Nepal: The last Opportunity for Peace and Stability

No party has managed to win majority in the recently held Constituent Assembly election in Nepal. The Nepali Congress got 196 seats and it fell well short of obtaining 302 seats for a simple majority. So, it will be a hung parliament and political negotiation has already started. As an observer of Nepal for the last one and half decade, I can easily predict that there is little hope for peace and stability.

Indian Express wrote:

Jhalanath Khanal-led CPN (UML) won 175 seats, followed by Prachanda's UCPN-Maoist with 80 seats in the November 19 vote to elect the 601-member Constituent Assembly.

The NC has gained 91 PR seats, followed by the CPN (UML) with 84, UCPN-M with 54 and Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal (RPP-N) with 24 seats.

Sadly, Nepalese people are deeply divided and there is really no hope for any unity among the political leaders. So, I don’t see any hope for peace in the country. On the other hand, this time, the people have voted against the Maoists. This indicates that people do not like extremism. 

Binod Chaudhary: The first Billionaire from Nepal

Nepal is famous for its poverty and we hardly hear of any famous Nepalese brand outside of the country. Yes, it has taken many people even perhaps in the country itself to know that there is a billionaire in the country- Binod Chaudhary. It is even more surprising to know that much of his income comes from selling noodles.

FT wrote:

Mr Chaudhary first began producing noodles in 1984 in collaboration with Thai Preserved Food Factory. The privately held Chaudhary Group discloses very little financial information but he says the group’s noodle sales amount to about $1bn a year – or roughly half the non-Indonesian noodle sales of Indofood.

Really very impressive isn’t it? Well, I wonder how many workers work under this rich man. May be, in the coming months we will know more about his and his business empire.

Nepal government and private institutions should increase their capabilities and reap the benefits of multilateral trading and Doha Round

Economists and business leaders of Nepal said that the Nepalese government and the private sector should now focus on increasing their “institutional capacity” in order to reap the benefits of the “multilateral trading system and the Doha Round.”

Renowned Nepalese economists and business leaders came together at a dialogue that took place in Katmandu on February 16, 2011. Titled ‘How Nepal can benefit from the Multiple Trading System and Doha Round,’ the dialogue was jointly organized by the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) and Nepal Enhanced Capacities for Trade and Development (NECTRADE).

Dr. Puspa Raj Rajkarnikar, former member, National Planning Commission (NPC) said that Doha Round had been instrumental in boosting the multilateral trade of the least developed countries (LDCs). He said that Nepal still could not take the opportunities provided by WTO.

The problem of Nepal is that it is still facing political instability. Though the country got a new government after seven months, it has not been finalized. The two major parties are still fighting over various issues. Jhala Nath Khanal, the current Prime Minister is facing pressure from the senior leaders of his party who oppose the “Seven Point Agreement” Khanal signed with the Maoist Chief Prachanda. Unless there is political stability, Nepalese economy will not see much growth in near future.

Related articles:

The Himalayan Times

The Rising Nepal

Jhalanath Khanal is the new Prime Minister of Nepal

At long last, there is a new elected prime minister in Nepal. Jhalanath Khanal was elected when the Maoists pulled out their own candidate and supported him. However, it is clear that there will be trouble because the Maoists wanted to have their own prime minister. So, Jhalanath Khanal may not find it easy to continue in this post for a long time.

Nepal is passing through a very tough time and unfortunately, there is no general conscious among the political leader. I personally blame the people or the public must more than the political leader. It is the people who are divided into different fractions and that is why, it has become impossible for the country to try for his own economy.

Nepalese people need to unite on some common grounds and force political leaders to work for the development of the country. Many people in the country are still very poor and they are suffering from all kind of problems. For the last half year, there was no elected prime minister and many times of voting in the parliament could not bring any result. As a result, there was no active or powerful government that could take important decisions for the country.

It is time that at least some political parties unite for a common agenda and try for the improvement of the people. If it doesn’t happen then Nepal will have a very brief future. 

Nepal: New Election is Perhaps the Only Way Out

It is no wonder that Nepal again failed to elect a new Prime Minister in the 8^th round of voting. The top 4 political parties are at odds against each other and there is no hope of finding any solution to the problem. On Thursday, the ninth round of voting will take place and there is hardly any hope of any solution. Perhaps, holding a new election is the best solution. The election for Constituent Assembly (CA) took place in April 2008 and almost 2 and half years have passed. The mandate of the CA was originally for two years and it was supposed to create a new democratic constitution for the country.

There is hardly any doubt that the CA has failed and it is time Nepal gets a new election. The main problem is that no single party or group has majority in the CA and that is why even if a new government is formed in the ninth or tenth round of voting, it will be a weak government.

