 |
|||
|
|||
NDF MEET |
|
|||
|
|||
NDF MEET |
Implementation Is The Key Nepal's development
partners pledge up to $ 500 million assistance for poverty reduction, but do we have the
capacity to utilize it? By BHAGIRATH YOGI At the conclusion of the four-day rigorous
Nepal Development Forum meeting (February 4-7), held for the first time in Nepal, both the
representatives from donor community and officials had time to enjoy. The donor community
was content to some extent, if not happy, to see that Nepal had finally started doing
homework, planning in advance and exhibiting sincere commitment to make things happen.
Nepali officials, on their part, were exuberant to see that the donors had met their
requests of sizeable investment to meet the resource gap for the upcoming Tenth Five Year
plan (2002-07) that focuses mainly on poverty reduction. Both donors and officials had an
opportunity to relax and reinforce their partnership at a gala dinner last Thursday. But
the message remained the same, sung by enthusiastic donor representatives:
"Implementation, ImplementationÖ For peaceful and healthy Nepal, Implementation on
the Ground."
In what is seen as a morale booster
to the beleaguered government, the donor community pledged an assistance of US$ 500
million to Nepal annually for the next five years mainly to finance poverty reduction
programs. The assistance would amount to a total of US$2.5 billion over the tenth
Five-Year plan period that starts from the next fiscal year. The NDF meeting ended on a
positive note with the development partners endorsing Nepal's poverty reduction approach
and expressing support to the new Foreign Aid Policy that is to be finalized within this
month. During the deliberations, the government
had urged the development partners to provide financial assistance worth Rs 30 billion
annually to carry out programs of Tenth Plan/PRSP (Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper), that
primarily focus on poverty reduction. Presenting a paper on "Implementation Status of
Priority Sector Reforms," as committed by Nepal in the Paris NDF meeting in April
2000, Finance Secretary Dr. Bimal Koirala said the government strongly believed that the
reforms would pay in the long run and go on to achieve broad-based economic growth, which
will ultimately help reduce poverty. Added Finance Minister Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat, co-chair
of the meet, "The government is unequivocally committed to pursue the reform agenda
that are in the broader interest of the country's economy." The donor community, from 23 countries and
international organisations, made it very clear that further support was conditional and
would very much depend on the progress made by Nepal in the areas of good governance and
better implementation of development projects. They raised concerns on issues
ranging from crisis in governance, rampant corruption and poor implementation of
development projects. They also urged the government to downsize the cabinet to reduce
soaring government expenditure. Representatives of the donor community
demanded more commitment from the government in ensuring optimum utilization of the aid
resources. In the second day of the NDF meet, held at Hotel Soaltee Crown Plaza, the donor
community expressed concerns about Nepal's reform programs not making a difference to the
quality of lives of the poor people. They also sought massive improvements in the
government's implementation mechanism. While appreciating the policies and legal
frameworks in place in Nepal, they said the government did not have credible mechanism and
delivery power to make a difference at the grassroots level. Nepali officials tried their best to
convince the donors that the government would implement their suggestions in their true
spirit. "The government has taken the donors' suggestions very positively and
necessary reform measures will be initiated in this regard without further delay,"
said Dr. Mahat. "If we fail to do so, we will have no grounds to convince them
again." Despite such assurances, the donor community had a first-hand opportunity to
experience how things were deteriorating in Nepal. In what seemed a well-planned move, the
Maoist insurgents tried to overshadow the NDF meet by raiding a police post at
Bhakundebesi in Kavre district, adjoining capital Kathmandu, around mid-night last Monday
(Feb. 04) killing 16 policemen and injuring five others. The brutal killings
of the policemen at the police post—that was supposed to provide security to the
on-going construction works of Banepa-Sindhuli highway being constructed with the Japanese
assistance—was a clear message that the Maoists were still a force to reckon with in
the country despite the government's all-out efforts to disarm them. "The government will assess the
security situation in the country and further strengthen the on-going operation against
the Maoist insurgents," said Home Minister Khum Bahadur Khadka, in the aftermath of
the deadly attack. But donor community demanded improvement in security situation if Nepal
wanted foreign assistance. In a letter addressed to the government, Japanese ambassador in
Kathmandu noted that lack of security had had adverse impact on development programs
assisted by them. "Our aid workers won't be able to go and work at the project sites,
if there is no adequate provision for security," the ambassador reportedly said. With nearly 70 percent of its development
expenditure to be financed through foreign aid, Nepal depends heavily on external
assistance. As the NDF members together finance nearly 80 percent of the available foreign
aid, the outcome of the meeting was expected to be crucial for Nepal's development
financing in future. Unfortunately, except the dynamic finance minister and his colleagues
from Bagh Durbar and National Planning Commission, Ministers from all-important
ministries—that together consume nearly 80 percent of the total development budget--
including Agriculture, Education, Housing and Physical Planning and Health, were
nowhere to be seen during the entire NDF exercise. This exhibits poor commitment on part
of the government ministries and poor grip of Prime Minister Deuba on his cabinet
colleagues, said critics. Nepal's dependence on foreign aid has been
growing over the years. In 1975, foreign aid supported two-fifth of the development
expenditure. Now, it is estimated to be around two-third of the total development budget.
