Unemployment
A Grave Problem

By Uttam Maharjan

THE problem of unemployment is one of the grave problems besetting underdeveloped countries like Nepal. As compared to the developed world, it is more acutely felt in the developing countries, which are poor in infrastructure development.

High

It is estimated that 4.8 per cent of the Nepalese population is completely unemployed. This percentage seems to be small but given the percentage of people who cannot find work all the year round, the unemployment problem cannot be shrugged off. Such people called the semi-unemployed in economists' jargon constitute as high as 47 per cent of the total population.

Poverty and unemployment are highly interrelated. The higher the level of unemployment, the higher the level of poverty. In Nepal, 38 per cent of the people are living below the poverty line. Unofficial sources claim that those living below the poverty line make up over 50 per cent. The United Nations has devised a criterion whereby those earning less than one dollar a day are considered poor. By this criterion, 1.2 billion people living across the world are poor. Given the per capita income of USS 210 of the country, it can be easily conjectured that the majority of the Nepalese are on the bread line.

Nepal is predominantly an agrarian country, where 81 per cent of the people are involved in agricultural and allied pursuits. But agricultural development is not up to the mark due to lack of modern agricultural practices, irrigation facilities, sophisticated farming equipment, better fertilisers, improved seeds and other necessary inputs. That is why, the majority of the farmers find it hard to live off their produce even for six months. Even if some farmers can produce more than enough crops, they will not be able to benefit much due to lack of transportation and marketing facilities. Also, the import of crops like rice and wheat from India has dulled the market for indigenous crops.

So, the farmers are seasonally out of work for most of the year. Lack of off-farm job opportunities has compelled many to remain unemployed. This is a case of semi-unemployment.

Every year, about 3.5 million people are added to the labour market. But the labour market is not in a position to give all the job-seekers jobs. Rather, due to the economy being down in the dumps for a couple of years, even the job-holders are risking their jobs. Tourism business is in the doldrums. So are other businesses or industries such as transportation, manufacturing and construction.

In this age of liberalisation, the private sector is supposed to create more job opportunities. But it is not in a strong position. Due to the effects of the recession that has hit the world economy since the 9/11 attacks on the USA, the economy of the country has yet to fully recover. Now, the economic growth rate of the country is very low. Last year, a negative growth of 0.63 per cent was recorded, which was the lowest in the last two decades. Although the target of economic growth for this year has been set at 4 per cent, the existing economic indicators reveal that the growth rate will hardly reach 2 per cent.

Public enterprises in the country have their wings clipped. They are incurring heavy losses, compromising their very existence. Being a great burden to the government, four of the public enterprises were closed down last year, creating joblessness among many people. Even the privatisation of such dilapidated entities has not provided a satisfactory solution.

Now, the spectre of unemployment is very frightening in the country. Some unemployed youths make it a point of going abroad for employment. Foreign employment is catching up among the unemployed. But in most cases, people aspiring after work abroad get only bluecollar jobs due to lack of proper education and skills. However, of late the number of those going to foreign countries for employment has drastically dwindled due to one reason or the other.

The positive side of foreign employment is that it can mitigate unemployment to some extent in the home country. Further- and this is more crucial- inward remittances sent from abroad are a contributory factor to propping up the economy. As per a study, 73 billion rupees flows into the country in the form of inward remittances every year. This amount is very huge, considering the annual budget of the country to the tune of 96.12 billion rupees. However, as most of the remittances are spent on the purchase of land and buildings, consumption of necessary and luxurious things and social practices, the desired effects of such remittances on the economy have yet to come up.

To mitigate the problem of unemployment, it is necessary that job opportunities be created in a sustained and adequate manner. For this, vocational education need to be imparted to youths so as to enable them to whet their skills. Similarly, skill development training will also come in handly. This will pave the way for self-employment. But such programmes should basically target backward communities leading a hand-to-mouth existence.

