THE KHUKRI IS THE FAMOUS NATIONAL WEAPON OF THE GORKHA SOLDIERS OF NEPAL. KHUKRI RUM IS THEIR FAMOUS NATIONAL DRINK ANYWHERE IN THE WOR-LD, IN A BATTLE OR IN .A BOTTLE, YOU CAN ALWAYS PUT YOUR TRUST IN A KHUKRI.

THE NEPAL DISTILLERIES PVT. LTD. BALAJU,KATHMANDU PH.: 350988, 350725, FAX: 350971 CONTENTS

Page

Letters 3

News Notes 4

Briefs 6

Quote Unquote 7 COVER STORY: The Silent Boom IT-enabled services is the new mantra doing the rounds in the Nepalese IT sector Oll'The Record 8 Page 16

FREEDOM OF PRESS: Under Attack 12

KATHMANDU MUNICIPALITY: Optimizing Choice 13

PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY: Prescription Rx 14

URISM : Mission Destruction 15

JUDICIARY: lusti ce Delayed Is lustice Denied 25 CONGRESS CONVENTION: Unity At Last Prime Minister Koirala is once again elected the party president. BOOK REVIEW 26 He now has to bring the divided Congress together. Page 9

THE BOTTOMLINE 27

NEPALESE YOUTH: Political Pawns 28

PASTIME 29 INTERVIEW: BINOD CHAUDHARY LEISURE 30 Chairman of Chaudhary G Nepal talks about the business vironment in the country. FORUM: Sue Wardell 32 Page

SPOTLIGHT/JANUARY 26. 2001 SPOTLIGHT EDITOR'S NOTE THE NATIONAL NEWSMAGAZINE

V~. 20, No.2B, January 26, 2001 (Magh 13, 2OS7) he most vaunted tenth convention of Nepali Congress has con­ Chief Editor And Publisher cluded in Pokhara. There were no surprises and everything passed Madhav Kumar Rimal off as anticipated. Girija Prasad Koirala has won hi s party's presidentship with much ease. The new ruling that hence forth no Editor Sarita Rimal part yman can become President for more than two terms has been erinlroduced at th e initiative of the two septuagenarian leaders of the party. It needs Managing Editor Keshab Poudel no elaboration why th ey initiated this ruling which was approved by the conven­ ti on. That Koirala has secured majority in the central committee need not surprise Associate Editor Bhagirath Yogi any body. That Sher Bahadur Deuba has posed a tougher challenge and his achievemenl could in no way be minimized must be giving the Koirala camp Senior Reporter 4 1 Sanjaya Ohakal hiccups. That he secured more than one third of the total votes is a clear signal that Koirala's influence has started waning and if there is another Nepali Congress Reporter Akshay Sharma convention, Koirala's family may be totally obliterated from the scene. Be that as it may, ourexpectations that young, honest and dynamic Congressmen would come Design and Layout Jyoti Singh forward to lead the Nepali Congress have been dashed. There is not one new face in the elected eighteen. It is nothing more than old wine in new bottle. With another Photographer Nishchal Chapagain eighteen nominees of th e President, how will the Congress function no ghost from hell need come to tell us. As far Koirala's promises of seuin g off li ke one solid bloc Art M.S. Khokna arc concerned, we know what will happen. It is th e third convenlion after the restorali on of multi-party democracy. And every time we have had heard such Legal Advisor Advocate Lok Bhakta Rana promises and mallers have onl y wo rsened. Corruption is increasing all the time, non-performance has crossed the limits, people's mi series have become unbear­ Marketing/Advertisement able and security of life and property has tOlally van ished into thin air. What more Saril Rimal (USA) is left there for Koi rala to give to the poor nation? Koirala' s love forthe country and Marketing the poor people needs no more proof than the just concluded convention. How Madan Kaji Basnet Navin Kumar Maharjan could a poor country like Nepal afford such an ostenlatious show? Could not these Madan Raj Poudel mill ions be put to better use? When the country has millions of starving, sick a.· Editorial Office dying people, wasting millions to satisfy personal and partisan egoes can never GPO Box 7256, Baluwatar, Kathmandu, justified. If this is not a renection on their lack of concern for their country and Tel: (977-1) 423127, Fax: (977-1) 417845 Chief Edilo~s : 435594 countrymen what else could be. And one more important thing is where did the E-mail: [email protected] Nepali Congress get all this money from? If the party has guts and if the money is Internet Add: http://www.nepalnews.com/ spotlight not tainled, make it transparent. Koirala's standard of morality was bared once again when Ihe governmental machineries were grossly mi sused for party pur­ Cover Design Wordscape poses. Since morality is a word non-existenl in Nepali Congress lexicon. no body Kamal Pokhari, Ph : 410772, Fax: 432872 expresses any surprise on the use of money and muscle Ihat get prominence in all

Distribution sorts of elections. And thi s fa ctor, many believe, played an importanl ro le in the Bazaar International defeat of Taranath Ranabhat, Ram Saran Mahat and Chakra Bastola. It is sad 228 Sanchaya Kosh Bldg. Kathmandu G.P.O Box 2480, Ph: 222983 Fax: 229437 comparati ve ly better persons got defeated. Even though G irija Prasad Koirala must a-mail: [email protected] be feeling mighty happy at the outcome of the Convention, he cannot stay

Printers: Kishor offset Press (P.) Ltd. complacenl as it is on ly hi s mercenary followers who are happy al hi s success. Rest P.C. Box 4665, Galkopakha, Thamel, of the country still wants him to quit. So, he should quit when the quitting is good .• Kalhmandu.Tel : 351044 (Off), 351172 (Res.), Fax: 977-1-3511 72, E-mail: [email protected]

C.O.O. Regd. No 15 1/039-40 Postal Regd. No 42/057/58 V.S. Library of Congress Madhav Kuma. Rimal l Catalogue No. 9 1-905060 Chief Ed il or& Publi sher

2 c;:pnTT lra..JT / 1AN I IAPV"t;, ,)N"ll LETTERS ______

on the streets were a mere reaction. Guide The K.S. Tamallg New Baneshwor Youth At a time the countl:V Sajha's Blues is facing multiple crises, Thanks 10 official indif­ there is nobody to guide ference. Sajha Yatayat seems our disoriented yoLtlhs ID be in limbo ('"Sajha Loses ("Young and Restless", Speed" January 12-19). In Ihe face of sliff challenges January 19-26). No wo/!­ posed by Ihe privale seclor, derso many YOllllgpeople Sajha has failed. BUI all is are engaged as foot sol­ not yel lost. People slill pre­ diers of political parlies. fer Sajha buses. The organi­ Those whu do Ilot lI'ant to zation can make up the dis­ incline themselves politi­ tance by cashing in on Ihis cally have gone overseas goodwill. What is needed is ill search of jobs. This some revamping. pitiful situatioll should Kama/ Sigde/ not be allowed to con­ KOleshwor tinue for long because it Kicking can lead to serious social The Football unrest. Ne Convention The row between the (WO Int'1 year of VlllunteefS Nirmala KC ANFAs has pUI Ihe fUlure of • EiHthquake tremors Balaju Nepalese football in serious doubt. ("'Ground In A Mess", January 12-19). It seems cer­ No Role Model ing Ihe unemployed youlh Iheir rural and not so well-IO­ lain Ihal Nepal will nOI be The youth need people inlo Iheir fold if the govern­ do counterparts arc adding 10 hosling Ihe World Cupquali­ look up 10. Alas. Ihere is ment fails 10 do ilsjob prop­ Ihe national unemployment fying round in March Ihis no role model among the erly. The coumry has accu­ rale. BOlh are trapped in un­ year. Worse. there is a slrong present 101 of our leaders. It mulated a deadly mix of un­ certainty. Worse, there i~ no possibililY of FIFA banning is frightening 10 seelhe young employmenl. poverty and savior in sight. Ihe country. While onc can­ generation having 10 witness fruslration Ihat could fuel Ihe Di"esl! Tamrakar nOI rule OUI Ihe arrogance of Ihe unethical behavior of insurgency if nOI nipped in Patan Ihese leaders. Cases of cor­ Ihe bud. Ganesh Thapa in complicat­ ruption, loot, irregularities. Prakash Sharma ing Ihis whole issue. why is Mere Reaction Geela Rana adamanl in slick­ lawlessness are multiplying. Sitapaila Has anybody given a Ihoughl Your cover slory "Op­ ing to Ihe chair Iha! does nOI 10 how all Ihis is affecling Trapped In eralion Inslabilily" (January belong to her? FOOlball-lov­ 5-11) clearly underscores the ers believe Thapa is mosl our youth? Uncertainty A 11 up Adhikary facI Ihat Ihe recent violence cOmpelenl and highly quali­ Jawalakhel Flanked by unemploy­ against unsubslantiated anti­ tied 10 head ANFA. He was mentand poverty on one side Nepal remarks by an Indian the national captain and suc­ Create More Jobs and lechnology and weSlern actor was an outburst against cessfully headed ANFA for a If policy-makers do nOl Iifeslyleon Iheolher, Nepa!"s the continuous domineering full five years. Whal creden­ start creating morc jobs, our youlh are a confused lot. auilUde shown by Indian lials does Rana have? Come counlry will fall inlO a un­ While urban and more afnu­ leaders and bureaucrats 10- on Ms Rana. give us a break. imaginable situation. Maoists em youlh are queuing up at wards Nepal and ils people. Shatrugl!all KC rebels could easily slar! lur- foreign embassies for visas, The aClions of Ihe sludents Bauisputali

SPOTLIGHT/JANUARY 26. 2001 3 NEWSNOTES

Security Personnel crossed Rs 6.2 billion, 28 percent higher led by NHRC member Prof. Kapil Shrestha than the amount collected over the same will visit Salyan and Rolpa districts in the Rescue CDO period last year. Simiiarly , lhe number of mid-western region. NHRC members Dr. In what is seen as the first incident of taxpayers registered at the Department of Sushil Pyakurel and Dr. Gauri Shanker its kind, security personnel rescued the VAT has crossed 20,000 during this pe­ Lal Das will be visiting Jajarkot and chief district officer of Sindhupalchok riod. "The total revenue projection for this Rukum districts in the same region. The district, to the north of Kathmandu, from year is likely to be met if the present trend visit is a confidence-building measure to the captivity of suspected Maoist rebels continues," said Dr. Rup Khadka, a tax minimize violations of human rights and after a three-hour gunbaHle. According to expert with the V AT Project. The V AT to end the five-year Maoist insurgency, Kantipur daily, CDO Bhanubhakta Department has set a target of collecting NHRC officials said. "We will talk to Adhikari, along with a customs depart­ Rs 13.5 billion tlus year. Introduced three local government officials, civilians and ment official, was abducted while on his years ago, the taxation system had faced Maoist rebels and study the situation of way to Barhabise from Tatopani on the severe criticism [rom the business com­ the people's right to education, Nepal-China border at around 7 p.m. munity, which sa id it was not suited to socio-economic pOlentiais and other Thursday. Armed policemen were able to Nepalese conditions. Officials, however, sic human needs." said Prof. rescue the two men after a nearly lhree­ maintained that it was based on scientific The visit is taking place following reports hour exchange of fire with the rebels. A system and was relevant to Nepal. Com· of widespread violations of human rights policeman was killed in the clash. This is piled frol1l reports jan. 20. by security forces and the Maoist rebels. the first time since the laun chin g of the Compiled from reports Jail. 18. Maoist 'people's war' that the rebels had Ex-Kamaiyas Encroach abducted a senior government official. Govt. Reduces Prices Of Gorkhapatra daily quoted Home Secre­ On Forest Area tary Sri Kanta Rcgmi as say ing that the Thousands of former kamaiya Petroleum Products CDO was under the protection of police. (bonded laborer) families entered the for­ State-owned Nepal Oil Corporation Compiled from reports Jail. 20. est area in the mid-western district of (NOC) has announced reductions in pe­ Kailali Thursday and distributed among troleum product prices with immediate VAT Collection Likely themselves 10 kauhas ofland each. accus­ effect. following price falls in the interna­ ing the government of failing to re settle tional oil market. According LO theMinis­ To Meet Target them. The fornler kamaiyas had decided try of Industry. Commerce and Supplies. In view of the current Value Added to occupy govcrnmcnt-owned lands near the price of petrol has been lixed atRs 46 Tax (V A T) collecti on trend. revenue tar­ forcsts after a meeting of Kamaiya Eman­ a liter, down from Rs 47 per liter, that of gets for this year arc likely (Q be met, cipation Movement Coordination Com­ diesel at Rs 26.50. down from Rs 27 oflicials said. Total VAT collections in mittee on Wednesday urged them to '~find per liter. and of kerosene at Rs 17 a li the first six months of this fiscal year has lands and reseule themselves". As Dis­ down from Rs 22 pcr Iiter, in the open tri ct Forest Office officials in Kailali are market. The ministry also said the coupon trying to prevent the former kamaiyas system for distribution of subs idized kero­ from constructing temporary huts, the situ­ sene had been cancelled from Tuesday. alion could turn volatile. Nepal The government's initiative to provide Samacharpatra daily reported. The gov­ kerosene at subsidi zed price (Rs 15.50 pcr ernment declared fonner kamaiyas free liter) had been heavily criticized for its from debt bondage in mid-July last year failure to reach the needy. The ministry and had promised to provide them five said the prices could be cu t because of the katthas of land per family, a pledge that downward sp iral of oil prices in the inter­ , \ remains unmct. Compiled from reports national market. Thc prices of petroleum ,. jan.19. products had been hiked substantiall y live months ago in response to the price hike in NHRCMembersTo Visit the international market. Leading dailies report Jail. 18. Maoist-Hit Areas Two separate teams led by members Nepal, India Agree To of the National Human Rights Commis­ sion (NHRC) are scheduled to visit Maoist­ Exchange More Power affected areas to assess the human rights Nepalese and Indian officials have si tuati on in the region early next month. agreed to exchange up to ISO MW of Market place According to reports, a four-member team power, up from present provision of ex-

