GAA Forum
Civic Concerns Articulated

By Mukti Rijal

GODAVARI Alumni Association (GAA) has resumed the forum it had provided to discuss issues of contemporary relevance during the early eighties. The forum had then earned a distinction and popularity of its own kind and the GAA Thamel hall used to remain filled with elites and eggheads. After about two decades the forum has been resurrected. The last forum was the Mayoral debate during the deposed Panchayat era when Sarbottam Dangol, Roopjyoti had, among others contested the election for the Kathmandu Nagar Panchayat chief, said Deepak Gyawali.

Difficult Phase

Although the situation is different and multiparty democracy has been the ruling ideology, the country is passing through a difficult phase. It is very difficult to identify and pinpoint the root cause of the problems. For a country like Nepal whose political institutions are young and fragile, political culture and orientations are yet to pass the test of democratic touchstone liberal democracy itself may lie at the root of the difficulties. Liberal democracy Nepal adopted in 1990 following the People's Movement is the political theory of modernity. Its postulates are the most distinctive features of modern life. The esential postulates of liberal democracy are - the autonomous individual with his concern for privacy and liberty, the growth of wealth and the steady stream of invention and innovation and finally the limited and good governance. And intellectual outlook of liberal of democracy as a political scientist writes is one that could have originated in its fulness only in the post-traditional society of Europe after the dissolution of the medieval Christendom. Liberal Democracy in Nepal for the first time unleashed hitherto dormant and in subordinated social and political forces to establish identities and compete for roles, power and resources. Limited resources and institutional capacity failed to address to the rising revolution of expectations-social,political and economic. As a result social discontent and frustrations have set in. The current crisis situation can be ascribed to the inability of the political system to meet the rising people's aspirations and the indulgence to exercise in more in rhetorics than in substance. In other words, as a speaker said it was the result of governance failure accompanied by a significant erosion in systemic capacity to deliver.

Professor Krishna Khanal was the lead panel speaker in the forum while Deepak Gyawali and Hari Rokka were in the panel of speakers. Kanak Mani Dixit was the moderator. The theme of the forum was- Whither Nepalese Politics ?

Jhala Nath Khanal- CPN(UML) leader objected to the theme of the discussion because it seeks to obscure the rationale of the democratic polls to held on Nov 13. Krishna Khanal was very critical of the demagoguery and abstractions political parties exercise in to reap political advantage during the polls. Political parties should come to people with concrete package for resolving the country's crisis. He held political parties responsible for the current mess and said without proper road mapping no system can be driven without letting it go off the rail. He said the impending election is very crucial and if it could not be held due to one or the other reasons the very basis of the multiparty constitution would be in jeopardy.

Deepak Gyawali came down heavily upon the political parties and heaped blame upon them for their inability to manage internal dissent. He said that the government should hold local elections soon to ensure that untainted leaders grow and develop from the bottom. He found fault even in the system envisaged by the constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal and posed " if our electoral system is democratic and inclusive enough why dalits and Marginalised have no representation in the national parliament?" He demanded that constitution should be amended also to guarantee the protection of the local governance units.

Hari Rokka said that the base has changed so should be the suprestructure. He emphasised that our cultural and social plurality needs to be protected and promoted so that marginals are integrated in the national framework. He talked at length about the emerging political relations in the country and said solutions should be sought taking the new power relations into account.

Serious concern

Leading personalities from the civil society interacted with the panel of speakers and expressed their serious concern over the tensions exacerbating in the country. Some argued that solution to the present crisis should get precedence over the elections while others contended that there is no alternative to elections. A few even doubted on the possibility of the peaceful elections. The interaction was lively and reflective of the current national mood. Thanks to GAA for this initiative and hope this forum continues to reflect and debate on the current situation in the country.

Promoting Construction Projects

By Raj Kumar Bhattarai

THE development odyssey of a country primarily depends on the advancement of prerequisites for accommodation, transportation, irrigation, electrification, information and communication that are directly associated with the construction projects. Construction industry is one of the oldest and the largest industries of the world that opens the doors to other industries. The suppliers of men, machines, materials, methods and money to the projects get multiple benefits directly.

Adhering strictly to the principle of quality and nationality when construction projects are completed successfully, there is no doubt that Nepal has enjoyed multi-sector growth benefits within a moderately short period. The downgrading morale deeply rooted among the officials is misrepresenting the national interest inherited in construction projects overwhelming a fallacy that Nepal is unable to move ahead without assistance and advice of the donors or their associates.

There is no doubt that either while taking loan or mobilising the internal revenue, Nepal has to invest a substantial amount on construction work in the years to come. The government's financial estimate for the Fiscal Year 2002-2003 expects about Rs. 295million loan or assistance in addition to the internal revenue just to cover regular expenditure. The development expenditure of Rs. 38,680 million estimated for the same period depends on loan and assistance. The contractors of construction projects and the operating suppliers receive 80 percent equivalent of the government development budget from different routes of the whole government budget.

The contractors utilize as much as possible domestic materials, machines, men and methods in the projects if the government officials involved in preparation of construction projects' specifications strongly specify such inputs that really boost the national production. If that is not the case, it has to be understood that Nepalese producers cannot get enough benefits from the huge amount of hard loan pouring in development programmes that return to the original sources only after making additions on the huge amount of national debt of our head.

The personnel benefit packages being provided by the foreign loan and assistance based projects are beyond the affordability of our country. The project provides accommodation and other facilities of high standards to the government, consultant, and the contractor. Right now, Nepal cannot provide facilities of international standards putting a burden of loan on the head of poor Nepali citizens. Most of the projects need about 28 percent of the project's direct and indirect costs for such facilities. When we do jobs and provide facilities as per Nepalese standards, the country can save substantial amount every year. When jobs are done accordingly, we can save about Rs. 3 billions in different ways, which in return is enough to provide employment to more than 40,000 persons, paying Rs. 200 per day.