Officials say Nepal received only around 30 percent of the US$ 1.25 billion committed by
the donor community in the Paris meeting two years back. This leaves little room for
optimism for Nepal at the recent pledges of aid by the donors. Of course, efforts have been made to
improve the scenario, which are said to be too little and too late, in most of the cases.
"We are on the right track, but we haven't been able to take strong steps,"
admitted Dr. Yubaraj Khatiwada, exectuvie director at the Nepal Rastra Bank. "The
situation is such that we don't have any options. We no more have leverage to make choice
on what to take and what not (regarding the foreign aid)." With decline in grants and continuous rise
in loan components of the foreign aid over the last few decades, Nepal has to be cautious
in taking the aid as well as use it in a productive way so that it could be paid back in
time. The growing debt burden of the country is eating away into major chunk of the
country's annual budget. In her now famous remarks at the opening ceremony of the NDF last
week, Vice President of the World Bank for South Asia region, Ms. Mieko Nishimizu, warned
that Nepal may be imprisoned in a vicious circle of bad governance. "Nepal now faces
two manifestations of this crisis of governance: the Maoist insurgency and a grave fiscal
crisis. Nepal today stands at the crossroads of its destiny-- a destiny, which lies
in the hands of her people to make or break." Though international community and
development partners stand firmly in support of the democratic government and peace-loving
people of Nepal, Nepalese leaders tend to forget that time is fast running out of their
hand. NDF meet was one such occasion to reflect and try to re-orient Nepal's development
endeavors, both for the Nepalese government as well as the donor community. EUROPEAN UNION The EU asks the government
to find a negotiated settlement to end insurgency In a statement coinciding with the on-going
Nepal Development Forum meeting, the European Union (EU) has said the use of force to
attain a sustainable solution to Nepal's political and economic problem is not rational.
"We believe that the negotiation and dialogue can bring about a stable future,"
the statement said. While condemning the violent Maoist attacks against the government in
November last year and supporting the measures taken by the government following the
unilateral violation of the de-factor cease-fire by the Maoists last year, the EU heads of
missions in Kathmandu have expressed concern about the serious deterioration in the human
rights situation in Nepal since the proclamation of the state of emergency on November 28
last year. Saying that a costly counter-insurgency campaign is going on and development
has come to a standstill, the EU said strong measures need to be taken in the short-term
in response to the emerging insurgency. Saying that lack of development in rural areas has
been exploited by the Maoist movement and has fuelled the insurgency to the devastating
level of today, the EU said peace and stability can't be re-established in Nepal without
accelerated development targeting the rural poor. The EU heads of missions have also
called upon all responsible democratic forces in the country to work towards the shared
goals—the restoration of peace and stability in Nepal. "Only political stability
can bring about the stable and prosperous future the people of Nepal deserve," the
statement concluded. |
Send your feedback to the
editor: spotligh@mos.com.np |