4 ~P()TIIr.J..ITJItJ.N"I ' ADV"J:;: ')(\(\1 NEWSNOTES

changing up to 50 MW. The decision was than a dozen injured in a clash between ganizations and, as necessary, for admin­ reached during the sixth Nepal-India police and the inmatcs at Banke prison in istrati ve expenses of the (U. S.) Bureau of power exchange comminee lhatconcluded mid-western Nepal Sunday, reports said. Population. Refugees and Migration. here Thursday. Nepal currently imports According to pol ice, prison guards opened Bhutanese refugeeactivists in Kathmandu about 50 MW from India while India fire when the inmates demonstrating at have welcomcd the move. It was not im­ imports about 37 MW of power from the terrace of the jail building started mediately clear what portion of tbe $22 Nepal. During the meeting, the Nepalese pelting bricks. The inmates were staging million would be channeled to Bhutanese side proposed- to carry out a study on protests for the last several days asking refugees in Nepal. The Clinton adminis­ installing high-quality transmission lines the authorities to fulfill their IS -point de­ tration, toward the cnd of its tenure, had between the two countries. Indian o ffi ­ mand. Ghanashyam Oli of Dang and shown seri ous concern about the plight of cials also agreed to review the presem Bijaya Chaudhary of Bardiya died in the nearl y lOO,OOO Bhutancse refugees lan­ tariff Slructure and said they would start poli ce action. Chief District Officer Shyam guishing in refugee camps in eastern Nepal work on the matter within three months. Prasad Mainali defended the action, say­ for the last one decade. Compiled from Nepal and India currently exchange elec- ing that it was impossible to bring the reports Jail. 21. city at Indian Rs 1.60 per unit. The situation under control without opening • 111ceLing also agreed to seule in the near fire. A poli ce ofli cer said the inmates Three Rare Species Of Mon­ future their overdue bills. RSS reports hurled a petrol bomb at the pol ice quarters Jail. 19. on Sunday afternoon. According to RSS keys Available In Nepal news agency, the inmates wereon a strike A researcher has said Nepal is home Army Chief Supports since January 10 demanding, among oth· to at least three rare monkey species. ers. sufficient toilets, electricity, market Addressing a function organized by the Paramilitary Force for small-scale induslries run in side the Nepal Forum of Environmental 10urnal­ Amid reports of differences between prison and good sewerage system. The ists in the capital Friday, Dr. Mukesh the Home Ministry and the Royal Nepal government has fomled a committee 10 Chalise said he had discovered three spe­ Army over the setting up of an "Anned probe into the deaths of the two inmates. cies of monkey - red, paharc and langur Police Force" mainly to counter the five­ The one-man committee of Special Police - available only in Nepal. Since mon­ year-old Maoist insurgency, the anny chier Department joint secretary Subarna Lal keys are very useful in scientific research has said he is positive toward the iniua­ Shrestha will submit its report within a and for environmental reasons. they should live. Replying to queries from members week. Leading dailies report Ja". 15. be protected, he said. A number of envi­ of State Affairs Committee (SAC) of the ronmentalists showed seri ous concern over Parliament Monday, Chief of the Army C!inton Approves Aid For habitat destruction and commercial hunt­ Staff General Prajwolla Shumsher Rana ing, leading to the extinc tion of rare ani­ ressed hope th at the new security ap- Bhutanese And Balkan Refugees mals li ke Assamese monkeys and other rat us would be success ful in controlling In one of his final acts as US presi­ species. Compiled from reports Jail. 21. the in surgency, a leading newspaper re­ dent , Bill Clinton approved an aid pack­ ported Tuesday. qUOling sources in the age of US$ 22 million ror Bhutanese refu­ Maoists Loot Imported Goods SAC. Gen. Rana said the am,y could be gees in Nepal and refugees in Balkans. used against the rebels, as per the consti ­ reports said. According to an ann ounce­ A group of suspected Maoist rebels tuti on, onl y if the new force fai led in its ment made by White HOllse Thursday, the looted consumer goods imported from objective. Gen. Rana opined that the inte­ funds may be used, as appropriate, to Tibetan autonomous region of China via grated concept of security and develop­ provide contributions to international, Tatopani customs o n the way to mel1l should be implemented to control governmen tal. and na il -governmental or- Kathmandu Thursday, report s said . The the insurgency. He said a separate secre­ rebels stopped vehicles carrying the goods tariat should be formed to analyze and at the Jambu section of the Arniko high­ formulate security-related issues in the way at gu npoint. unloaded them and took country. DefenseSecretary Pad am Prasad their loot away with the help of local Acharya also briefed committee members vi ll agers. A customs inspector. Sridhar about the security situation in thecoumry, Bhattarai. was killed in a shoot-out. Chief the report said . Leading dailies report, District Officer Bhanubhakta Pokhrel of JUII.16. S indhupalc hok district survi ved by hid­ ing inside a vehicle. The value of th e robbed goods could not be known. The Two Inmates Killed incident underlines the deteriorating law­ In Banke Prison and-order situati on on the sensitive nOrlh­ Bhutanese refugees ern Nepalese region bordering China. Two inmates were killed and more Compiled from reports Jail. 21. •

SPOTLIGHT/JANUARY 26. 2001 5 BRIEFS

his pctition. filedon Monday. chainnanofthe DemocraticOpinion Forum Bharal Jangam. has argued that the large number of public holidays given to civil servants is unconstitutional. Jangam has also argued that the provision of a two-day weekend in the capital valley. which discriminates against civil servants from other parts of the country. is a breach of the constitution. Jangam said civil servants in Nepal enjoy more than J30days in holidays a year. The petition has come within days of ne wspaper reports saying that officials, 100. were considering reduci ng the number of public holidays in the country.

FOR TilE FIRST TIME IN SEVERAL YEARS, THE NEPALESE currency appreciated by 30 paisa against the US dollar. The exchangerate of Nepalese rupee againSllhe US dollar fell 10 Rs 74.35 Monday from Rs 74.65. The latest deveJopmem came in the aftermath of the depreciation of Nepalese currency by seven percent againstlhe greenback overthe last six momhs. ''The slump in the demand of the US currency is an OUICOt of the slashing of interest rales in the US recently," said Dr. Yuba Prime Minister Koirala with artists and foreign repre­ Khatiwada, chief economic adviser at the Nepal Rastra Bank. Earlier. t central bank had intervened in the foreign-exchange market to absorb the sentatives during the Congress convention in Pokhara excess dollar holdings of commercial banks.

NEARLY 3.9 MILLION CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF FIVE AT LEAST 21 PEOPLE HAVE DIED OF VIRUS INFLUENZA years were administered anti-polio drops on January 20during the second epidemic in the remote villages ofwestemdislricl ofGorkha, repons said. phase of the on-going National Immunization Program, officials said. The According to the chairman of Laprak village development committee. nr ~t phase was launched less than two months back. The program. Santosh Gunmg.the week·old epidemic bas already claimed 13 li ves in estimated lO cost Rs 170 million. targets to eradicate polio from the hi s VDCaione. Memberofthe Parliament Jivan Prem Shreslha and lotal country as per the call orlhe World Health Organizallon for a polio-free leaders have asked the government to send medicines and health workers world by 2005. to the remote villages as soon as possible.

TOP GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS RAVE CALLED FOR UR· TRECONSTRUCTION OF INLAND CONTA INER DEPOT(ICD) gent bankingseclOrreforms to prevent a national financial crisis. Address­ at Birgunj has beencompleled, Kantipurdaily reported Monday. Accord· ingan interacti on program organized by the Society of Economic Joumal­ ing to the report, the mulli-billion·rupee project linanced by the World i ~IS- epal (SEJON) here Wednesday. Nepal Raslra Bank Govemor Bank and the Nepalese government will have to wait for some more time Dipcndra Puru sh Dhakal said financial-sector reform was urgently needed before coming into operation. Director of the project, Purushottam Ojba, in Nepal to prevent a crisis like the onc that swept across East Asian said the ICD, popularly known as "dry pon· will come into operation after countries in 1997. He said the governmem had decided to hand over the Nepal and India agree on a railway operation mod:-lIilY. "We are following management of Nepal Bank Limited and Raslriya Banijya Bank lO up the issue with the Indian government and the ICD may come into International consulting groups in order 10 revl vc them. Fi !lance Secretary operation within the next six month:' he said. Officials said after the Dr. Bimal Koirala said serious inslirutional and policy failures had led to Birgunj leD comes into operation, transit and transportation costs of the expediting oflinancial reforms in the COllntry. While welcoming the Nepal-bound cargo may come down by as much as .to percent. lA: government's initiatives, privale·sector representatives blamed the weak government is also constructing two more ·dry ports' in Bhairahawa afJr fillancial discipline and frequent political intervention as mainly respon­ Biratnagar with loan assistance from the World Bank. !!ible for the present plight of the governmem-owned banks. THE NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION (NPC) HAS A GROllP OF ARMED BANDITS An·ACKED THE JYOTI started mid·term evaluation of the Ninth Five Year Plan (1997-2002), an Spinning Mills (JSM) in Parsa distriCt and looled nearly Rs I million, oflieial sai~. NPC member Dr. Jagdish C. Pokhrel lold a NPCIIUCN rcpons said. Some 50-armed dacoits entered the JSM premises at 7:30 workshop here Friday that the NPC had started the mid-tem evaluation p.m. Thursday .md looted the money that was beingdistribuled as salary of the Ninth Plan and its program. financial investment. achievement 10 nt!arly 250 mill.!.taff. At least 18 employees were injured, two oflbem technical aspects and fa.ilures. The overriding objective of the Ninth Plan critit.:ally, as the dacoits opened fire on those who resisted them. The has been identilied as poveny alleviation. Critics, however. say the security guards at the factory. equipped only with batons, could not resist govenlmcnt's policies have broadly failed to reduce the number of poor the attack. The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and people in the country. According toa UN estimate. nearly half of Nepal's Industry (FNCCI) has condemned the attack and has urged the govern­ 23 million people 1ive on less than a dollar a day. ment to step up industrial security measures. A UN AGENCY HAS SAID THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT IS CONSIDERING SETTING UP reeted by the HIV virus may ha.ve crossed the 33,000 mark in Nepal. nrmy camps along the Nepal-India border in its Bihar stale, repons said According to an estimate made by UNAIDS, there were more than 33.000 Saturday quoting Indian media reports. The Times of India On-line on people living with HIV/AIDS as of 2000 in Nepal. A working group on FtiLla)' quoted Indian Defense Minister George Fcrnandes as saying that UNAIDSIWHO on global HIV/AlDS and STD surveillance has eSli· hi s ministry was considering the pros and cOllsofa proposal to sel up army mated that more than 8,000 people may have died of the dreaded disease hase~ along the Indo· cpaJ border ··to check infiltration and subversive in Nepal since it was first identified in 1988. Expens. however, say the Jctivllics against Indi:l being earned out from the HimaJayan kingdom:· number of people dying of AIDS in Nepal could be between 1,000 and Fern:.lndcs also alleged that that the Pakistani imelligenceagency, ISI. had 2.000 over the last one decade. The National Cenler for AIDS and STD made a base III Nepal 10 carry out ami-India activities. Nepalese govem­ Control, a government agency. has said fewer than 150 people have died meni officials have consistently rejected such allegations. of AIDS so far. Thecenter said only 1.800 people were found to have been infected with HIV/A IDS in Nepal. Expens have warned that Nepal Illight A WRIT PETITION HAS BEEN FILED AT THE SUPREME face an AIDS epidemic within a few years if concrete measures were not Coun r.;ee king to cut down several 'unnecessary' government holidays. In adopted immediately to check its spread. •

6 "Pf1TI lr.UTII '" MJ I A rnr .-, c QUOTE UNQUOTE

"Compared to my tenure, the security situation today has worsened 100 times." Krishna Prasad Bhattarai,fol"lller prime minister, criticizing the governmellt of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, in Ghatana Ra Bichar. * * *

"T here is no doubt about my vic­ tory." people 1lral­ She,. Balladur Deuba, asked la99i/)19 h eh i'rlq whether he would will the election for the post o/party presidellf at fhe are the Ca'YJ.dida.tes, , Poklwra cOl/venfioll. ill Drishti. * * *

