NATIONAL 2 (Spotlight Weekly)]

Lacking New Direction

The government puts emphasis on security and development measures but fails to properly package and sell its program

By BHAGIRATH YOGI

Amid unprecedented and tight security, when King Gyanendra arrived at the Parliament House on Friday afternoon he was accorded full royal honor. Within minutes, he was delivering the royal address that outlined the policies and programs of His Majesty's Government for the next fiscal year 2001-02.

Addressing the joint session of the parliament, the new monarch expressed his commitment to constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy and recalled the contributions made by his elder brother, late King Birendra, in national development.

King Gyanendra addressing : Commitment to democracy

"My government would award priority for developing national consensus on dealing with the burning problems facing the country," said King Gyanendra. Only last week, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala had proposed a 14-point agenda as a basis for such consensus. The government would award top priority to strengthening law and order in the country, said His Majesty.

Though the monarch did not mention anything about the six-year-old Maoist movement that has already claimed lives of more than 1,700 people, according to official figures, King Gyanendra said his government would continue efforts to accommodate people into development mainstream who give up the path of violence. There were no details. He said the government would implement Integrated Security and Development Program (ISDP) effectively. The Koirala government has been implementing the program from early this year in seven Maoist insurgency affected districts in western and mid-western Nepal.

"The government has tried to interlink the concept of internal security with the overall development of the country," said Dr. Jagdish Chandra Pokhrel, member of National Planning Commission. "As such, besides the overall national outlook, transitional zones and hard-hit areas have been identified where the security will be provided accordingly."

King Gyanendra also recalled the last state visit paid by late King Birendra to China and official visit to Japan by late Crown Prince Dipendra early this year. His Majesty said HMG would continue to maintain cordial relations with the neighboring countries and lauded the contribution of international community in Nepal's development endeavors.

The policy document, which comes as a continuity to earlier policies, lacks coherence, said critics. "There is nothing new in this address and the government has failed to give any new policy direction," said Madhav Kumar Nepal, leader of the main opposition in the parliament. Added vice chairman of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani, "The document lacks any commitment to implement the policies professed by the

government itself."

Countered Finance Minister Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat, in a TV interview, "The policy document, by nature, is not an exhaustive document. Its only a forward looking document."

Officials insist that the government is moving in the right direction and the latest document has made attempts to further clarify and focus government's efforts for poverty reduction and development "Though average economic growth of around 5 percent is not bad for a non-industrialized country like Nepal, what we have seen is that the macro-policy framework adopted by us has been able to yield equity at the regional and social level," said Dr. Pokhrel. "So, we are going to introduce area-wise planning and with focus on district development plans.'

Analysts point out that there have been some contradictions in the government's approach outlined in the policy document. "How can you talk of rehabilitating sick industries when the overall direction of the government has been guided by open and liberal economic policies?" asked Dr. Badri Prasad Shrestha, a senior economist. "The government should give emphasis on promoting competitiveness of the Nepalese industries and facilitating integration of our economy into the global one."

Similarly, the government has failed to identify problems related to implementation of the long-term Agriculture Perspective Plan and address them. The Agriculture Ministry lacks a full time minister for quite sometime now and there is serious lack of coordination between different ministries and departments, reports say.

Of course, there has been strong commitment on part of the government to implement the recommendations made by the Public Expenditure Review Commission (PERC) early this year. The government is planning to cut down the number of 'unsustainable' projects, scrap and integrate some offices at the regional and district level and cut down expenses on pension and gratuity, among others, officials said.

The policy document said the government would work to link the district headquarters of five more districts by road within the next fiscal year. With this, 65 out of 75 district headquarters in the country will have road connections.

Besides developing infrastructure, the government continues to give top emphasis on poverty reduction. The mid-term review of the Ninth Five Year Plan, which is yet to be made public, claims that there have been some marginal achievement in the efforts toward reducing incidence of poverty. If this is the case, the government will have to consolidate its efforts and mobilize local bodies and civil society to sustain such efforts.

The most important task for the government, however, would be to improve deteriorating law and order in the country, contain Maoist insurgency and provide security to the industry and businesses. The future course of the country will depend very much on whether the government succeeds in these fronts. Of course, political instability and minimum consensus among the political parties will be equally crucial for the government to implement its own policy document.

Highlights of the Govt's Policy and Programs:

— Voters I-D cards will be distributed in additional 60 parliamentary constituencies in 40 districts.

— Poverty alleviation will be given top priority on the basis of mid-term review of the Ninth Five Year plan.

— Headquarters of additional five districts to be connected by road network.

— Recommendations of the Public Expenditure Review Commission (PERC) will be gradually implemented.

— Foreign aid will be utilized in an effective way.

— Banks and financial institutions will be strengthened; their restructuring and reforms programs will be continued.

— The use of goods manufactured within the country will be encouraged.

— Special program will be implemented to rehabilitate the sick industries.

— Industries will be provided with adequate security.

— Participation of civil society would be encouraged in improving the management of the government-run schools. Private schools will be monitored closely.

— Implementation of Agriculture Perspective Plan will be made effective.

— Special program will be introduced for the promotion of tourism.

— Foreign employment program will be expanded.

— Implementation of Melamchi drinking water project will be expedited.

— Development of Information Technology will be given priority.

— Role of Royal Nepalese Army in the total national security will be made more effective.

— A Royal Nepalese Embassy will be set up in Denmark as part of the government's policy to strengthen relations with the Scandinavian countries.

— Efforts to set up UN Peacekeeping Regional Center in Nepal will be expedited.

— Efforts will be made to expedite the process of verification of Bhutanese refugees so as to ensure early repatriation of the refugees.