Development of Nepal’s energy potential is not a choice, it is imperative

-Ralph Frank, U.S Ambassador, Kathmandu

I am honored to be here today to witness the signing of two important energy partnership agreements between the Nepal Electricity Authority and two outstanding U.S firms: Tacoma Power and Wisconsin Electric.

On the American side, these two partnerships are the result of a larger alliance between the U.S government and the U.S. Energy Association. (The USEA is comprised of public and private U.S energy-related organizations dedicated to the mission of the World Energy Council: "to promote the sustainable supply and use of energy for the greatest benefit of all.") Indeed, the launching of these partnerships marks a mile stone in both our governments’ efforts to address energy issues for the benefit of all Nepalese.

Supporting the government of Nepal in the development and deployment of clean energy technologies and increasing private sector investment is a prime objective of the U.S. Government.

As we all know, Nepal has tremendous hydropower potential. Electric power is not only of the most promising economic growth opportunities for Nepal and a potential source of clean, renewable, energy for the region, it is also the key to many developments, social, and environmental issues in Nepal. With well over 80% of all energy consumed in this country coming from the burning of firewood and with Nepal’s steady population growth, Nepal faces a mounting threat to its forests and the face of its landscape. Until electric energy is produced in the amounts needed to replace the demand on the forests, Nepal’s environment faces an increasingly dim future. The development of Nepal’s energy potential is not a choice, (but) it is imperative. I’ve been coming to Nepal for the last 15 years and up until recently there has been a while lot more talk than action on the development of the nation’s hydropower potential. I commend the current government for the progress it has made in advancing its energy development. But I challenge you to push much further and much faster.

There are those who say that with recent development decisions Nepal’s energy supply will soon meet demand. I say those who make such predictions are absolutely wrong. When electricity comes to a village or a household, the people will not be satisfied with a single bulb in one room. It will be not long before they will want and should have power for a radio, or a rice cooker, or heater and hopefully soon schools will get power for lights, heat, and even computers. Again, those who make predictions about the demand for power in Nepal have no clue to how fast that demand will grow. I challenge you. Be prepared.

But, without proper planning, social development will continue to lag and economic development will languish. However, by encouraging the types of partnerships we celebrate today, there can be sufficient power to satisfy Nepal’s needs with some left over to sell to India, further enhancing Nepal’s drive towards self-sufficiency.

During his recent visit to South Asia, President Clinton announced the start of a new U.S Government sponsored South Asia Regional Initiative-SARI- for energy cooperation between Nepal, Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka. This important program promotes regional cooperation and supports the development of energy, trade and exchange among South Asian countries. As Assistant Secretary for SA Affairs Karl Inderfurth recently emphasized, we believe that enhanced regional cooperation is of vital importance for the sustained economic development of all South Asian countries. Bangladesh for instance, possesses substantial quantities of natural gas and Nepal is endowed with vast hydropower resources. Both of these resources are viable, clean options for power generation.

India and Nepal have already begun collaborating to develop the infrastructure to pursue opportunities for sharing natural resources. The U.S applauds and supports these and other initiatives that develop closer ties and increase bilateral and regional trade.

This energy initiative will promote sustainable energy development by bringing together energy sector officials from the region to share experiences and discuss ways to cooperate on energy matters. By setting the groundwork for cross-border cooperation, and eventual trade in energy, this SARI program will stimulate regional economic growth.

The USEA will play a major role in this effort through the development of four regional partnerships. These partnerships will focus on transmission, regulation, independent power production, and rural electrification.

Through these partnerships between Nepal, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and US utilities, private investor-owned utilities will transfer market-based knowledge, experience and technology for improving the environmentally sound production, transmission, distribution, use, and regulation of energy. Through this program, US utilities will establish long-term business relationships, improve their understanding of South Asia and gain new and valuable perspectives about the operation of power systems overseas.

The partnerships we are launching today will focus on tariff restructuring, computers, management and reduction of system losses to allow the NEA to increase its operational efficiencies and to provide more reliable electricity at an affordable price.

I have no doubt that it will be a success. And I have no doubt that this ground breaking agreement foreshadows more future private-public partnerships between the government of Nepal and U.S firms and that each will make a significant contribution to Nepal’s quest for greater economic development and self sufficiency.

EXPLORING CIVIL SOCIETY IN NEPALI CONTEXT

The bottom-line is that the rhetoric about NGOs and self-help organizations as catalytic agents of change is more than their actual substance based on opportunities to bring genuine progress. As one critic has rightly pointed out, "In the aggregate, however, the NGO sector has not been able to graduate to a movement which can become a countervailing force to complement the role of the government in development, and to establish checks against anti-democratic, anti-people policies, tendencies, and actions." (Pandey: 1999, p 135) Three key attributes of democracy -- accountability, transparency, and autonomy -- are clearly absent in the working style of NGOs. Furthermore, he adds that "there is little or no tradition in Nepal, domestically, to financially support civil society engagements in social and civic causes." (Pandey: 1999, p 135). Apparently, the impression one derives is no more than a hope for a process to evolve where committed volunteers bring the required reform.