"By buying an old aircraft without call in g for tender. they have committ ed irregularities amounting lO Rs 180 mil­ lion rupees. PM Koirala has used the money thus made to win in the election t of party president." ~ ~lad"av Kumar Nepal. genera! sec- ( retalT of 'he CPN-UML alld the : lIIaill opposition leader, ill Kantipur. and chairman o!parfiamelll's Pllb­ meeting held to rig the election m the top * • * lie Accollnts COlllmitree. referring level afrer the manipUlation of vOles at 10 the proposed ordillQl/ce (a sel up the lower rungs:' an Arllled Police Force, ;11 P.L. Singh, congress Leader who "T he government ..IS becoming auto- Budhabar. boycatteed the Pokhara convention, cratic. Otherwjse, It could have dis­ • * * in Prakash. ssed with the political parties before * * '" rying lO come oul w ith the ordinance." Sllbash Nemw{/Ilg, CPN-UML MP "I 1 wazs not a convention. It was a "N o one should try to divide the pany just because somebody lost the elec­ lion:' Sushi/ Koirala. XCI/eral secretary a/fhe Nepali Congress, ill Bimarsha. * * *

"C ongress and communists have turned the King inLO a caged parrot." Sonom Chhirillg Sherpa, aformer pane//(I. ;/1 Jana Aastha. • • •

"I couldn't leave music so had to scale for divorce." Sapalla Shree, popular singer, when asked 11'/1\' she divorced her husband, in Ghalana Ra Bichar. * • •

SPOTLlGHTIJANUARY 26, 2001 7 OFF THE RECORD

Mind to a film's success. Lesson: A good story line backed by di­ REVELATION Khanal's Shoes rectorial creativity can work At a time when political wonders. 'Tourists Will Help leaders were in a rush to catch their vehicles during the Relative Edge Preserve Heritage' Pokhara jamboree. CPN­ Not all directors are as UML leadcrcomrade lhalnath -PREM SUWAL fortunate as Ghimire when it Khanal was busy searching comes la important depart­ for his shoes. Intentionally or ments of filmmaking. A Mayor of BhaktaplIr M!lIIicipaiity PREM SUWAL is confident brother-in-law of acclaimed Ihat tOllristfiolV will comilllle to grow ('Veil after tile cit)' raised musIc director Ranjit ell fry fees. Sltwal spoke tn SPOTLIGHT 011 the controversy Gajmerc. Ghimire can rely on regarding the entl},-fee hike. Excerpts: the pull o flilting numbers and compelli ng background Afterthe increase in entry fees, itis said that the number scores. of tourists visiting Bhaktapur has declined. Is this true? From a former student Tourist flow as a whole has witnessed a drastic fall in the like Nirupa Singh. Ghimire laM few months because of somc known rcasons. Bhaktapur is can expect that additional not an exception. Frankly speaking, in the ca~c of Bhaktapur,

commitmem to excel. For I you can't blame the increase in entry fees for the fall. quite a while, our producers, How do you justify tbe fee increase, especially when all following their lndian coun - tourism entrepreneurs have opposed it? terparts, have been guided I don't understand why people are making such anoise over by the principle that a film the issue, as if the rees are being charged to them. We are taking cannot be complete withollt some money as service charge from tourists to keep the city gangs of baddies who kick clean and to preserve its historical monumcnts. If we offcr good Khanal : Shoe-struck and punch thcirwayaround al ~crvice. what is wrong in rais1I1g the fcc.::s? I Jon't think any regular intervals. Will the suc- tourist would refuse to pay $10 to visit Bhaktnpur. otherwise, ~omeone lOok cess oOf ·Darpan Chaya' en- [f other municipalities follow your path, would it be away Khanal's shining shoes courage others in our film in- possible for tourists to pay their way everywhere? and rcplaced them with an dustry to change their violent If other municipalities maintain the area properly, I don't o lde r dusty pair. Comrade ways'. think tourists would find it difficult to contribute to the pres Khanal's worry was under­ ' vmion of ancient heritage. standable. because he lost part It is said that the municipality increased the fees without of his valuable coll ection. Sujata Vows consulting tourism entrepreneurs. According LO Khanal. he got Vengeance We invited all concerned entrepreneurs for discussions the shoes as a gift during his before increasing the fees, Unfortunately, no one rcsponded .• Watch out Prakash visit to United States. Koirala, Sailaja Celluloid Success Acharya. Chakra ;------, timately end ed in herdisq uali­ Prasad Bastola ficmiol1. Tulsi Ghimirc's 'Darpan and Bhakta Baha­ Sujata. who returned to Chayu' has set records in the dur Balayar. The her motherland in 1993 aftcr Nepalese film industry. It has only daughter of her father became prime min­ made phenomenal profits and lhe country 's ister, thinks - and why drawn unprecedented crowds prime minister shouldn't she - that she has a during the more than eight has vowed to take natural claim la ~i t on the cwe. weeks it has been running in revenge for their Rules be damned. They are the valley. audacity to op­ made to be nouted. If the party At a time when there is a pose her candi­ cannot bend them for SUjata, feveri sh race among Nepalese dacy for member­ who c\'cn divorced her Ger­ lO ship of the Con­ film producers bring out man hu sband to be with papa big-budget films, Ghimire has gress Central dear. shc has every right to shown that massive cash in­ Working Corn- take revengc. Watch out, all mittee, which ul - Sujata: An eye for an eye fusions are not a prerequisite you sinners. • SPECIAL REPORT

ing benefi ts from being close to the power. CONGRESS CONVENTION During the five-day hectic activities. Nepali Congress delegates discussed Unity At Last some very important issues including economic policies. Maoist problems and The ruling NepaJi Congress party's 10th convention winds up announcing law and order situation. After endorse­ ment of the amendment or the party con­ new strategies to meet new challenges. Will it implement them? stituti on, the attenti on of the congress workers and delegates diverted to the elec­ By KESHAB POUDEL in Pokhara soon after Koiralafs new steps. The ri­ tion process, but they also spared some valry in a democratic party like Congress lime to debate on the burring issues. 5 soo n as election results were an­ is nothing new as it was fonned by merg­ The convention was inaugurated in nounced on Tuesday at Dipendra ing two rolds in 1948. the presence of more than 60,000 Con­ Ibha Griha by pany election commis­ Although Congress is a mass-based gress supporters and attendance of repre­ sioner and se ni or advocate Mukunda party wi th loose organization st ructu re, it sentatives of two political parties from Regmi. the five-day-Iong 10th general has sel some new trends in its last elec­ northern and so uthern neighbors. convention orthe Nepali Congress fi nally tiolls. By elec tin g the new leadership and Although it was unorganized pany. wi nded up. In it s five-decade hi story. the giving new message to its party workers, Congress proves that it has still its good­ party has for the first lime chosen morc the Congress party has succeeded in en­ wil l 10 sell to the people. The crowd than 50 percent of its members though hte thusing some kind of hope in public. It turned out to see the Congress convention ballot. This was onc of the major achieve­ remains to beseen how successfully it can was beyond the calculation orthe party, as ment s or the I ,400-plus elected delegates execute its commitments. (hey had fixed just three loud speakers in of the panyfs grass root leaders. Following the inaugural sess ion at the stadium. Whoever spoke from the Though the party delegates spared the Pokhara Stadium. the Congress con­ dias, the crowed si lcntly endorsed thejr very little time to discuss political and vention co ncluded by electing 19 repre­ statements. • ot her issues, it brought some clear mes­ sentatj ves for the party central committee sages on economic liberali zation, unem­ including party president. Congress has a ployment. agricultural policy, law and Elected ewe Members

After the announcement or the li S! of the new working committee mcmhcrs. t-Oth Congress convention was finally ovcr. Although some prominent persons like Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat. Bhim Baha­ dur Tamang and foreIgn minister Chakra Prasad Banstola failed to Win the mem­ bership. the-elected members represented both mal camps. Sonsoflmc B,P. Kmral. and Ganesh Man Singh. Prakash KOlfala and PrakashMan Stngh won theelection.

Bhatlarai (left) and Koirala (right) : Bridging the gap Winners I. Ram Chandra Poudel 2. Shalla)a Acharya 3. Prak"sh Man Singh order and Maoist problems. reputation of countryfs biggest pany with 4. Khum Bahadur Khadka 5. Mahesh The Congress convention was post­ unorganized programs. Acharya 6. Prakash Koirala 7. Sushil poned twice in the past for nearly 18 As almost all leaders of the ruling Koirala 8. Pradeep G,n 9. Narahan months. It was held even in an uncertain party called to curb the corruption, no one Acharya 10. Krishna Prasad Sitaula 11. situation. Despite eleclJons for the party spared a chance to misuse the govern­ Bijaya Gachhadar 12 . ArJun Narsillgh organization, the feud between the two ment vehicles and guest houses in Pokhara. KC 13. Baldev Ma)gaiya 14. Chiranjibi group is yet to die as the defeated candi ­ The prese nce of large number of sen ior Waglc 15. Blmalendra Nidhl 16. date Sher Bahadur Deuba declared that he government officials and their relatives Mahantha Thakur 17. Govlllda Raj )oshi would announce his next course of action retlected typical Nepali mentality of reap- 18. Bal Bahadur Rai . •

SPOTLlGHTIJANUARY 26. 2001 9 SPECIAL REPORT

Despite Deuba's claim of being the CONGRESS ELECTIONS only contender for the top leadership, the election results indicated a new scenario, as large number of voters overwhelm­ A Symbolic Fight ingly voted for Shailaja Acharya and Ram Chandra Poudel in the contest for central Getting re-elected as party president was the least of committee membership. The near hysterical loyalty showed Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's challenges. In on Pokhara airport where Koirala's rival, the days ahead, he will have to balance within the party Deuba spokc very confidently with press when they arrived on 16 January. But a and make uncomfortable choices. week later, Deuba secured less than 35 percent of total votes cast. In the elections held on January 22, Deuba polled 5' votes out of 1468 valid votes cast by t General Assembly delegates from across the country. Koirala has not only won with nearly two-third majority: he de­ feated his two opponents. as expected. After the elections, equally strong contenders for the party leadership Ram Chandra Poudel and ShailajaAcharya have challenged fanner prime ministcrDeuba's claim as the only legitimate second gen­ eralion leader. In the process of transfer of leader­ ship, Koirala ignored the election cam­ paign leaving the decision in the hands of thc delegates. Although he has been ac­ cused of tilling the party with relatives and hangers-on. Koirala too Lhe opportu­ nity to rebut charges that he wants to fill the party with family members and sy

By KESHAB POUDEL in Pokhara situatio~ is not so simple. Unljkc his first tenn as party presi­ n January 23, a Neeon Air night dent. Prime Minister Koirala has to walk O from Pokhara to Kathmandu had a tight rope, accommodating all his apart· onc (serious) pa.o;senger: newly elected ment into a unified party. The likely im­ Nepali Congress president and Prime pact ofKoirala' s re-election on the party' s Minister Girija Prasad Koirala. Among popular base is yet unclear, despite his those accompanying him were his sister­ declaration that he would hand over the in-law Nona Koirala and, of course, his leadership. bodyguard. Yet, Koirala chose not to no­ Nepali Congress has also proved that lice who was with him. Instead. he sat up it is still popular among the people and quietly along with his long·time party wields influence across the country. The colleague Krishna Prasad Bhatlarai. challenge ahead for the live·decade-old Koirala's seriousness is understand­ party is how to retain that innuence. "T ahle. He faces one of the most challeng· will comment only after Koirala's future ing tasks in his political career: starting steps. I am happy that such a huge per­ the process of handing over the centage of people voted for me despite the leadership to younger generation. Al­ hostile attitude of Girijababu." said Sher though 78-year·old Koirala has already Bahadur Dcuba, after the results were set a Lhree-yeartime frame forhimsclrto announced. "The result has established transfer the party leadership, the myself as a leader of the party." Deuba : Victory in defeat

