How Nepal's political chaos affects its development efforts

Nepal is trapped in a cycle of political chaos. After constituent assembly elections of 2008, there was hope that the country will finally get in track following decade long bloody insurgency launched by the Maoist rebels.

In 2006, the Maoists signed peace accord with the government and agreed to drop weapons in favor of ballot. 2008 elections established the former rebels as political powerhouse, as they emerged as the largest party in the constituent assembly. Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Chairman of the Maoists, formed a coalition government following the election victory. His government was soon torpedoed by the established political parties-namely the Nepali Congress and smaller regional parties. Madhav Kumar Nepal of Nepal Communist Party (United Marxist and Leninist, succeeded Dahal; he was forced to resign in June of last year, after months of inaction and disagreement within the coalition turned nasty.

You can sense it, around the country the initial euphoria has now cooled off, as the country has been limping on without a legitimate government for past six months. This cycle of chaos has severely affected the country's development efforts. Economy is in tatters and even the social efforts to re-vitalize the country after years of insurgency have stalled. Major side effect of the chaos has been on the law and order situation. There is no sense of justice in Nepal, as the law enforcement is being held hostage by political infighting and influence peddling. Corruption too is to blame. Lack of security has meant that many projects are being cancelled and even those underway are being scaled back.

Kathmandu based English daily Republica reports that young people are leaving the country is droves to seek opportunities abroad, unable to wait for turnaround any longer. "Migration, both internal and external, is a part of life for a large number of Nepalis. A 2009 World Bank study reports that 32% of Nepali households have a member abroad and 14% have at least a returnee. These figures indicate that almost half of Nepali households have direct exposure to foreign employment. "

It is clear that shenanigans in Kathmandu are dragging the entire country down the drains. Perhaps, it is time for Nepal to come up with new approach on development and social justice, where the government and establishment's role can be completely eliminated and the public gets to take complete control.

Sources:

Republica, December 31, 2010, http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=26639