Oped»
Total incompetence
APR 17 -
In the history of modern Nepal, a democratic constitution drafted by the Constituent Assembly (CA) has been a long desired wish since 1950. Nearly two years ago, during the CA election, the aspirations of fellow denizens were flying high and they reached a climax when the first session of the CA held on May 28, 2008 declared Nepal a republican state.
As of now, nearing the final weeks of the two-year tenure of the CA, there are many questions about the use and abuse of the CA by none other than the contemporary political parties who are failing to deliver the goods — the constitution. Ironically, every week there used to be notices saying that CA business meetings had been postponed due to lack of an agenda. Such irresponsible and incompetent actions of the CA members are inexcusable. The people’s anger is justified when anyone tries to comprehend the cost and benefit of the CA as it approaches the formal end of its mandate.
First, let’s us look at the cost of the CA that includes direct and indirect costs. The direct costs begin from the election of the CA members. According to the Election Commission, the total costs for direct and indirect elections reached about US$ 42 million. But how much each political party spent per candidate is always murky which also implies that our political party system is not only opaque but also not accountable to the people. Nevertheless, the monthly expenditure of the CA is nearly US$ 1 million out of which two-thirds go for the salaries of the CA members. On average, each CA member enjoys the national per capita income of nearly 50 persons during the two-year term. Other direct costs funnelled through bilateral or multilateral agencies are yet to be known.
The direct costs associated with the CA members may not be so significant in comparison with the Rs. 290 billion budget for the fiscal year of 2009/10. But it is the indirect costs associated with the CA that counts a lot. Since the major parties spend much time on power equations and calculations on how to topple the government rather than writing the constitution, a majority of the people are filled with frustration and displeasure. Further, the government itself is lagging behind to spend all the budget titles on development work, and the costs of missed development activities have spurred in the past two years.
From the very beginning of the formation of the present government, socio-political speculation about its future was very much inconsistent. The same psychology was working once the Maoists formed their government after the CA election. In both cases, the development budget was not spent as planned. Only money changing hands in the city centres does not induce real economic growth. Both monetary and fiscal policies are not only pointed in opposite directions they are also very short-sighted; and the parties seem very much uninterested in such crucial aspects of economic growth.
Local and foreign investors are reluctant to invest money as the Maoists and allied communist forces are self-projecting economic crusaders. So it can be inferred that the current economic downturn is a function of the failure of both the CA and the present government. Thanks go to the remittance from the Nepali labour force abroad and the flow of money from donors that temporarily prevents the boat from sinking.
The situation of loss of economic opportunities could worsen in the future if the CA fails to deliver the constitution on time and aims to renew its tenure for any period on its own. That will be additional time for not investing in the country as the state of confusion will be extended. Indirect costs could soar beyond anybody’s imagination if the country witnesses either a half-baked or an ethnicity-based constitution or both.
On the benefit side, except for the declaration of a republic, people can hardly recall any significant contribution made by the CA. That too may be jeopardised if the CA fails to complement it through a constitution. Henceforth, the CA members need to go through a meta-cognition — rethinking about their thinking so that a federal democratic republican constitution can be accomplished by May 31.
Now, if the CA becomes unsuccessful, then who is to be blamed? Nearly two-thirds of the members of the CA are of the leftist ideology. Historically, they used to blame the Nepali Congress party that the 1950, 1979 and 1990 movements were a deception or that they were incomplete. The leftists are always in a state of confusion between idealism and realism. Their choice between plural versus cruel is a complete deception on the people’s aspiration. Isn’t it a failure of the leftists in Nepal?
Nearly two years after the CA election, people realise that the current political leaders are simply a bunch of rent seekers and love to play the zero-sum game in order to secure a berth at any level. The parties are suffering from lack of skill to manage politics and are guided by very populist themes of controlling politics. It is pathetic not to hear their voices for writing the constitution. Their failure to comprehend the risk of not having a constitution on time is deplorable. They can’t say they don’t have any alternative for their incompetence.
Posted on: 2010-04-18 08:56
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