10 SPOTLlGHT/JANUAR.Y 26.2001 SPECIAL REPORT phants. After all, he supported the deci­ It is a morale boost- ,------:::;;:;t sion of the party's election commission to ing forthe septuage­ reject the nomination papers ofhisdaugh­ narian leader. The ter Sujata Koirala. same place, same Married to a Gemlan citizen. Sujata people and same po­ returned to Nepal in 1991 after Koirala sitio n but a new became prime minister. She acquired spirit. Despite the lit­ Nepali citizensnip in 1994 and joined ac­ erary nourish, the tive politics the foll owing year. fact is, trouncing The li kely impact of Koirala's neu­ Deuba is not the end trality in the elections for central commit­ of Koirala' s chal­ tee members clearly indicated he was not lenges. 'n a mood to ask ravors even from his Everyone has ng-tirne colleague and cousin Sushi I fallen in line all oirala. right. But now he : Mission unaccomplished L8-h-at-t-a~rai Plwm .. S,mlies/J l/IufI/""Jlwr Bhatlarai, too, showed maturity dur­ will have to make ing the pany convention. Although he choices. Who should he reward? Who backed Deuba, Bhattarai avoided saying NC Conventions can he ignore Should he build a bridge anything that might have added fuel to the wi th the past or the future? What about The first general convention, January 5,1947. his role in three years' time?There is also dissension. Calcutta. Bhanipur, lndia At the end of his political career, Tank. Prasad Acharya elected president the looming problem of intellectual bank­ Bhattarai clearly indicated that he would 8.P. Koirala elected executive president ruptcy in the party. Bhattarai is aging, not do anything that wi ll harm the party Poudel is uninterested. Set:ond Convention. Benaras. fndia. 1948 unity. Of equal importance is how Koirala Dr. Dilli Raman Regmi nominated as aCling In sharp contrast to the two seni or will deal wi th Deuba. Although he would president leaders, Deuba seemed over-confident want to appear magnanimous after vic­ and at limes even arrogant. When he Third Convention. Darvanga. India. 1949 tory, Koirala would also have to resist arrived in Poknara on January 17, Deuba Matrika Prasad Koirala eJected preSident pressure to take punitive acti o n against appeared almost certain - or at least Nepa1i National Democratic Congress led by his challenger. Deuba scored a symbolic gave the impression - that he would Malrika Prasacl Koirala and Nepal Democratic victory by deciding to challenge Koirala Congress led by Mahendra Bikram Shaha defeat his one-time mentor. Many in the for the party presidency. merged. arty are disappointed to see that Deuba The real significance oflheelectoral s lost an opportunity to establish him­ Fourth Convention in Kalkutta Tiger Hill. In­ battle lies not in its final olltcome. but in self as an unchallenged second-genera­ dia. t950 its political symbolism. Even at the time tion leader. Matrika Prasad Koirala elected president of filing his nomination papers on Janu­ The Nepal i Congress proved that it is ary 20, Deuba must have known that he Fifth Convention. Janakpur. 1952 a party representing the entire country, as would lose. And yet. Dcuba fought to the B.P. Koiral a elected president delegates from the Terai, hill and moun­ finish. tains thronged to the convention hall. Sixth Convention in BirgunJ Although Deuba failed to take the How could Deuba have won more Subama Sumsher JBR defeated Ganesh Man party presidency, he still leads a power­ votes after he unleashed a tirade agai nst Slngh ful lobby within the party. The conven­ Koirala weeks before the cOll vention? He tion, party insiders say. has failed to end had relied on sulking chieftains to quietly Special Convenrion. BiralOagar. 1957 the uncertainty that has gripped the Nepali back hi m. No one did. Most of his col­ B.P. Koirala elected president Congress in recent months. leagues decided to vote for Koirala in Atthe personal level, Deuba's moves Seventh Convention. Kalhmandu. 1960 hope of gettin g appointed to the ewe. could result either in his emergence as an 8.P. Koirala retained the post Many in the party are still disap­ alternative power cenler or in his expul­ pointed. The battle against Koirala lacked Eighth Convention at Kalbnlgudi. Jh.pa in 1993 sion from the pany. While Deuba and his finesse and to many it was out of character Krishna Pras

SPOTLIGHT/JANUARY 26. 2001 It NATIONAL

themselves." FREEDOM OF PRESS Participants at an interaction program organized in the capital by the Center for Human Rights and Democratic Studies Under Attack (CEHURDES) on Sunday. called upon the media community in particular and civil As the press asserts itself by criticizing the govern­ society in general to become aware about possible threats on press freedom and free­ ment, the latter takes measures to intimidate it dom of expression in the country. "The government could make even fatal allack upon the Nepali press in near By BHAGtRATH YOGt related to the news item. The government future," said Pahadi. Added Dr. Shah, " rewarded editor of the daily by appointing when a government finds itself in a lost ,~ Then li steners in the capital valley him as chief editor of Gorkhapalra. an offi­ situmion, it stans committing unethical act! l' l' ~lJ1ed into 'Aajaka Kura'. a popu­ cial daily. Of course, there are some limitations lardaily talk show on Radio Sagannatha. on ''The government seems 10 be trying 10 media itself. "Media should not glorify January 16, thcy were taken aback to hear a create a lobby of media persons who would war-like situations and internal conflict. The notice. The first community radio in South write in praise of its aClivi[ies." said Gokul press should behave responsibly," said Dr. Asia said it had indefinitely suspended the Pokhrel, a senior journalist and President of OopaI Krishna Siwakoti, a human rights program till as per directives orlhe Ministry Nepal Press Institute. " It has been adopting activist. Agreed Sindhu Nath Pyakurel, se­ of Information and Communications tactics of intimidation as the Ncpali press nior advocate and newly eleclCd president (MolC). has become capable enough to point out of Nepal Bar Association, "press freedom. The ministry. in its directive when exercised within limits,can delivered the same day. cited a lWO­ contribute a lot (Q the country. To weck-old govemmentdecision that resLrict the freedom of press with­ banned independent news-oriented out framing a case was violation programs. with immediate effect. of the constitution of the country ·'We haven't made any new deci­ that guarantees press freedom and sion. All we have done is to remind freedom of expression:' private FM. stations about the ex­ The Consl itution of the J

t2 <;:P()TIIr:UT/IA/lJIIAOV"IL 'l'V" NATIONAL

employees engaged in the process of city KATHMANDU MUNICIPALITY revitalization. he said. Addressing the meeting, Dr Harka Gurungsaid, "In 1969 the first study on an Optimizing Choice approach to the development of Kathmandu was undertaken." He was part The city mulls new paradigms for equitable and sus­ of the team. "If the people in powerthen had done their jobs properly we would not tainable revitalization have needed other strategies," he said. The larger question is: How should a By AKSHAY SHARMA percent increase of vehicles in the valley," city be developed? Before villages were according to an expert on urban planning. considered romantic, these visions arose Last week's meeting focused on from Western influence. "Our villages are ~ ommunities across the world are ways of building a better Kathmandu. still poor and the people there think that ~ struggling against public decay, Padma Sundar 10shi, executive officer of the cities are paved with gold. We should constantly developing ways of solving the KMC. has the SNOT formula-which realize that the cities and remote areas are what has come to be known as the 'urban is strength, weakness. opportunity and interconnected," said Dr Gurung. problem'. Amid all the gloom that has trust. The KMC, which has led an urban gripped our own experience, rays of hope "We began the program nine mOnlhs renewal effort for three years, feels it are emerging. ago. Experts discussed topics concerning needs to distill what has worked from Kathmandu Metropolitan Corpora- th e city's development strategy. And we what has not. A set of lessons and strate- tion (KMC) organized a meeting last have got so much feedback," Joshi said. gies could prove to be a useful in tbe week to help evolve strategies for im- The KMChas 10 researchers and II other process of encouraging city- proving living conditions in the ...------....-""'rI friendly activities. capital. City planners have long A community can control its stressed the need for a participa- future. The members of the com- wry approach. munity are the only ones who can "Underlying the majority do that in the best way. But the of these programs is the convic- people have la know specifically tion that no amount of government what direction they want their or private money will make much future to take. City officials are o f a difference unless the people extending valuable supportlo lig- o now live in squatt er seule- uring out a process.

J ent s and other blighted areas take "The KMC"s main goal is to the lead in improving their living create the widest possible impact conditions." Akhtar A. Bashah in making Kathmandu a liveable wriles in hi s book "Our Urban city and increasing its rnanage- Future". ment capacities .. ' a KMC expert Our ci ty authorities seem to be said. heeding lhat message. "Kathmandu City officials stTCSS the need is being rebuilt and revitalized. Take to ensure that resources nows meet pride and panicipale." Mayor Ke- investment needs. At the wider shah Sthapit said. leveLtheKMCalsowantstomake "1 wen! 10 th e people prom is- itself a competitive city in the ing {hat 1 would revitalize world. Kathmandu. The residents have In his book, Bashah cites see n that we are capable o f deliver- examplesorcommunities,NGOs, ing and also reali ze that there is a government and private enter- lot llI ore to be done." he said. prises to show that the success of "Most of the c hallenges such initiatives depends on their Kathmandu faces today arc the re- comprehensive approach. su I! of unbalanced growth and in- Proper support for these adequate investment. The city and solutions would help ensure the establishment should cope with KMC h' f . bT equity and sustainability in urban the growth in population and the 13 : Partners JP or sustama J IlY life. •

SPOTLIGHTIJANUARY 26. 2001 13 NATIONAL

national enterprises. thereby contributing PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY 10 national economy. Officials say the government is seri ­ ous in promoting pharmaceuLica l industry Prescription Rx in the country. "We have provided d uty concessions in importing raw materials Eyeing fo reign markets, domestic pharmaceutical indus­ and other facilities to ourdomcslic indus­ tries," said Chandi Prasad Shrestha, tries complain of unequal treatment by the government spokesman at the Ministry of Industry. Commerce and Supplies. "The govern - By BHAGIRATH VOGI num. Ten more companies were in the Illcnl will provide every support to the pipe line, industry sources said. industry if they want to export their prod- With increasing share in the domes- ucts." epali pham13ceulical industry seems lic market. Nepali pharmaceutical corn- Shrcslha clarified Ihm the low c Nto be coming of age. finally. The panics are now eyeing at foreign markets lams on imports of drug was meant 1 industry Ihat used to lobby for fOrLheirproducts. ''Thenumberofcom- provide drug to general public al afford- government's protection only a few years panics adopting Good Manufacturing ableeosts. "At a time when we are not self hack now is asking for a level playing Practices (GMP) is increasing. We can sufficient in drug production and there are field against foreign companies. compete with forejgn companies by ne- obligations related la social justice, wc "The government is adopting unequal quiring latest technology and good qual- can't provide tariffprotct:tion to domestic policies whiledealing with imporleddrugs ity." said Hari Bhakta Shanna of Deurali- industry." Shrestha said. ''The govern- vIs-a-vis the domestic.: products," ment. however. can consider intro- ~aidPradipJungPand cy,chainna n ducing tariff barners on certain of the Association ofPhannaceuLi- products and categories in which cal Producers of Nepal (APPON), ourdomeslic production is selfsuf- Sunday at the Association's eighth ficient." AGM. Ncpal'sdrug industry has now According to Pandey. the gov- become pro-activc while aUv()Cal- ernmcnl imposes only 2.5 percent ing for policies related to the Indus- ..:ustolllsduty on the imported drugs try. "Since the quality of drug IS \\ hcrctls domestic industry has lO directly related to public health. wc pay up to 24 percent in the fom1 of· have dcm~\ndcd from the go\ern- duty IIlcluding 10 percent Value ment that cen~l1n standard sho

AddcdTax.'·1l1at·swhywchaven't f.~'~~rJ be specified [0 domcMic industry. been able tocompele with imported ...... « Wt:. an! ready to improve our short- urugs:' he said. cOlnlngs. If" any." said Sharma. Pharmaceutil2:al entrepreneurs "Equall) Important IS monitoring ..,ay domestic production of drug the 4uality of imported drugs from meets nearly ~5 percent of the na- r:~:J!iI1!!! across the open border," tional demand in the five billion- Drugs: Quality matters Offi..:ial cite lac!... uf adequate rupee drug markel. The rest is im- =~~~.::::~-..::..::::.::::.::::------manpower to monitor suh-stall- ported mainly from India and, to some Janala Pharmaceutical Company. who is dard drug!-i. "Nearly 4,000 brands of extent. from abroad. also a General Secretary at APPON. medicines arc available In Ncpali market "If all sector!-i extend their coopcra- Hukum Phannaceuticals. a leading produced from more than 350 companies tion. wc can meet nearly 50 percent of the Industry, has recently acquired ISO 9002 around the world." said Or. Asfaq Sheikh. domestic demand, including 80 percent certificate for maintaining quality in its director at the Department or Drug Man- demand for the essential drugs, within the manufacturing. "This has proved that agcmcnl.lhc government agency respon- country ," said Pandcy. More than 50 per- Nepali companies too can produce world- sible for monilOring quality of drugs cent uf 273 essential drugs arc manufac- class drugs here." said Vijay Dugar, man- within the C(lunlry. Industry sources, lured within the country. aging director of Hukum Pharmaceuti- however,saythereareuplO 12.000brands Accordingto the association. 33 phar- cals. of medicines being sold freely in Ihe mJceutical companies. with an invcst- Entrepreneurs say NcpaJi drugs have mdrket. ment of nearly three billion rupee, had a emerged as one of the new export prod- "Nepal has one of thc highest per capacity 10 manufacture nearly three bil- UCIS from Nepal. They say growth of the capita drug brands available in the country. lion rupees' worth of medici nes per an- industry will create new jobs and promote This must be regulated," said Sharma . •