Baburam Bhattarai of the Maoists Party said, "It is clear that we cannot elect a new prime minister in this way. We should now look to form a national unity government."

However, a national unity government will not bring any hope for Nepal because the leaders of the top political parties now can only agree to disagree. 

Nepal is heading for a serious Political Crisis Again

It is now 2006 but it seems that Nepal might find itself in the similar condition of 2006 at next year. The country is without an elected Prime Minister and eighth round of voting is taking place in the parliament and there is every possibility that the deadlock will not be broken today.

UCPN (Maoist) and UML are likely to boycott this round of voting and as a result the candidate from Nepali Congress Party will get largest number of votes but will fall short of the 50% votes needed of the overall parliaments members.

The country is in a serious deadlock and there is no hope because the top political parties are in no mood to settle for any compromise. What seems is that even if the CA members can finally elect a new Prime Minister in the next few weeks, the Prime Minister will not last long.

I really like to blame the people more than the political leaders. The people are fragmented in their support of the political parties and they are blind for their leaders. The people have to come out and put pressure on their leaders to try for peace instead of just trying for their own benefits.

Unless a miracle happens, I can see a very bad kind of disaster and instability for Nepal in 2011.

Madhav Kumar Nepal: Maoists are trying to Reinstate Monarchy

The caretaker Prime Minister of Nepal Madhav Kumar Nepal has alleged that the Maoists are trying to reinstate monarchy in the country. He also accused the Maoists party of trying to capture power by attempting to include their members in the national army. He has called on a consensus between the major parties about the post of Prime Minister.

Mr. Kumar was the immediate past Prime Minister of the country but was forced to resign on June 30 of this year after he lost support of some of the large parties.

This accusation against the Maoists is shocking because it was the Maoists who were in the forefront of turning Nepal into a Republic after the election of 2008.

Madhav Kumar Nepal said, "It is a foul smell that the Maoists, who claimed themselves to be revolutionaries are trying to reinstate monarchy in the form of cultural King."

This accusation came after Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal Kamal Thapa said, "Prachanda told me during a meeting that foreign intervention has intensified in the country after the abolition of monarchy.

He told me that he realised the need to restore monarchy to save the country from foreign intervention."

The Maoists leaders will perhaps come out an official reaction very soon about the matter. Right now, Nepal is in a serious political deadlock and there is almost no active real government ruling the country as the major parties could not find a successor to Mr. Kumar.

Source: Indian Express

Nepal is yet to get a Prime Minister after Five Times of Voting

Members of Nepalese Constituent Assembly again failed to elect a Prime Minister for the fifth time. The latest round of voting took place yesterday and stalemate did not finish. The next round of voting is going to take place on 5 September 2010.

The two rival candidates for the post of the Prime Minister are Maoist

chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda and former deputy prime minister Ram Chandra Poudel of the Nepali Congress. Yesterday, Mr. Prachanda managed 246 votes and fell short of 55 votes while Ram Chandra Poudel got 124 votes.

The main problem is that the third largest and the fourth largest groups in the parliament are not voting for any candidate. A candidate must get at least 301 votes (the parliament has 601 seats) to be elected as the Prime Minister of Nepal.

Until at least leaders of Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) or United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) groups decide to vote, there is no possibility to have a solution to the problem.

UDMF leaders are demanding for greater rights for the people of Madhesi region. However, none of the two rival candidates are eager to agree to the demands of UDMF as it may not go well with other political parties. 

Nepal to Elect a New Prime Minister Today

Just after a few hours, the members of Legislature parliament in Nepal will sit together to elect a new Prime Minister. The country is facing political crisis because the major parties are yet to find a common ground about the running of the government.

The election is scheduled to take place in the afternoon today. The Maoists have a candidate and they are the largest group in the parliament. However, they do not have majority and that is why they need some support from smaller parties.

The other major force in the Parliament is the Nepali Congress Party. Both the Maoists and the Congress Party are trying to attract smaller parties. Among the smaller parties: two important groups have strong sizable presence in the parliament. UML leaders are determined to remain neutral. On the other hand, The United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) leaders have remained silent about their strategy in the election.

It seems that the election may fail to find a solution to the ongoing political crisis in Nepal. 

Nepal: Three Major Parties are in a Deadlock

Nepal is going through a political turmoil right now. There is no consensus for the post of Prime Minster and the three major political groups are in a serious deadlock on this issue. Perhaps, the only way out is a new general election that would elect a new parliament.