The construction project is governed by a construction contract made between the government and the contractor. The contractor's financial position, construction machinery and equipment, technical personnel as well as work experience are important variables to be successful in the anticipated contract. The foreign contractors look like more capable than the local contractors therefore their chance of success is higher than the local contractors. The donors and creditors play supreme role while fixing the terms and conditions of the contract. They give first preference to the foreign contractors and then only to the local contractors. The standards' specifications, cost, duration, return, and impact of the projects are all based on the same terms and conditions. The construction contracts are inevitable to direct overall economic development establishing backward, forward, and horizontal linkages in an economy. Most of the civil construction projects deploy machines in the name of quality and performance. The equipment like bulldozer, loader, excavator are deployed even in labour-intensive projects. We are not producing construction machines and tools, accessories and parts as well as fuel and lubricants but making efforts to replace the cheapest labour force of the country by such machines and tools. Specified standard is a fulcrum around which all activities gyrate. A high level of knowledge, experience and commitment is essential in establishing such standard specifications where the principles of quality and nationality are reflected.

The declining morale of the decision makers and so called compulsion of the country to take hard loan and assistance for all development programmes is the root of multifold economic problems of Nepal. Quality of the construction jobs depend on commitment, standards specifications as well as scientific control mechanisms. The quality infrastructure is not for the government but for its' ultimate users. The low level of morality and commitment of the persons involved in construction projects frequently compromise on quality, quantity and performance. The construction projects of Nepal are not directed to uplift the domestic industries but supporting the interest of the donors and creditors.
Nepalese construction industry is not developed institutionally. The majority of the contractors are in shortage of managerial skill, physical facilities and financial resources. There is no practice of dividing the big projects into small ones so that the local contractors can compete easily. Projects come into the country, Nepalese contractors become unable to meet the project requirement and the foreign contractors get the jobs. Consequently, the amount of hard loan and assistance is taken back to their home country in various forms like profit of the contractors, payment for materials, consultancy services, equipments, spare parts, fuel and lubricants as well as different consumables. As such, it is essential to promote Nepalese contractors and provide them with the opportunities of construction jobs.

A Touch Of Pessimism

By Aditi Giri

EVERYDAY I come home, walking most of the way, I find myself appalled at the sight of garbage all over the streets, on the sidewalks, flying out of cars and school buses. I do not get disgusted, just appalled. That is because I care a great deal about my future that heavily rests on the future of my surroundings, my home, the Earth I might be selfish to think so. But, I believe that no one, no matter how saintly a person he or she is, is deep down very, very selfish. There is no such thing as selfless service. On that note, I want to emphasize that caring for my surroundings and my natural environment, for me, is an extremely selfish deed. You might not think so. But, does it make a difference? I think not. Therefore, in saying so, I want to convey that there is no use what so ever in discussing the goodness in a person and evaluating it on the scale of selfishness or selflessness. We humans waste our time, analysing other humans, finding faults and exterminating our own faults. While what we should do instead be doing is, is to look after the Earth, our homes and our futures.
The Earth is doomed. People say so all the time. But, this time, I mean it with all my heart I am, unlike most other Nepalis, very concemed about what we are doing to the place we call home. I very occasionally go vegetable and grocery shopping in the neighbourhood. I refuse to take plastic bags whenever I purchase things that I can hold myself, I mean, there is no use putting one packet of Wai Wai in a flimsy little black translucent thing when I can easily just hold it myself. What surprises me the most when I do so is the way people act. The shopkeepers, more than once, have acted like they are really offended when I don't accept their humble token of a plastic bag. Holding everything in a polythene bag is like a social taboo here. People give disgusted, sarcastic stares at me when I refuse to take a plastic bag. Every time this happens, I say to myself, The Earth is so doomed! And I mean if too.

I might not know much, but what I do know is that plastic bags are non biodegradable and if I use too much of them, they will pile up and choke the living essence out of the earth. This, for me, is a very frightening prospect and I am trying my best to see to it that it does not happen. At the same time, I am but a minute fraction of the entire population of Baneshwor, let alone the whole world and whatever I do, is not going to make a big difference. That is exactly what people tell me, that what I'm doing is worthless. I consider those people to be spineless cowards who cannot make commitments. Their attitude, which unfortunately is very popular, is the reason why garbage is piling up and no one is allowed to make any difference, even if they want to.

The modern Nepali, or any other person of another nationality, is so much engrossed in politics, money business and everyday life, that they forget that they are a part of an immense system. A system much larger than any government or business monopoly. I only wish that they would come to terms with life and accept the fact that they are responsible for every small thing they do. A person, spitting red beetle juice on the pathway will tell you that he has no time to think about making that particular spot dirty because he has other, bigger things to worry about. He has no idea that nothing is bigger than the world we live in. If there were no earth, he wouldn't even be there, his problems wouldn't even have even existed. But, that is a different plane of thinking altogether and most people consider that plane to be beyond the realm of reason and rational thinking.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, I happen to think a lot in that plane. These thoughts often leave me paranoid and anxious. I feel alone most of the time when I think of the blunder that we, as a species, are making of the earth. I ask myself why people won't listen to me, why they won't care. As I think deeper, I run out of answers and I grow afraid, thinking that I may as well forget all about it, that I may too find the outlook too frustrating, too abstract to think about and that I may too turn into one of those spineless cowards.