14 SPOTLIGHT/JANUARY 26. 2001 NATIONAL

five months of 2000 and the exaggerated and negative publicity about Nepal in the In dian media after the lA hijacking sent wrong signal!:' to the Indian market. said the NTB report. "The activities goin g on here for last year or so - be it securi ty or law and oruer problems - are going to affect us in the long term." said Pradcep Raj Pandey. chief execlItive officer of the NTB. "The glaring example could be Fiji whose entire economy was dependent on tourism. When problems started there - last year. the entire (ourism business came to a halt." One can see vi~ibJe impacts of the _. declining tourist arrivals at Pokhara and other destinations. including Bhaktapur. "As the number of tourists declincs. Boating in Phewa lake: The tide is turning so does the number of domestic air travellers," said Bi rendra Basnel. man­ aging director of Buddha Air, one of rhe TOURISM leading pri vate-sector airlincs. ·'The num­ ber of air travellers to Pokhara has de­ clined." Mission Destruction Backed by major political parties, the hotel unions seems 10 be in no mood As uncertainty hovers over the tourism sector, Pokhara's to withdraw their demand of a ) 0 percent scrvicecharge inspiteofthe damage done economy braces for trouble by their strike threat. ··We have put fonh very basic demands to the hoteliers:' Y KESHAB POUDEL in Pokhara chairman of Chautari Hotel. ';We must said Achut Raj Pandey. president of Nepal not forget thut the country wi ll lose sub­ Tourism and Hotel Workers Union. "Wc stantial revenue ifsomethin g goes wrong will go on strike if they are not met." he number of foreign tourists arriv­ in the sector." The industry. which has seen its T ing in Pokhara valley has declined Mired by a series of crises over the worst period in recent years, is on the sharply, causing havoc among entrepre­ last year, tourist arrivals decreased by brink of IOtal collapse and could touch neurs. After Kathmandu vall ey. Pokhara 10.61 percent in 2000 compared 10 the of Ta chain reaction in theentireeconomy. is a second popular tourisldestination of previous year. "Although there has been "Nepal's tourism sector has already the country. More than 100.000 tourists a slight positive growth in third country suffered from different kinds of protests. visited the city last year. arrivals, Indian tourist arrival has dropped including Nepal bandhs. and vandalism," As the deadlock between hotel em­ drastically during the same period," said said Narendra Bajracharya, president ployees and hotel entrepreneurs contin­ Tek Bahadur Dangi. director of Tourism of Hotel Association Nepal. '"Tourism ues unabated. small entrepreneurs in Marketing and Promotion orNcpal Tour­ is a very sensitive sector and cannot Pokhara are worried about future of their ism Board (NTB). be promoted in the midst of so much business. More than a third of the popu­ According to the board, the instabi lity . '·\Ve have already submitted lation of Pokhara vall ey relies on the hotel\restaurant workers' crisis. last our report on the service-charge demand tourism industry. If something goes December's strikes accompanied by some and wc are waiting to see the fi nal re­ wrong in the sector. the common people ugly incidents in the valley. and frequent port." will surfer badly. Nepal bandhs organized by various po­ As the tourism industry stands at the "I believe the dispute in the tourism litical parties are Ihe main reasons [or the crossroads, all concerned parties need to ~eclor will be solved without disturbing fall in tourist arrivals. Suspension ofIn­ take some steps. It remains to be seen the industry." said Ram Bahadur K.c.. dinn Airlines nights to Nepal for the first who will take the first step. •

SPOTLIGHT/JANUARY 26. 2001 COVER STORY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY The Incoming Boom After years of highlighting its potentials, Nepalese techno-preneurs finally seem to have started cashing in on the global IT boom. With an IT policy in place and cyber laws in the offing, the private sector is now eyeing the vast international market of IT-enabled services. From medical transcliption to call centers, hundreds of youths are finding jobs. As the IT sector is on th verge of making an impact on the economy, the authorities need to adopt a well-defined approach.

By SANJAYA DHAKAL on behalf of customers of international hundred youngsters al ready and there are companies. more job opponunities in the offing. raving the chilly nights of Welcome to the world of IT-enabled Employment Opportunities Kathmandu's winter, dozens services. From medical transcription (Q More important. most of the employ­ of young boys and girls are call centers and Geographic Infonnation ees of these IT-enabled businesses come tapping their keyboards and Systems (OIS ), the software industry in from the well-educated brackel. including sending out messages todoc­ Nepal is finally taking steps towards cash­ those from the ten-plus- two level with sound torsB in the United States. Armed with water ing in on the knowledge-based global English and basic computer knowledge. bottles, pillows and quills. these young­ economy_ Interestingly, these youngsters enjoy astart~ sters work in shifts round the clock at their From the days of rhcLOric on the poten­ ing salary ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs oflicc Unlimited Numedia. They are en­ tials, the tcchn o-prencurs arc slowly mov­ 10,000 - unheard of amounts in other gaged in deli vering IT-enabled service­ ing towards rcaping real dividends. Al­ sectors. the new mantra of Nepalese techno­ ready there are two companies providing Unlike the carpel and gam1ent sectors, prcneurs. medical transcription services, one provid­ where most o f the employees are semi­ Their counterparts in other parts of the ing GIS and two serving as call centers. literate, IT is offering jobs to educated city arc poised to receive call s from differ­ More promise to join the league SOOIl. youths, who earlier had no choice but go ent parts of the world seeking infonnation Among them. they employ a couple of overseas, in a preferred line of profession.

16 Cnr'\"T'I I ,...... ' .·~ .. •• ...... ~ - - --. COVER STORY

services. 11,e recently released IT policy has also opened the point-La-point voice communication for the private sectorwiLh­ out their having to an-i liate lO the Public Switched Telephone Network. 11,is provi­ sion is specially welcome for call ee nters. 11,e policy also cnvisages the Na­ tional Infonnation Technology Center (NlTC) whose job will be to act as data bank, compUlerize government offices. build webs ites for them and work as regu­ lator for the sl1loOlh functioni ng of this sector. ';Earlier we used to talk about the importance of e-commcrce but now we are more keen to develop these e-services," says Dr. Rameshall3nda Baidya, member of National Planning Commission (NPC). Even a professor from Chicago-based North- Weslern University recently ob­ served that South Asia can benefit more from such e-services than anything else in The turnover of Nepal's LT sector is esti­ the country, plans to expand its involve­ the IT sector. mated at between Rs. I billion and Rs 1.5 ment in IT-enabled services, too. How­ The policy has also sel up a venture billion. ever, Sanjib Rajbhandari,theCEO of Mer­ capital fund ofRs lOO milTion that will be "11,e snowball effect has started.lt is canlile, could not be reached for further given to interested panics depending upon collecting more and more snow and is also comments. their idea and expected future cash now. gathering momentum," says Alien As Nepal does Bailochan not have the r------, Tuladhar, the young chief ex­ critical mass of highly trained ecutiveoflicerofUnlimitedNumedia. From experts toengagc in cutting-edge Vital a modest office Statistics Of with 40 people three years Research and Development of 20'0, his company now has close 10 200 soJiware, it is the lowcr-rungjobs Nepalese IT Sector loyees and is planning to recruit at like IT-enabled services that least 500 more by the end of this year. promises rich di vidends. "Our His company is also witnessing re­ country"s strategy should be to No.ofPCs 50,000 markable financial growth. From last year's employ thousands of people in No. of ISPs 10 (operational), corporate turnover of Rs 40 million, the digital peon's jobs so that the 13 (licensees) company expects this year's turnover to industry starts growing and earn Internet Accounts 25,000 reach Rs 140 million. And that is because literally millionsof dollars," says Internet Users 100,000 of the IT-enabled service. "I also see a lot Tuladhar. Home 20% happening in other software companies. The vast global market for Commercial 30% Hundreds of youths are getting employ­ IT-enabled services becomes NGO/non profit 15 0/, ment." I clearer if one looks althe target Education 10 o/r Recently. Mercantile, the leading soft­ set by India-one of the leading INGOs 20% ware company in the country opened Serv­ countries in the IT sector. It aims Government 5% ing Minds, a call center, in joint venture to earn US$ 35 billion through Internet Bandwidth 7MBPS with other parties. "We expect to start the the IT-enabled services alone in No. of .np domains 290 (1999) operation very soon," says Om Bhattachan. 2008 as against its expected pro­ VSAT Providers 6 the call center manager. At present, the call jection of total earnings of US$ VSAT Users 115 centcr has plans to employee morc than 85 billion from so ft ware sector Telephone density I per 100 people I 50 people who will be working in a sleekly during the same period. Mobile users 8,000 plus designed office equipped with pool boards IT Policy and other entertainment facilities to relax Thegovemmenl,loo,seems The government's IT policy aims to reach the vol­ during breaks. to have understood the impor- ume of software and hardware exports to Rs 10 Mercantile, which is the largest ISP in tance of promoting IT-enabled billion in next five years. ~------~ SPOTLIGHTIJANUARY 26, 2001 COVER STORY

TIlere is no need for collaleml. Initially. the execution of this fund wi ll be enLrusted lo 'IT Policy Has Given Us Vision' the NITC to be transferred to the private - LOCHAN LAL AMATY A sector later on. "111; S isaimed at promotin g software development in lhecountry." says LOCHAN LAL AMA TYA is the preside", Baidya. of Comp",er Association of Nepal (CAN). "The policy has given us the vision;' Senior execw;\'e engineer at the Complfler said Lochan Lal Amatya, President of Co m­ Department of Nepal TelecOlIIlJIUIlicmioll puter Association of Nepal (CAN). Corporation, Amatya has been associated Acording 10 Amatya, the policy has been \I';th CAN sillce the beginllillg. He ra/ked received positively by the private sector. aho/lf rhe issues of IT sector ill Nepal to "Tllis will set the tone fort he further devel­ SANJAYA DHAKAL. Excerpts.' opment of this sector." The government is also plannin How do you see the potentials of the introduce an IT-bill -popularly known as IT sector in the country? cybcr laws - in the parliament soon. The Al l orus agree that IT is crucial for economic development. In the past, we missed the final draft o f the bill is ready. It mainly green revolution and the industrial revolution. But we should not miss the grey revolution, deals with digital signature verification as IT is also known as. Compared toour neighbors we are sli 11 behind in thi s sector. But things and cy b~ r crimes. In absence of the regula­ arc happening. Recenll y, we got a policy on IT, whi ch has given us the vision. It has 10 be tions on IT, e-commerce has suffered. As it followed by the formulati on of re lated acts and regulations and their elTective implement a­ involves electronic payment, the question lion. Hopefull y. the draft on cyber law will be presented in the next session of parliament. of securi ty is vital and so is the mechanism What do events like CAN IT show aim to achieve? to punish the defaulters. "We hope the This year we are organizing the 7th CAN Infolech show. This wiil make even Ihe general public aware about this sector. in lhe past, the show used 10 host talk programs among forthcoming bill addresses these problems professionals and policy-makers. But Ihi s year wc are organi zing a two-day IT Conference and paves the way for the progress of e­ (un 27th and 281h of January) where papers will be presented. The ot her aim Oflhis show is commerce in a bi g way," said one IT enlre­ to help build knowledge-based industries. Wc have to cash in on knowledge and use IT as preneur. a tool for economic development. The authorities have focused their at­ How do you find Ihe progress of IT in Nepal? tention on the three main areas orthe sector Even wi thout a po licy, we did great. The number of Internet users has reached 100.000. - access, educati on/training and applica­ Many sec(Qrs are using LT to build commercial websites and promote business. TIle govern­ ti ol1. As far as access is concerned, there are ment . however, is yet 10 fully utilize the concept of e-governance. fewer problems. Forty percentofthe VD~;< Do you have data on software exports? already have access to telephone lil~ I am afraid not. There is no record of who is doing what volume of business. Some Here. the challenge is to bring down access compani es have started IT-enabled services like 01S. Call Centers and Medical Transcrip­ charge as well as the cost of computers. ti on. We have no data of e-paymenl. Things li ke web designing fo r foreign compani es are With the objecti ve of developing IT going on. but the actual fac t-sheet is not available. We did try to conduct a survey on these education. the government plans la give Rs things once. but there was no response for various reasons. Even so. the annual business of 15 million tomajoruniversili es, which will the IT sector could be around Rs I billion. be utili zed to train people at the post­ What about IT education? graduate level. The authorities hope these The role of academic institutions is vital to promoting the IT sector. In our country, the highly trained peopl e can the n be utili zed objecti ve of computer education in schools is to teach students LO use the computer professionally. But they are not taught programming, logic reasoning and algorilhms, Sothe to impart knowledge to lower levels. standard is not up 10 the mark if we are talking about making them computer professionals. The policy also has the provision for Lately, there has been a surge in colleges providi ng advanced courses in computer and that setti ng up an IT Development Fund. whi ch is a good sign. will colleclmoney from the private sector, How do you assess the government's IT policy? government as well a" foreig n donors. Apart The vision of placing Nepal on the global IT map is achallenging one. The overall policy from the exist in g custom du ties. the soft­ is good. as we had the advantage of emulating simi Inrpolicics produced elsewhere, Wecould ware exporters wi ll now have la pay a 0.5 leapfrog many difficulti es wecould haveencounlercd otherwise. The pos iti ve aspect or lhe percent additi onal service charge as contri­ policy is it s view on human resource development and developing academic strengt h. buti on to the fund. 'Vhy is e-commerce not realizing its potentia Is here? In the urea of applications. the govern­ E-commerce can be a success only where the currency is convertible. There arc many ment is also pushing to promote e-gover­ prOblems regarding payment legislation in the country. Definitely, by promOling e-com­ nance by encouraging the use of computers me rce we could effectively CUI down brokers and agencies bringing the producer and in such areas as financial and personnel consumer closer. but wc need to develop cert ain laws before we start reaping benefits. • management.