Nepali Congress (NC) leaders are trying to pursue other parties to form a coalition government that would be headed by NC. Their leaders are saying that if they fail then the Maoists will again come to power.

The Maoists are eager to get into power but they are without any alley. They are also working behind the scene to convince some smaller parties.

Leaders of leaders of CPN (ML) and CPN (United) are hesitant and they are not willing to support either NC or the Maoists. There are some other smaller parties most of whom would most probably welcome any coalition against the Maoists. However, the smaller parties want maximum benefit for themselves in any kind of coalition government.

For the moment, things are in a stalemate. The country needs to have a new prime minister and a cabinet in office as soon as possible.

Malnutrition is becoming a huge Problem for Nepal

Nepal is flooded with problems and malnutrition is slowly becoming one of the biggest problems for the country. Nepal has one of highest rates of malnutrition in the world. Poverty is the root cause of this problem but political infighting among the major parties is an important factor too.

The Himalayan Times reported that nearly one third of the people in the country are living under poverty line and 41% people cannot eat enough food required to maintain 2,144 calories per day.

Right now, a very bitter power struggle is going on in the country and no body knows when this conflict will finish. There is some fear that the country can again head to chaos and anarchy as the major leaders are finding it impossible to get a consensus about anything. 

Nepal: Time is Running out for Peace

Just 3 days are left of the duration of the Constituent Assembly (CA) of Nepal. A deal must take place by 28 May 2010 or Nepal may experience one of the darkest political problems in its recent history. Chairman Subash Nemwang has stated that if any agreement does not take place to extend the duration of the CA then the assembly will be dissolved.

Right now, the prospect looks very bleak as the major political parties have not been able to find solution to several important issues. In CA, the Maoists are the largest group but they do not have majority and a coalition of anti-Maoists parties are in the government.

CPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress and CPN (UML) leaders are now discussing to reach an agreement over the whole issue.

The Maoists are demanding the resignation of the current Prime Minister Madhav Kumar while many of the other parties are keen to keep him in power. Nepal News.com has reported that the government has requested all the political parties to support a bill that seeks to amend the constitution so that the tenure of the Constituent Assembly can be extended.  

Nepal sees unprecedented rise in two-wheeler sales

Motor bikes are increasingly becoming popular among Nepalese people. Despite liquidity crunch and lack of loans from banks and financial institutions, sales of motorcycles increased significantly in the last ten months.

The Bagmati Zone Transport office registered a total of 58,732 motorbikes in the first ten months of the current fiscal year which is a 20.32% increase over last year’s figure of 48,811 motor bikes.

Madan Singh Mahat, Office in-charge and under secretary, Bagmati Zone Transport office, Motorcycle Unit, said, “We have been registering an average of 5,000 to 6,000 bikes each month,…Normally, this is not the season.”

He said that the reasons behind such increase are- attractive promotional schemes offered by motorcycle dealers, increasing disposable income and craze of motor cycle among country’s youth.

As banks are not providing any loans for buying motorcycles, dealers took matters into their own hands and launched various attractive schemes such as giving gifts and cash prizes for every purchase of motorbikes.

Increase in the number of registration also increased revenue collection. Within ten months of the current fiscal year, the Bagmati Zone Transport office already collected more than Rs.701 million against the annual collection of Rs. 147 million in the last fiscal year.

Despite increase in sales, Shekhar Golchha, director of the Golchha Organization, which sells Bajaj two-wheelers through its Hansraj Hulaschand subsidiary, said that sales of two-wheelers declined 20-25% in the last two months due to cash shortage in the market. The company offers a 21” television with every purchase of Bajaj bike.

Nepal Government wants to Increase Constituent Assembly One Year

Time is running out in Nepal to prepare a new constitution for the country by 28 May 2010. In order to extend the time of Constituent Assembly (CA), the government has put a bill in the assembly seeking to increase the time of CA by another one year. Two-third majority is needed to make any kind of amendment. The Himalayan Times and Nepalnews.com have reported this. Nepalese Minister for Law and Justice Prem Bahadur Singh placed the bill.

On April 2008, election for a Constituent Assembly was held in which no political party emerged as clear winner. CA members were elected for two years. They were supposed to prepare a new constitution within the stipulated time. However, this has not happened because of political infighting.

It is not clear now what will happen next. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) or CPN (M) is the largest party in the CA but they are now in the opposition. A group of parties are in power as they formed a coalition government a few months ago.

The Maoists have not clearly announced whether they would vote for the amendment for extending the duration of CA. However, in the last few days, they indicated that they would oppose the bill. 