Crucial

The provision for income-generating activities in every nook and cranny of remote and backward areas will certainly set the groundwork for solving the problem of unemployment in great measure. In
this respect, it is very crucial that the government and private sector go hand in hand towards tackling the unemployment problem. After all, unemployment is an acute problem that must be struck at its root so as to give the general public a decent living.

Rescuing Tourism From Catastrophe

By Shirish B. Pradhan

NEPAL'S tourism industry, the mainstay of the country's economy, registered nearly 28 per cent decline in the year 2002, according to a latest data. As compared to 298,456 total arrivals by air in 2001, the year 2002 saw only 215,922 visitors and among them 65,629 were Indians. The share of Indian market in total arrivals has gone up to 30 per cent, registering an increase of 8 per cent over the previous year. Indian travellers coming to Nepal, however, arrested to some extent the declining trend. Despite continuous decline of visitors from third country including major markets like the USA, the UK, Germany, France and Japan Indian tourists registered a 2.23 per cent increase over the previous year. However, during the last month of 2002 some improvements were seen in the arrival of third country tourists.

Encouraging

Japanese market has done well in the last month of the year 2002, which is quite encouraging. Japanese market has shown steady growth for the last seven months and December registered a growth of 14 per cent. In December arrivals from Australia, Austria, Italy, and Spain registered a growth of 14 per cent, 277 per cent, 43 per cent, and 53 per cent respectively However, the overall annual third country tourist arrivals is not so encouraging. As compared to 2001 the visitors from the USA, the UK, France, Germany and Japan declined by 45 per cent, 40 per cent, 43 per cent, 32 per cent and 24 per cent respectively, reveals the latest data published by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).

The number of Indian tourists started increasing steadily since June 2002, thanks to the Fly n' Win scheme introduced by RNAC and promotional scheme launched by the Indian Airlines. In December 2002, the inflow of Indian tourists was record high registering 92 per cent growth as compared to the corresponding months of the previous year. Efforts should be made to keep up this tempo of the Indian tourists visiting Nepal.

After the peak period experienced during the Visit Nepal Year 1998, when half a million tourists were lured to the Himalayan Kingdom, the tourism industry suddenly took a downward turn due to factors beyond our control. The hijacking of the Delhi bound Indian Airlines jetliner originating its flight from Kathmandu in December 1999 was the most unfortunate incident for Nepal as it resulted in a continuous decline in tourist inflows, from which the country is yet to recover. The unforeseen incidents that followed the hijacking episode including the Rhithik Roshan scandal, the Royal Palace incident of June 2001, the international terrorist attacks in the USA on September 11, increasing Maoist activities and imposition of the state of emergency last year further worsened the situation.

Endowed with scenic beauty, unique cultural identity and rich bio-diversity Nepal, no doubt, has the potential to become one of the prime tourist destinations in the world. The majestic mountains including the world's highest peak Mt. Everest, rich flora and fauna and the unique cultural diversity make the country one of the most attractive tourist destinations in the world. Nepal has championed in the areas of adventure and sports tourism. Be it mountain biking or hot air ballooning, rock climbing or trekking Nepal has been an ideal destination for those international visitors who prefer adventure and recreation. Despite these facts Nepalese tourism industry is currently finding hard time for its survival. Newly emerging tourist destinations like Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Philippines have left Nepal, which started luring foreign visitors way back in 1960s, fare behind.

However, Destination Nepal Campaign 2002-2003, Fly and Win scheme introduced by RNAC and other attractive packages developed by the private sector entrepreneurs have to some extent contributed to keep the tourism industry going despite insecurity and uncertainty facing the tourism sector due to the ongoing Maoist related conflicts. But the progress in the sector is still not satisfactory and more concerted efforts need to be made for the recovery of the industry.

Though the efforts to tap the Indian tourists paid to some extent, similar efforts should be made to lure third country visitors to this tiny Himalayan Kingdom, whose main foreign exchange earning depends on tourism industry. We need to maintain the increasing tendency of the Indian visitors and also to improve the third country visitors.

