities, if supported by local participation, will show encouraging results in short order. For this, NGOs should show strong commitment and will to work towards making society a better place to live in.

It is not surprising that NGOs have now penetrated society in virtually all manifestations. They have chosen a particular domain of work for concentrated development in that field. These ramifications would influence various strata of society socially, culturally and economically.

NGOs can act as socio-economic traiblazers, guiding the government in its development activities and even correcting them should they go amiss. The government should, therefore, show a positive attitude towards them. After all, the government and NGOs could be good partners and synergistically work towards uplifting the standard of living of the common people. This is what the changing times demand.

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