J8 SPOTLlG AN COVER STORY

Brain Drain Although there is widespread con· cern over the brain drain in the IT sector, What Are IT-enabled Services? Illany believe this could be a blessing in disguise. One reason why India has done Use oflnformation Technology facilities to provide services to overseas clients so we ll in the soflware industry is because are basically what IT-enabled services are all about. As developing countries like orthe large pool of Indian experts based in Nepal have a pool of educated but unemployed youth who are wi llin g to work for far the United States. It is said that almost 30 less remuneration than their wes tern counterparts, overseas companies prefer to percent of the people involved in the soft­ recruit them. Basically, there are four IT-enabled services at present: Medical ware sector in the United Slales are people Transcription, Call Centers, GIS and back office operations. of Indian origin. "In fact , it is because of my Nepalese Medical Transcription: friend in US that I could bring in the In the United States, doctors, by law, have to record the medical history of every ject for Medical Transcription," said patient. They mostly record these in their voice to be transcribed later. That's where uladhar. people from countries like Nepal can fit in . They listen to those records, transcribe Agrees Amatya. 'There two sides of them in detail and send them back. All this is done via the computer and within less the coin. While wc can benefit a lot from than eight hours, Ineluding the time taken for quality check that is done in Nepalese working abroad. it also gives ri se to serious dearth in manpower here." Hyderabad, India. Unlimited Numedia and Himalayan Infotech are involvea in this Amatya revealed that CAN was pre­ service. Unlimited has already gone into initial service delivery after giving 6 paring to bring oul a code of condu ct for months of training to 68 people where they werc taught about medical terminology software experts. "We want to promote and related matters. "We promise 98.5 pcrcent accuracy." says Alien Tuladhar. CEO professional Clhks. It is improperto aban­ of Unlimited. It plans to hire 800 people within this year. Himalayan Infotech is don a company after it trains and makes giving similar training to 1110re than 400 people. Medical transcription is a USl> ~4 one capable. They should at least work for hillion annual business and is growing by 30 percent. a certa in period in a particular company aftcr receiving such training." Call Centers: At present, there are around 1,000 These arc telephone receiving stations that serve as customer relations manage­ people who hm'c at least Cl bachelor's mcnt for overseas clients. These are the toll-free lines from where a customer or any degree in software. other interested panies can receive related infonnatioll about client companies Four Pillars Of IT quickly without having to go through the tedious process of calling up the companies For the IT sector to succeed. four themselves and locating the right person and waiting for the information. Such or segmento; need to work in tandem. informalion Include order:-i. complaints anti inquiries. There are three companies that he government. academic institutions. preferably funded by the gO\ emment, dy­ are opening such centers in the country - each with SOO-plus employees. Sigma n

SPOTLIGHT/JANUARY 26, 2001 JQ __A COVER STORY 'Snowball Effect Has Started' - ALLEN B. TULADHAR

LLEN BAILOCHAN TULADHAR, need to sell our country and say, 'Look at fiak that It's a time when prices drop, it' s chief executive ojjicer of Unlimited Nepal, we are in a much friendlier envi­ a bazaar and there's no technology show. NI/II/edia. !'-vhich recently WOII the Inter­ ronment with comparatively stable poli­ There arc negative aspects, too. But I national Star A ware/for Quality, is at the ti cs.' We have multiple problems but believe this year is morc on the economy. tore/row ofIT elltrepreneurship ill Nepal. they are minor in comparison to those in Summit 2000 last year was also quite Tu/udhar. 35. has a deep understanding otherpartsofthe region. The other unique successful in terms of delivery. Another of the cOlIl/try's IT sector, hCI\'ing served selling point that we have is that in Nepal advantage of the CAN Inrotech has been as 'he general secretary oJrlle Compurer the gateway to the outside world for th e the surge in business of the sector, ther Associatiol/ ofNepal (CAN). He spoke to private sector has been deregulated. Any­ a lot of impulse buying. Unfortunatel , SANJAYA DHAKAL abollt the pros­ one can set up VSAT at their terrace and much of the focus of the CAN Infotech pects al/d challel/ges of Nepal's IT sec- connect to the world. Even in India, this has al ways been on the domestic market. 101'. Excerpts: is not possible. Therefore, the bandwidth I think we need to look out at the overseas that is choki ng India is not a problem market because that's where the money is, What has Nepal achieved in the , ______-'- ______-, that's where we have to have national IT sector'? #4", policies on. For the past couple of The slogan has always been years, we at Unlimited have been fer- "Placing Nepal on the Global ITMap". vently marketing solutions from de- In terms of generatin g foreign ex- veloped counlries. But this year, when change revenue, in terms of g iving we had a special consultant come in employment to thousands of educated and do an analysis, wc realized that youth and internally being able to say less than five percent of the turnover that. yes. we can replicale the success remains in our company. The rest of of'India,lhcrcaremajorachievemcnts. the money was spent on promotion Until a coupl e of years ago, we used to and administration. The major chunk, say we could do this or that - this is over 80 percent, was going to compa- now slowly turning into reality. h is a nies likeMicrosoft and making peopl~ very small open in g into the global like Bill Gates richer. We need to k markct but it is happening very fast. that major chunk of foreign currency Over the years. the Nepalese TT sector at home. So this year we changed our has realized that we don't have much focus. of a success story in software devel- How is the progress in soft~ oplllent due to the lack of manpower ware exports? and due to the trend ofNcpalcsc man- Thesnowball effect has Slarted.1l power to go overseas ror jobs Or train- is collecting morc and more snow and ing. I think the sector has realized that is also gathering momentum. This year if we want to succeed in softwarc we are targeting a corporate turnover export and be able to turn that into thou- here. The other thing unique to Nepal is ofRs 140 milJjon as against last year's Rs sands oi'jobs, then we need to definitely we do not have too many opportunities 40 million. We are experiencing a fast look into what is known as IT-enabled for employment. In sectors like carpet growth. With acompany having40people services - providing services to devel- and garment , most of the employees are last year, we have grown to 300. Hope- oped counlries using Information Tcch- scmi-lilcrales. We get thousands of col- fulJy. our plan is to have 800 people work- nology. In that sector. back office opera- lege graduates each year and they do not ing by the end of this fjscal year. I also see li ons, Geographic Information System have many job choices. The IT sector a lot happening in other software compa- (GIS), Medical Transcription (MT) and promises to deliver that. nies in the country. Hundreds of people Call Centers are the important ones. One How can events like CAN IT show are being employed. Most of these people question here could be. why would de- help this sector? are what I call para-technical or digital- veloped countries want to avail of our Every year in January, with the CAN peons. Just like China started with stitch- services? Within that, we have made Infotech, the nati onal focus ison Infonna- ing shoes for Nike and Adidas. I think in what we call sale speeches. First, we tion Technology. CAN has been drawing the IT sector we need to start from the

20 SPOTLIGHT/JANUARY 26. 2001 COVER STORY

the bOllom rung where huge numbers of Unless there is legislation on cyber Even in the education front, the people are necessary such as in GIS. MT law, no buyer. financial institution or rise of IT-specialized colleges in the and call cenlcrs. From there wecan slowly seller is protected. Technology is th·)[e. it past couple of years has been phenom­ move up to software deyelopmcnl and is not a problem. But for e-commen..:e to enal. From Aptech to NUT. many reputed cUlling edge R&D. I think our country's grow, we need laws and their effective academic instilutions have branches in strategy should be to employ thousands of impleme ntatio n. Wc can have one Kathmandu. There are around 1,000 people in the digital peons' work so that pasal.com or one munchahouse.com, but training institutes and 25 colleges ofre r­ the industry starts growing and earn mil­ that cannot be commonplace. Nepal has ing bachelor courses on IT education. But li ons o r dollars. What Nepal needs today a history of good legislation but bad sti ll , the country has to go a long way in is a client from the Fortune 100 segment. implementat ion. The other part of the setting up standard academic institutions We are only going to the venture capital­ question could be, do we have the poten­ at par with those found in the Indian cities funded small SMEs. At least a million­ tial to reap benefits from e-commerce7 of Bangalore and Hyderabad. d lIarcolllracl will be a shot in the aml. To Yes. We have a difficult geographic ter­ In the last decade. many software e a press release that some company in rain and National Telecommunication companies have made tremendous stride. Nepal has a Fortune 100 client would Corporation is promising a telephone line Firms like Mercantile. Worldlink. Unl im­ cross the mental block and Nepal would in every village development committee. it ed. CAS Trading. Bcltronix and others have entered in the Big Boys Club. With Let's suppose someone in a remote vil­ have made remarkable progress. Their the sizeable critical mass, we will start lage goes to the Internet station, logs on continued growth is vital to make the delivering. and ord ers, say, 24 boxes of noodles that sector economicall y indispensable. In which ITseclordoes Nepal have he wants to sell, he can immediately find The basic infrastructure in telecom is a competitive advantage'! out how much of credit he has to pay. He reasonably good in Nepal compared to the I think it is IT-enabled services. To­ can order his bank to make the payment, region. Out of total 3.913 VDCs in the day. the biggest strength that Nepal has know when and where the delivery will country, 1567 have access to telephone, over India is thecall cenler. If you look at be made. He would have beller control that, too. rully digital. G iven the difficult India, especially south India where IT is over information. The potential is really terrain of the country. this is no mean very strong. their heavy south Indian high. We can change the way we do achievement. accent is no longer good for call cenler.lf business. CAN Infol.ch you speak to Nepalis. they have accent­ How do you evaluate the recent For the lasl seven years CAN has rree English.l think we need tocapitali ze government policy on IT'! been organizing Infotech Shows annual ly on this. There are already three call cen­ Very positive. I think all of the is­ to draw national attention to this sector. teTs opening. each with over 500 el1l­ sues raised by the private sector have This year the association is organizing 7th ['I yees. So the seed has been sown. been addressed. But then, implementa­ CAN IT Show at the Birendra [nterna­ How is the human resource situa­ tion has to be good. One thing [ want 10 tional Convention Center for a week start­ tion? say here is, our prime minister is very ing from January 25. Among the new generation of high busy in the administration of his orrice "The major achievements orIhe CAN school and college students, there is a and politics. So when he has been made IT shows ar..: that we have been able strong commitment to work and profes­ the chairman of National IT Council, it is to make even the general public aware sion, unlike before. In our nightshift (of asking for lot of problems. If the CEO of about the sector," said CAN President MT). over40 percent of the employees are the counc il is busy elsewhere, we won't Amatya. women. So society is changing, As long get anywhere. One reason why the [T This year CAN is planning to orga­ as they are not using their time for wrong policy came out so fast was the dedica­ ni ze a major conference on IT during th e motives, society is beginning to accept tion of one minister. I praise our Minister show. "Expert s from India, Bangladesh, this. Our biggest problem is the 'bholi ' for Science and Technology a lot and Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Malaysia will (tomorrow) and 'bhaihalchha (go on) give him full credit. If you look at India. take parl in the conference. Some of them • culture. We have to be able to deliver at we hear about Pram od Mahajan and will also present papers." the international standard and at the speed Chandrababu Naidu a lot. That kind of CAN expects around 100.000 people in which the world works. But I see more leadership is needed. Besides. the coun­ la visi t the show this year. More than 100 and more of that happening. Regarding cil has to be run like the Tourism Board, Nepalese and international exhibitors arc technical expenise. we sti ll do not have fully autonomous. It has to be headed by expected to participate. As the increasing the critical mass of people who are knowl­ people like Dewang Mehta. who will streams of visitors indicate. the interest edgeable in different computer languages have to spend six months in a year out­ and involvement in the IT sector is defi­ like Java. sid e the country, because that is where nitely growing. What is needed is the There's been a 101 oflalk aboullhe the market is. In India, Mehta alone cre­ proper channeling of this latent energy to polentiais in e-commerce, What do you ated a lot or hype about the sort ware reap benefits 1'1'0111 the 21 st century 's say? industry. • knowledge-based economy. •

SPOTUGHT/JANUARY 26. 2001 INTERVIEW 'Nepalese Businessmen Have Learned To Fight Their Own Battles' - BINOD K. CHAUDHARY

BINOD KUMAR CHAUDHARY, a/ormerpresi· th e Third World to become a producer of every dent 0/ the Federation 0/ Nepalese Chambers 0/ item, irrespective of whether or not they had a Commerce and Indllstries (FNCCI), is knowll for comparative advantage, hisforrhright views all the ecol/omy. At tllime whe" How did the policy of economic liberali much of the cOIIl/try is worried abolll economic tion begin? prospects, the chairmall of the C/wlldliw)' Group After they fe ilthat the phase o f dumping their of Industries believes the situation will improve. products was over. They reali zed that these indus­ Chat,,/ltar\' spoke 10 KESHAB POUDEL at his tries would not survive w ithout major policy office 011 issues related to th e natiollal ecol/omy. t: hanges, Then the name o f the game changed to £\"cerpts: economic liberalization. which means you only produce things in whi ch you have comparati ve At a time when industrialists are pointing to advantages, That became the catchword th e World the dismal performance of the Nepalese economy, Bank and the Internati onal Monetary Fund started how do you visualize the economic prospects of to preach. Countries introduced structural adjust­ the country? meI1l programs and started up to open up their Opportunities bestowed on Nepal by nature economies. have existed for the hundreds o f years. But if you How do you assess the process of liberaliza~ It is economic consider whether we have been able to explo it th ese tion? I ibe ralization huge opportunities. we get a very disappointing When you open up a particular sector through pi cture. reforms. YOIl also need to reform your legislation, that has sus­ As an ardent supporter of the government's The meaning o f li berali zati on is to cut down bu­ tained eco­ economic liberalization policy, what are your reaucrati c red tap ism and take away discreti onary impressions of the results? decision-making authority al a ll levels. That ' nomic growth Liberali zati on per se is not an end, it is onl y a tacti cal thing. during this means of achieving prosperity. The process of Are you satisfied with the process? liberali zation has to be supported by all the other Had Nepal not followed the policy of liberal· period of acti vi ti es a particular sector needs to grow. l have izati on and refonn by taking away arbitrary and political insta­ seen many economic policics implemented in the discretionary decision-mak in g authority. thccoun­ bility, when country. In the 1980s, the name of th e economic try and its industries would have been completely game used to be import substitution - not only in fin ished by now. Economic development has come Nepal has had Nepal but everywhere. All industries were working to a standstill. It is economic liberalization that has SIX prtme with the objective of producing everythi ng at home. sustained economic growth during this period of whether the value added was one percent or 100 pol itical instability. when Nepal has had six prime ministers in percenl. We wanted to be producers. They in­ ministers in 10 years. Today's six-to-seven percent 10 years. creased the tari ff wall to protect Nepalese indus· economic growth has been possible because of tries and to encourage the sett ing up of more indus­ economi c li beralizati on. Nepal is not the onl y coun­ tries. Soon people in many countries realized that try in th is region opening up its economy. Nepal this approach was not going to work, particularly in needs to introduce a new policy framework to make the West, which is generall y seen as the drivi ng Nepales{' industries compete with others, A small force forthecUlTent global policy. The West thought country li ke Nepal has to compete with a large one technology was important in the process of indus­ like India. It is very imporlantto see what steps the tri al ization. Every country in the world is working governmcr:t is taking now. Can industries alone do with a business objecti ve, Unfortunately, we are everything or do they need greater support? If not. the only one that does not have any objective. The the government of Nepal must carefully provide West wanted to sell its technology, plants, and other policy initiatives la ensure that Nepalese machinery to the Third World, Thu s, it encouraged manufacturers are still able 10 compete with multi-