Necessary

Product diversification, aggressive international publicity, well chalked out marketing strategy, exploration of new markets and developing attractive packages are some of the areas which need to be addressed in order to promote our tourism industry effectively. The negative publicity in international market about Nepal due to the ongoing Maoist insurgency must be countered well. Extra money should be poured to promote our tourism industry in various international markets. It is also necessary to tap new markets such as South East Asian countries, South Africa, Middle-East and East European countries. The concept of promoting regional tourism should also be kept in mind while developing tourism strategies.

In Search Of Better Environment

By Chandrakishore

BINDU Pandey is the editor of Uthhan Weekly, a newspaper which has been published in Birgunj for the last 19 years. Her husband Sudarshan Raj Pandey is also a full time journalist. According to Sudarshan Raj Pandey, he registered the paper in his wife's name as he was working in another job then. But he had interest in journalism. At that time a person could not hold two jobs. Mr. Pandey did not only encourage his wife towards journalism because of his personal interest, but he also attempted to train and make her more active in journalism. According to Bindu Pandey, although her husband provided encouragement and opportunities to become an active journalist, she could not become one due to ack of suitable environment.

She also has the bitter experience of continuously visiting the court and the Communication Ministry as the editor and publisher of Utthan Weekly during the Panchayat era. At present, she is working in Kedia Dental Hospital in Birgunj. Mr. Pandey mentions that he provided opportunities for his wife to attend the Convention of Journalist's Association, various trainings and workshops and in visiting various cities of India in order to gain experience. He also helped her to gain more self confidence but in the end he gave up.

Similarly, Nirmala Poudyal has undergone basic journalism training. At one time, news were published in the local newspapers in her name but that has stopped now. According to her, Birgunj dos not have the proper environment for women journalists. While going to the field for reporting, she felt very uneasy. She feels that the society still does not accept women journalists.

There are 106 newspapers which have been registered in Birgunj. With the increase in the publication of papers, there has been increase of journalists as well. But, there are only a few women journalists. Although some of the papers have been registered in the name of women family members, they are not really active in journalism. After journalism was included as a topic in Thakurram Multiple Campus, there have been a few women trainees who have joined the course.

Some of the journalists have registered papers both in their name as well as in the name of their wife. This is not because they want to encourage their wife to enter into journalism but for collecting more advertisements during festive season. According to one women editor, women journalists are not at all taken seriously.

Sub-editor, Mamata Gupta says that women journalists require training to face the challenges that they come across. Social activist, Rama Rani suggests that women journalists should get attractive wages and encouragement from their family members. She adds that women in this field should strive harder and build up their self confidence to be respected in the society. More women should take up this line. According to Dipak Chauhan, Chairperson of Federation of Nepalese Journalists, the local media must also be perceived in the context of economical gains. If women themselves show interest in the field, the number of women in this profession will automatically increase as in other professions. Most of the people who criticise women journalists are journalists themselves. Therefore, there is a need for changes in the perspectives of men journalists. According to one female journalist, the thought of progress of women journalists is meaningless without first bringing changes in the mentality of men. Chief of media center, Birgunj - Ram Prasad Regmi analyzes the situation of women being publishers and editors of various newspapers as a result of group coordination. He adds that gender sensitivity in papers having women editors or publishers are not any different from other papers.

Women participation in journalism is not compulsory in order to achieve women empowerment or gender equality which does not mean that women do not have any role in journalism. The presence of women will bring forth their own experiences and mentality more than men writing about it. Therefore, women participation is necessary in the field of journalism.

The first newspaper of Birgunj is 'Sewa' published by Shyam Prasad Sharma in the year 2008 Nepal era. In the present democratic environment, the Birgunj press is getting insitutionalised and is raring to play an effective role in the local level. However, who will look for a better environment for women journalists if the question arises?

(Sancharika Lekhmala/Sancharika Samuha)