Nepal Gets Zero Tariff Facility from China

Nepal and China have signed a deal under which 4,721 products from Nepal will get zero tariff facility in the Chinese market. The deal has been signed to reduce the existing trade imbalance among these two countries. Under the deal, most of the major export products of Nepal will have zero tariff entrance in Chinese market.

China has been expanding tariff cuts to the products from the least developed countries (LDC) in the world. Nepal is not only a LDC but it is also a neighbor of China. Binod Chaudhary, president of Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) has welcomed this deal between the two countries. He expected optimism that this deal with help to decrease the trade imbalance which is heavily in favor of the giant country.

Right now, bilateral trade between the two countries is around Rs 36 billion and Nepal only exports to China just around Rs 4 billion. Good news for Nepalese businessmen is that most of the major export products of the country such as carpet, readymade garment, textile products have been included in this deal.

This Himalayan country is sandwiched between India and China and traditionally the country had better relationship with India. In the last few years, decision makers in Beijing have been trying to improve relationship with Kathmandu. 

Nepal: Maoists to Bring Half Million People in May Day 2010 March

1 May is celebrated as the Labor Day in most countries of the world including Nepal. But this time, there is a special significance for the country as the opposition Maoists are determined to show their strength in the streets of the country. They’re expecting that they would be able to mobilize nearly half a million people in the streets to protest against the government. If the protest remains peaceful then there is no need to worry but unfortunately, there is every indication that violence may happen today.

Nepal News reported:

As per the schedule set for tomorrow, Maoist cadres will take out huge rallies from eighteen different places across the valley. The rallies will later converge into a huge mass meeting after reaching Khullamanch.

Dr Bhattarai assured that the mass demonstration to exert pressure on the government to step down and pave the way for formation of a Maoist led government will be peaceful.

The last thing that Nepal needs at this moment is large scale violence. However, it seems to me that the country is heading two words that direction.

Is Nepalese Economy Heading for a Major Crisis?

I just finished reading this report in Nepal news: Economy heading towards crisis: Dr Mahat

This announcement has come from Former Finance Minister Dr Ram Saran Mahat. So, when someone like him says this kind of thing then we have to take it seriously. Mr. Mahat has stated some facts about the economy:

Remittance is down

FDI has decreased around one third

There is a serious liquidity crisis

Export revenue has fallen

All these are serious problems and if they continue then Nepalese economy will surely head for a major crisis. Now, the economy needs some bold initiatives from the government and this is not possible because of the ongoing political instability.

I personally think that political fighting is the major problem for the country. If political stability does not come then the economy will only continue to suffer. 

Nepal: Earthquake can Destroy much of Kathmandu

Kathmandu is the capital city of Nepal and the city along with its surrounding areas has a population of over 1.5 million. Most of the people are poor and when they construct any house, they cannot afford to think much about making them earthquake resistant. Even the rich people don’t bother much about it. Well, according to some experts on earthquakes, Kathmandu is in serious risk and if a earthquake in the magnitude of 6 or 7 strikes the capital city then hundreds of buildings will get destroyed and thousands of people will die. The economic and human consequence will be catastrophic indeed.

Nepalese government is pretty much helpless to fight this looming danger. The government doesn’t have enough funds to do anything significant. Ordinary people have to realize the magnitude of the crisis.

Related Article

Times of India

Nepal: Life After Girija Prasad Koirala

Girija Prasad Koirala died yesterday at the age of 86. He was perhaps the most famous, successful and popular politician of the country. He was Prime Minister for 6 times (or five times?) and for many years the leader of the opposition. Koirala had enormous contribution in establishing democracy in the Nepal. In the last few months, he was trying to form a consensus among the political forces so that peace could come in the country. With his death, Nepal really lost its true guardian.

I am worried for the future of Nepal because I cannot think of anyone like Mr. Koirala who is acceptable to different political parties in the country.  

Nepal: Peace Won’t Come Unless People Want it Seriously

I just read this: NEPAL: Time running out for peace process. The headline says it all. It talks about the problem of Nepal. The major political parties are finding it impossible to settle their differences and thus, the country is perhaps on the verge another round of political instability. May be within the next 6 months, violence in large scale will come back and who knows civil war can again come back next year. If civil war again comes back next year, hardly anyone will get shocked in Nepal or abroad.

Almost everyone feel that it is the political leaders who are to be blamed for it. I agree with this idea but at the same time I also feel that the solution to this problem is not in the hands of politicians. It is the people who have to come forward to solve the problem. The politicians are greedy and they don’t want to change anything but they get their support and strength from ordinary people. The mass people have to understand that they have to put the interest of the country first and think of dancing to the tunes of the politicians.