22 INTERVIEW

.------, is concerned, it requires total creative and innova­ tive steps on the part of the government. Wc st ill need cenain policies to makcour industries stron­ gerand to help them com­ pete with larger players. As a former presi­ dentofthe FNCCI, how do you see its current role? It has been a long lime since someone has asked me abollt the role of the FNCCI. Generally. these days, I avoid com­ menting 011 the FNCCI. An organization like the FNCCI has three types of functions that must be national giants. All countries initiate reforms. De­ carried out together. The lirsl are ceremonial activi­ \'eloped countries made reforms long ago and they ties like organizing conferences, altcnding social The entire do not have (0 face unhealthy and unsustainable funct ions, going abroad. receiving delegation, all of country, not competition. which the federation does. It is part of life.

\Vhat needs to be done to protect our indusp The second function is that of a lobbyist or a only indus­ trics'~ pressure group ready to fight for its members. h tries, is pass­ Bc it Japan or the European Union, every should evaluate how a program, rule or regulation country or regional grouping has its own way of affects industries, whether it fosters or restricts ing through a doing things. The c lamor about joining the World industries? Strong lobbying to protcct and promote very painful Trade Organization shows the concern of devel­ industries is needed. Pressure should be builtthrough process. Ob­ opcd countries. Why is France making a noise on the media and through public opinion. If required, '.entertainment industry and why is Japan not such pressure must also come from the streets. viously, such ~ning its agm-sector? Because every country The third and most important function is la disruptions wants to ensure that unequal competition is not gi vc an appropriate vision to the coumry. That is promoted illlhe name of liberalization. Liberaliza­ what Japanese and Korean industrialists have been have their tion means preventing the bureaucracy from mak­ doing. In most countries. industrialists are leading impact on the Ing unnecessary intervention. Today no industrial­ the country by articulating a new vision. We hear industrial ist in Nepal needs to go to the Department or policy makers say that the private sector should take In dustry and Commerce to tlo business. Almost a ll a leadership role. Wc must evaluate for ourselves sectOl: the areas of the business sector have been deregu­ whether wc arc taking the lead. lalcd. Economic growth has continued because of In the rir~t role, we have been very successful. liberalization and deregulalion. On the other two rroOls. evaluation of our perfor­ Do you find the governmcnt'sapproach posi. mance may differ from person to person. 1t is up to five in tackling the problems faced by industries? you to evaluate whether we have been successful. No government has had the time to see the It is said that Nepalese industrialists are fac­ dirriculties of the industries. as they are preocclI­ ing a tough time because of frequent bandhs pied with party politics in orderto retain power. We (general strike) and other unrest. What is you do not expect a lot from the government. Nepalese opinion? businessmen have learned how 10 fight their own The entire country, not only industries, is pass­ ballles. We wish to he left alone. If politicians do ing through a very painful process. Obviously, such not imerfere with us. we will be quite happy. disruptions have their impact on the industrial sec­ Liberalization has introduced so many things that it tor. The economy is the first sector where one can separates us from political intervention. As far as see the implications of political instability and un­ taking full advantage of a liberal economic regime rest. Law-and-order problems and industrial unrest

SPOTLIGHT/JANUARY 26. 2001 23 INTERVIEW

are the result of the people's total dissatisfaction simple as possible. Experience has shown that indus­ with the existi ng state of affairs. There is a yawning tries flourished countries where there are no acts. gap between their expectations from the restoration India has made a mark globally in the information of multiparty democracy and the achievements technology (IT) sector, with the emergence of many made so far. The industrial sector has to face more companies. 111is is because there was no ministry of problems because it is in the forefront. IT in the beginning. After the establi shment of the Many industrialists complain that it has ministry, the sector faced trouble. As far as the labor become unsafe to invest in Nepal. How do you environment is concerned, we need to voice a single see the law-and-order situation in the country policy. When we meetlabor unions, we tend to taJk today in terms of foreign investment prospects? about their concerns, and when we meet industrial­ The question of safety is related to the mind of ists, we are more concerned about them. There has the people. One cannot find perfect safety anywhere been always such duality here. in the world. We know what kind of safety situation How do you see the possibility of bydro­ exists in our neighboring coun­ power development? tries and in developed countries. If From childhood, I have been hearing th"t Nep you ask me, I have not fo und any is ri ch in hydropower. Despite havi ng such llftttntial, reason to feel unsafe because J we have been able to exploit less than 400 MW. We love my people and the people still have an opportunity but it will not exist for long. love me. However, people who When Bangladesh StaltS to supply its natural gas, no have not seen the situation in Nepal one will buy our expensive hydroelectricity. perceive security matters through Do you plan to invest in the hydropower" the media. Unfortuna tely. wehave sector? been sending very wrong signals We are very interested to join this sector. We every day through the media. Be­ want to become a player. Everybody knows theBPC cause of the reporting by the me­ saga, The government look back its decision to hand dia, foreigners want to avoid Nepal. over BPC to us in an unceremonious and unreason­ The recent street violence, bandhs able manner. and law-and-order problems are What proposal do you have to clean up the sending across a very bad message Bagmati river? about Nepal. Sometimes a section of the media Like many other things, this effort has also blows things out of proportion. particularly outside become a victim of politics. The government chose Nepal. not to respond la my call. We have our own pro­ Industrial houses in Nepal are investing in posal, which has been made public through many of the same sectors. How do you look at this media, My brother is in now in the Pashupati Area Sometimes a trend? Development Trust. So, we hope our proposal will section of the This is because of our mind-set. It is because of be implemented. As you know. it is impossible for lack of entrepreneurship and lack of homework. If an individual to start such a big project. Wc need media blows you are talking about the mushrooming growth of support from the government and other agencies. things out of noodles and the media war, there were at least 10 We cannot go alone with shovels. We will provide noodle industries in the market before two more support and make other necessary arrangements. proportion. came out recen tl y. More than half of the country's But there are some forces that do not want this to particularly manufacturing plants have either c10sed down or are happen. People like Bidur Poudel. chaimlan of the outside Nepal. in the process of doing so. Some companies are Bagmali Sewerage Development Commjtlee, who doing well while others are in trouble. Why is this is trying to do everything to nOl allow us to take an happening? This is an issue that merits research. initiative to implement our projecl. Poudel has When a business decision is made on the basis of already spent Rs 500 million on his project, and he your emotions or your personal likes and dislikes, it would lose his bread and butter if our project starts. is already doomed. Ata time when industrialists are expressing Some industrialists feel the Company Act pessimism on economic development prospects, and the Labor Act need to be amended. Wbat is what reason do you have to be so optimistic? your view? I have no choice but to be optimistic. I. cannot The present Company Act is simple enough. survive if I become a pessimist. I am a Nepali and some improvements may be required. r have also I have given my life to Nepal fighting for private­ reeei ved a draft of the amended Company Act. In an sector development and creatin g an industrial environmentofderegu)ation, acts should be made as empire. 1 wi ll continue to struggle until my last breath to boost the nation's moral and confidence .• 24 SPOTLlGHT/JANUARY 26, 2001 NATIONAL

Harihar Dahal, president of Nepal Bar JUDICIARY Association. It may be unbelievable for many but Lhc long saga of Safala represents the real Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied , ituation of Nepalese-:judicial system which is slow in deliveringjuslice. A woman's saga tells how pathetic the situation of The story of 83-year-o ld Safala started in 2024 B.S. when she filed a cased in Nepalese judiciary is Kathmandu District Court seeking the partition of property. She won the court By KESHAB POUDEL property. Wearing old clothes. the woman. battle after few years but she is yet to whose claim amounts 10 Rs I 0 million, is possess her property. Lapses in theexecu­ living in a small room of old house. She tion of the decision, the respondents are I ~~ Then an elderly woman walks inlO has spent all the money she had on fight­ able (0 delay the procedure. ~ l' theSupremeCourtpremiseswith ing this case. All three level cOurt including the the help of a stick. many people inside Safala is not the only person facing Supreme Court upheld her right over Lhe notice her. Blit few people know aboullhe such a long court bailie for dividing fam­ family property and asked her steps son to • long ordeal of the woman. This 83-year­ ily property. Gfthe more than 35,OOOcivil distribute it according to the last, Safala old woman with bending body has been cases pending in the court, halfare related has lO go for different cases one after knocking the doors of justice for the last to the division of property. another. 33 years. "We are still following the court pro­ The authority of executi on is so poor cedures adopted by Rana Prime Minister that it took nearly six months just to paste Jung Bahadur Rana in 1853 with some the summon of the court in the residence modification in 1963 by King Mahen­ of the respondent. dra," said Prakash Wasti, advocate and As everyone is talking about the need coordi nator o r Kanoon bi-monthly legal to take initiative for the reform in the magazine which d isclosed the case in its judicial process to quickly deliver the recent issue. justice. the cases of Safala shows that "We need an initiative lO change the Nepal's legal procedure is yet to undcr­ entire way of dealing with cases related lO ~la nd the human voice. • family property division." Realizing the need for amendmem, the government has already tabled a bill in parliament. Despite such gravity of the problem, the members of parliament are yet to act. in many cascs, petition­ Since the 17th Cenmry-, ers have to wait years to get ManakaJDana tcJD.ple has the respondent. According been vvidcly venerated For senior justices, judges and law­ to court management ofCi vi I becaue of the belief that yers. Safala Shrestha, a resident ofThamel ManakaJDana Dcvi Fulfills Code Act, respondent can all "Wishes. is not an unfamiliar name. Safala foams easily delay the proceedings Today, instead of the different courtsrooms in her quest for a "Normally it takes four-five 4 to 5 hour arduous trek, share of the family's property. She has years to settle a family prop­ Manakatnsna is no'W" accessible in just 10 been challenged by her stepsons, who are en ycase," said advocateBal orinutes by using the flaw s of the law on every front. Krishna Neupanc. Msnakaynsns Cable Car. The struggle has been arduous. Yet she Because of coun pro­ has not lost hope. ceedings and technicalities. " I believe that I will eventuall y get it is very difficult to get jus- Every ~assenger Insured Upto my share," said Safala. who married a tice in time in the case re­ wid ower in 1963. Her elderly husband latedtothepartiLionofprop- ~ M_ClmlfiII I)(Inrnll 4vt Ltcl. treated her perfectly but her three steps erty. "There need to amend NlXIIl. Nagpokhali, KatI'Ima/ICIU, Nepal, PhDnfI: 4304690 , 4304825 4304&18 sons who denied to divide the family the court processing," said l:==;;;. ______Fax. &n,,"304515. ermId ~wIonk COIn nD StabOntlM.60044 ...J

SPOTLIGHT/JANUARY 26. 2001 REVIEW

BOOK Natural Expressions Bal Dev Sharma Majgaiya expresses a poet's inner­ most feelings on different facets of life and nature