IV. TOWARDS CONSOLIDATION OF DEMOCRACY: In Nepal, the process of transition from Panchayat "party-less democracy" to multi-party democratic rule has been surprisingly smooth with almost no obstruction from authoritarian rulers. The issue of national unity has not been a problem during the transition because of the strong recognition that the Crown enjoys trust of the general people. Through regular elections, various political parties have emerged on the national scene, and the consolidation phase of democracy, in the true sense of the term, has not begun. There are many democratic institutions and laws that are yet to take roots in the society, and elected representatives have to learn to change their behaviour that would meet the requirements of democratic culture. Interestingly, in many of the major political parties, there is a lack of inner party democracy.

It is also argued that the consolidation process, which is a very long process, goes hand in hand with social and economic change; and, if this does not become possible, the democratic regime will lag behind, and the question of system legitimacy will arise, de-legitimizing elected representatives themselves. The issue of minorities is another fundamental element that political actors through democratic process are able to deal with in a multi-lingual and multi-cultural society. This problem has recently started to surface though in a subdued form.

It has been noted by one well known author on small states that the transition occurs in three phases. First, the "preparatory phase" where non-democratic regime collapses. Second is the "decision phase" where democratic institutions are established. And, third, the "consolidation phase" where ultimately democratic culture prevails. (Sorensen: 1993, p. 46) Present day Nepal is in the twilight phase where decisions based on broad national consensus across party line are yet to evolve and efforts toward institutionalizing the new democratic order have not been put to task by political leaders. It is here the role of civil society becomes crucial in streamlining and consolidating the democratic process.

Fundamentally, in democracy it is the people who rule. How and in what form this is possible is a subject of debate. In a liberal democratic state the linkage between those who hold state power based on popular support and the sovereign public active in a vibrant civil society is a pre-requisite for the consolidation of democracy. The relationship between these two elements is complex, and the relationship is emphasized in order to restrict political sphere controlled by government activities so that civic institutions can freely operate at a non-political level. Numerous examples can be cited, such as violence towards married women by their husbands, child abuse, organization of private enterprises, religious practices, etc, which are strictly not state matters that existing laws could handle or should manage.

The rationale for the promotion of civil society is that it safeguards freedom of individuals from regulative state authority which has the tendency to be pervasively restrictive. Often, in the name of social justice and general welfare, the state creeps into civil affairs and attempts to justify its power over citizens' rights and freedom, and thus tampering on peoples' trust and mandate. One of the role of civil society is to check such tendencies. With autonomy for civil institutions, this becomes more possible. It can be more assertive by taking independent stand over issues if not dependent on exogenous funding.

V. CONCLUSION: The discussion about the meaning of civil society in the context of Nepal has raised more questions than it has been able to answer. A number of arguments have been posed. Though civil society is seen as a value in itself, it is yet to emerge as a complimentary factor to the functioning of a liberal democratic state.

In Nepal, the idea of change arouses a sense of awe and disbelief. This is because of a long legacy of a feudal-political culture where individual initiatives have been patronized or discouraged. Every government in power since 1990 has burdened the country with increasing foreign debt without realizing the need for social mobilization. Looking at the transformation of the old state to new democratic culture, there is little to be satisfied with. Today, legalised political parties have failed in their responsibilities to educate the general public. Until they inculcate democratic values and norms, there is not much hope with the new setup, and the people who are the fundamental focus of development in nation building should be taken into confidence.

Also, political parties should restrain from overstepping into non-political boundaries and free public institutions and voluntary organizations from party politics. Educational institutions, public bureaucracy, police, judiciary, to name a few important ones, fall in this category. Though there is a new constitution which recognizes the state as a liberal democratic state, with the crown as symbol of national unity, the process of democratic consolidation taking roots is absent in the body politic of the system. With reforms in NGO organization and activities (by empowering them with autonomy and opening up in terms of transparency and accountability), the civil society could advance beyond abstraction and play a more critical role in social movement. By not relying on the conventional legalistic structures of democracy, it can, as a partner in development, initiate social and economic changes in the interest of common good. It can promote wide ranging services outside the sphere of state authority. It can set examples in self-reliance.

Theoretically, civil society has its limits, dimensions, and features which operate within the larger framework of state, society, and democracy, and it is this aspect we should understand before we try to generalize its utility in Nepali civic community. Surely, we should ask ourselves if we are casually donning another hat to become fashionable. Nepal has had many Western cliches and jargons, in the name of "political experiments", that have been loud in rhetoric but lacking in substance and in reality!

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* Dr. Pandey is Professor of Political Science at the Central Department of Political Science, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu. Currently, he teaches Research Methodology and Nepalese Studies to post graduate students.

[Paper presented at national seminar on "Role of Civil Society in State transformation and Consolidation of Democracy in Nepal", organized by Central Department of Political Science, Tribhuvan University, in collaboration with Friedrick Ebert Stiftung (FES), held on September 19-20, 1999, Morang Campus, Biratnagar, Nepal.]

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