FIFTH COLUMN

Pretenders

-By C K Lal

In an interaction programme organised on the eve of Thirtieth Convention of the International Federation of Asia and Western Pacific Contractors’ Association (IFAWCA), some participants had interesting complains to make against The World Bank, Nepal Office.

It appears that a certain key official of the bank advised local contractors to form consortiums in order to qualify to bid for some projects where its credit was the primary source of funding. Believing a statement from the horse’s mouth, many complied, only to be told later that the Bank honored only written commitments and provisions of the documents. All the efforts made and money spent on the basis of verbal assurances went down the drain.

The lesson learnt from the episode? Well, if an official of The World Bank swears that s/he loves you, get it in writing, preferably in the presence of witnesses; and then have it authenticated by his/her superiors. Without that, promises have no meaning. Perhaps the Bank presumes its officers to be blabbering buffoons who should not be taken seriously by anyone, anywhere.

Apparently, the Bank knows its people. Unfortunately, the Bank is not an exception. Most offices of international agencies in Katmandu are full of people, both expatriates as well as locals, who should not be taken seriously by anyone. There may be some honorable exceptions to the rule, but by and large, international agencies’ offices in the valley are like dung-heaps-they attract only flies. They are full of people without the honey of knowledge, without the bite of forthrightness, and without an audible voice that comes from confidence; forget about the sting of total honesty. But they do spread diseases very effectively, and in double quick time.

Recently I became the target of one such official who heads an international organisation dealing with conservation. He is a learned man and knows how to impress his visitors by always claiming that he has an appointment with the Prime Minister, no less. To those who he knows are closer to the PM than him he boasts that it’s the PM’s advisor who needs his advice. The trick often works, because both of them share a Canadian background.

Harmless little time pass, with which I have no quarrel whatsoever. But this gentleman had the audacity to spread canards against me through a whisper campaign. Allegations are so wild that it would be demeaning for me to discuss them. I have merely cited this instance to show the level of people hired by local offices of international agencies.

It’s pathetic, and sad too, for it’s these toadies who influence the decisions of their agencies that affect our lives. One way to deal with these pretenders is to expose them, and show them for what they are: highly paid orderlies who should not be taken seriously, neither by their masters nor by the public here.