Editorial»
Porking it out
JUN 23 -
The parliament’s Public Affairs Committee (PAC) has come to the conclusion that there have been severe anomalies in the distribution of funds to the districts for the purpose of establishing development projects. It is believed that a large number of Cabinet ministers have been using their power to flout all regulations and use government funds to disburse patronage to their supporters. Estimates have it that over Rs. 400 million has been embezzled through this method and that these expenses have then been marked up as “development spending.” Concerned by this state of affairs, the PAC directed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Physical Planning and Works Bijay Gachhadar to submit the details of developmental projects undertaken during his tenure within a week. It has charged Gachadar of earmarking over 200 projects to Dhanusha district alone and has sought clarification on what these projects are and how he could allow such a great concentration of expenditure in a single district.
The PAC’s move is appreciable. But it is unlikely to have any significant impact. In fact, the capabilities of the state have become so eroded in the past couple of years and the bureaucracy so politicised that bringing individual leaders to account, no matter how corrupt they may be, is like applying medication to a superficial symptom of much more dangerous and complex disease. Although Gachhadar may indeed be responsible for various corrupt activities, it is not enough to charge him alone. Numerous news reports over the past year have demonstrated how a large number-perhaps most-of the ministers in the current government have sought to manipulate rules and regulations to provide their supporters with funding. From Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal downwards, all ministers seem to have made a special effort to establish “development projects” in their constituencies.
It can safely be said that the ministers in power today recognise that there is only one way of gaining popularity among the population and winning the next elections: by distributing perks to those who will be voting for them next time around. There may be other ways of gaining popularity, such as working on issues of longer term public policy or service delivery, but these are too difficult to accomplish at the moment. Those in the Cabinet understand that theirs is an unpopular government that can be said to possess a popular mandate only very tenuously. They therefore understand that it is redundant to appeal to the people as a whole, and that instead they should focus their energies on gaining the support of a few select people who may help them get back into power next time around. This state of affairs will not change unless there is a major change in Nepal’s political culture, unless governments become more stable and far sighted and gain the confidence to tackle issues of long term import for the nation.
Posted on: 2010-06-24 08:09
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