By A CORRESPONDENT he criticizes the role of politicians. saying Strategy/or the UpliJtmel/l oJthe Oppressed they spend morc lime on preaching vari ous Edited by PrnJl'SSOI' Haribansha 'ha aldev Shanlla Majgaiya has estab­ issues rather than on working 10 so lve Published by ee",erfor Ecollomic and B lished himself as a man of vision them. Technical Srudies and and [lowerful expression in modern Nepali Majgaiya is among few Nepalese in­ Friedrich Ebert poetry. dividuals who have established themselves SI{(UlIlg Price: Nor melltioned. Pages: 144 He has written verse in various styles. in both politics and litermure. Like his Onc or the basic characteristics of leader B.P. Koirala. Majgaiyahas acenain Majgaiya'spoetry is its firm grasp of social quality in expressing his inner feelings. reality. Although heisa full-lime politician From life to death and social reality to the High - an electcd mcmber of the House of Rep­ beauty of the natural splendor, Majgaiya resentatives and a minister of state - has given fonn to emotions through his Majgaiya spends his free lime writingaboul words. Born in Dang. in the mid-western Inequality sw.;h things as nature's beauty and the region. Majgaiya played a very active role distortions of society. In one of hi s poems, in the struggle against the party less Pall- r-______-, chayat system. He powerfully Ethnicity and the plight of lhe oppressed class are popular themes among Nepalese expresses his feelings for his intellectuals. This book highlights differ­ birthplace in his works. ent facets of the situation of the op­ In a poem dedicated to B.P. pressed class. including their social sta­ Koirala, Majgaiyadescribes him tus in the context of Nepalese society. as a man of courage. who spent Interestingly, Brahmins still lead the pro­ all his life for the cause of de­ ..:ess of social refonn in the terai and hi ..., mocracy. Majgaiya describes A terai Brahmin himself, Or. Iha co< B.P. as a nationalist leader who out with important issues of discrimina­ wi ll be remembered forever. tion against the community. The book In another piece, Majgaiya highlights the plighl of the large segment expresses frustration over the orthe oppressed class that continues to be pollution that has gripped deprived of ilS right 10 equality. Kathmandu valley. As a city of The book. which is based on articles countless gods and dcities, presented at seminars organized by the Majgaiya sees Kalhmandu as an Centerfor Economic and Technical Stud­ ancient placeof rich heritage that ies. provides a historical perspective of everyone should preserve. the oppressed class. Whether in the lerai Majgaiya praises the nalU­ or in the hills. Nepalese society has ral beauty of Nepal and its his­ evolved through the tenets and structures lorical pride In a piece lilled "My of Hinduism. According to the Manu Country". The poem also reflects Smriti, society is divided into (woclasses, thc depth of patriOlism in his "touchables" and "untouchables". The hearL The poet compares his class division is based on the profession birthplace Dang Deukhuri, of the individual. perched between the Mahabharat Although Or lha Ines to make a range in the nonh and the Chure distinction between the "untouchabJes" of to the south. with heaven He also Belpat/'(/. Wrmell bv Baf Del' Sharl1/a Majgaiya the term and the hills, he has not been able writes on the mystery of the ori­ Published by Sabitri Sharma to show any significant differences in the gill of Dang valley. • Price: Rs. 55, Pages: 56 way they are treated in those regions. •

26 SPOTLlGHTJJANUARY 26. 200J THE BOTTOM LINE

By M.S.KHOKNA

Industries are closing Tourism IS on decline. must close down {\ the <) (~ Schools also C).\C/J) ~ { r. 1-Jrt" M .• "-'l rr---- YV'> ,.-,..- "(,~ ,.)'<"' -v, ) / ,) fj

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Jivan Ram Bhandari of the Asian ParliameIllS for Peace clarin g public holidays TRANSITION pro-Nepali Congress 'demo­ (AAPP). through directives and no­ cratic panel'. tices as unconstitutional. by Dr. Dilli Raman Regmi, se­ Bhara! Jangam, chairman ELECTED: Former mem­ LEFT: Dr. Mohammad nior politician. for BangkOk. of the Forum for Indepen­ ber of parliament and senior Mohsin, chairman of the Na­ Thailand, for medical treat­ dent Thinking. advocate Sindhu Nath tional Assembly, for Phnom ment. Pyakurel, as president of Penh, Cambodia. heading a ATTACKED: Gopal Nepal Bar Association five-member parliamentary FILED: A writ pelition at the Shiwakoti Chin!an, human (NBA). Heading a joint left delegation to the first con­ Supreme Court, terming the rights activisl, by unidenti­ panel, Pyakurel defeated vention of the Association of government's practice of de- fied people. in the capital. •

SPOTLIGHT/JANUARY 26. 200 t 27 NATIONAL NEPALESE YOUTH Political Pawns With few opportunities and fewer role mod- ~~;:::;;;;:l eIs, the youth feel they are getting a raw deal I'

By AKSHAY SHARMA A st udy says 300,00 young people enter ~c hordes of young people that are a th e job market every ...I.. regular sight in front of Singha Oubar year. Very few from entrance mysteriously disappeared last this pool end up get­ week. On any given day, rural and urban tin gjobs. The rest go --'------"------youth alike can be seen waitingdutifullyfor on to provide fertile recruitmcnt ground for the country," asks Kushal. their turn to meet their elected representa­ political parties. The adage that the children of today tives. "The youth must be given thc opportu­ will determine the future of lOmorrow has The purpose is clear. Ministers and nity to acquire knowledge," says Or Jagdish added relevance in a country like Ncpal, members of parliament say they receive Chandra Pokhrel. a member of the National which is lryi ng to craft a secure future from each day several young constituents who Planning Commission. Few youngsters the tunnoil of today. are in search of employment. Jobs have would dispute that. But they say they need II is not clear whether the disappear­ al ways been scarce. B ut today 's youth won't time and space to develop themselves as ance of the youth from the Singha Durbar take no for an answer. They seem to be productive individuals and members of so­ entrance last week had anything to do with surviving in a world of their own. ciety. thcNepali Congress convention being held "Nepal's society in a transition phase "Why are we being exploited by indi­ at Pokharaatthe sametimc. But any student because of illiteracy ," says sociologist viduals and organizations from all sides of Nepal's politics and its youth would be Padma Lal Oevkota. That process has cre­ when we should be focusing on future of tempted to establi sh a link. • ated a confusing image of rural and urban youth , which goes on to raise questions about the role they arc expected to play in Himalayan Travel & Tours (P) Ltd. society. "Are the youth to be exploited as anarchists, political activists or mcmbers of other organi zations that pose a th reat to the fUlUre of the country?" asks Anil Chhctri, a We are one of Nepal's Most student. He feels the country has more reliable, efficient and profes­ pressing social problems to allcnd LO. cargo handlers. Our dedi­ Giridon Bisson declared in 1793, 'oh is professionals can offer necessary 10 define anarchy. Laws that are not carried imo effect. authorities without best service in town. force and despised, crime unpunished, prop­ IIA,IW,lYS remember us for your ~~~~;yj erty auaeked, the safety of the people cor­ rldwide cargo handling rupted, no constituti on. no government, no service. ~~=~~~;;,;::::::,,::~:;;.,;--...... 1 justice, these are the features of anarchy." Many youth blame today's corrupt For more information contact: politics for the way they are being misled. Kushal Timilsina, a student, says the youth are easily exploited by various organiza­ tions under the banner of nationalism. "We should try to create an organiza­ lion lO raise awareness among the youth and to channel their energy in the right Himalayan Travel & Tours (P) Ltd. direction. Nepal's youth need not be por­ Ourbar Marg, P. O. Box 324 Kathmandu, Nepal trayed around the world as the youth in the Tel : 223045 (10 lines). Fax: 977-1-224001, SITA: KTMHITG book 'The Lord of the Flies' arc," he says. e-mail: [email protected]. URL : HTTP://www.catmando.com/com/hufhuindex.htm

28 SPUTLlGHT/JANUARY 26, 2001 PASTIME

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SPOTLlGHTIJ ANUARY 26. 2001 29 LEISURE

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.10 SPOTLl GHT/JA'iUARY 26. 2001 LEISURE

CROSSWORD Por 06jective News, Views and JInafysis

1?gad

ACROSS DOWN SPOTLIGHT I. Maintain boy's about to become indepen­ I. Finda wife in orican country or another (6) dent-minded (8) 2, I'll shoulder my equipment. stay with the THE NATIONAL NEWSMAGAZlNE 5. Nervous leaders of annyy facing assau lt leader, and make notes (9) (6) 3, Given some money back as dispUlant 10. Retrospective of passion play (4,4.2.5) switches sides (7) 11. Jet's designer had to make repeated cuts 4, Secret source of timeless prestige (5) (7) 6. Flaller type of fabric (7) 12. Alcove for statue made of clay. intrinsi­ 7, What green may mean, in painting'sspecial CEvery Priday call y effective (7) language (5) 13. Joker. say. can be a malch for any charac­ 8. Delighted. possibly having ended on the ter (4.4) rocks, welcoming rescue craft (8) No end of sweat, using this tool? (5) 9. Idl e dogs resolved to knock off (8) I must leave recount. 10 relUm after an 14, First appearance of Hook, or second, in interval (5) theartre (8) 20. Attractive fields taking long to cross (8) 16, Two rypes of wood that may be used for 23. CUI corners in room that's fine for bach­ kindling (9) elor (7) 17, Parliamentary officer threatening the bar 25. Conductor's strange vmiation (7) (5.3) 26. Admilling recreation I preferred for a 19. Oneclarifyinglimilsofrule right to suppon speW' ( 15) penalty? (7) 27. Old fool injectingalmoSlextincI bird with 21, Withdraw as reaction (0 superficial irrita­ preservative (6) tion (7) 28. Lack of air sounded a difficulty where 22, One-time goddess describing progress in "He who highest peaks are (8) AA? (6) 24, Somewhere to sleep, when startingacourse secret of my divine (5) 25, In South A[rica. general signs of pollution birth and action, his (5) body left behind, is SlOWS '~Z 10:>S¥ 'tZ BU;)41¥ 'Z:Z 4;)lBJ1S ' fZJ~U!J!'M '61 pOJ !1:>BI8 'L( xoqJ~PU!l '91 ~lCJ!dsV 'PI never born again; dBpOIS! a '6 PdU;)!1JCa "S 103J¥"L IduUBI.:I'9 d4:>C:) 'v Pd1Bqd~ '£ 1S!u!lO!A 'z !MCIUW "I : NMOa he comes to me." e' XA 4dsV '8Z pJU10a 'LZ ~ lq!lJru1sUO :>d ~ '9t: 1Ud~JBS '~l JdJ WB 4:::> '£l 1UU SB dld "Ot: JdlBl 'SI J4Hq "~[ pJC:> PI!M '£ \ dllgUlll "Z I J[ll!l[M '1\ JJBUB U! :PBq )fool '01 P!CJJ'v' "~'P!JdABlfIJ '\ : SSOllJV SATHYA SAl BABA NOlLfl'10S

SPOTLIGHT/JANUARY 26. 2001 31 FORUM Helping Nepalis Seek Nepali Solutions By SUE W ARDELL

rceem years much has been written and spoken current governance problems. And that about the link between cgood governance! and includes, among other things, lifting people Ide\'e ;l opm" nt. h is. as i r out of the blue. a new of poverty. ensuring economic growth and panacea has been found fo r failures in achieving bility. refonning the civil service, human objectives in the past Some say source development, institutional Slnen'tlh"n-I govern ance is the current flavour o f the ing, eradi cating corruption. resolving cO(lni,ct';.1 in the world of develo pment and giving voice to civil society. This However, history books tell us tha! recogni­ would not be unfarniliarto King Prithvi Narayani of the need for good governance has been Shah. formllch longer than thecurrcnt pontificators Good governance, and pro-poor realise. Interestingly, the British government­ nance in particular. is essential if d'em,ocrac iassis 1ted Enlabling State Program (ESP) that focuses to work and fortile state to de liver on th" h(,P''' I good cpro-poorf governance was launched on and aspirations or it s people. Dealing hvi Jayan li. the binhday of the founder of Nepal as a unified inadequacies in governanr:e is critical if better deli very of de"el'>o-I ICOll n( ry who also propounded ideas of good govern ance. It mi gh t be ment is to take place. Governance problems block reform to rellce! on King Prithvi Narayan Shah and his approach to progress and finding solutions to those problems is an agend a cann ot be avoided. Nepal recogni ses this and hence the need Born in 1723, and ascending the throne at the ageof 20 in 1743. establi sh processes that will address the concern s and difficulties. Ile,,,ned hi storians tell us hi s rul e was noted for his proficiency in The ESP aims to provide Nepali s with the opportunity to liCild ,,,slhip' an,d hi s emphasis on justice. efficiency and toicrance-all understand their governance problems and to find solutions. that iimlporta:m ingredients for good govern ance. He passionately be­ work in a Nepali context. to address them. Through a process thatlthe people are the real wealth of the nation! and that iifthe probl em definition, problem analysis. solution seeking and sUIPP', rt l prosper ... the country becomes strongi. Hi s poli cies focu sed for changeactivilies it is envisaged that governance problems will development of agri culture. trade. cott age indust ri es and reduced and a cli mate for progressive improvement established. i ng. Economic prosperity was therefore one of hi s central aims Although many of the outcomes of ESP will take the form cl earl y he was a person c~cern ed about human resource specific projects to bring about reform, the primary aim is tode've l,ool ideve ll opme:nl.to use today's tenninology. He recogni sed morc than and support Nepali change advocates and Nepali change agents in It wo il,und",d and fifty years ago the responsibility of leadership (Q lift complex arena of governance. out of poverty. There may not ha ve been specifi c international There are unlikely to bequick fi xes. The processes of change Ide:ve loJ)ment targets in those days but he was certainly heading in that refornl take lime. The DFLD recognises thi s and accordingly is for thc people of Nepal. a long-term view by supporting ESP in the fir~t instance for eight King Prilhvi Narayan Shah recognised the importance of an Regular reviews of outcomes will inevitably lead to ve bureaucracy. As a rul er he was noted as a sound and quick proaches bUlthe essential feature of Nepalis seeking Nepali so(uuonsl Idecision maker. he modernised the administration of hi s enlarged will remain intact. ESP will not just focus on the centre in Kathrna

32 SPOTLIGI:lTIJANUARY 26. 2001 The News Magazine • Packaged with Up-Ta-Dote

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