#724 12 - 18 September 2014 20 pages Rs 50 MERILIN PIIPUU BLOOD No longer peripheral and eing a farmer in Nepal meant MUDDLE-THROUGH MUD living in isolation and loneliness, International production of In the Bnot any more. Road, media and ECONOMICS Brown Water has resonance in mobile connectivity has removed the Our politicians ignore the economy, and Kathmandu despite its gap between the centre and periphery. especially price rises, at their own peril Afro-American context Sita Devi Bastola (above) of Majthana of Kaski district watches National EDITORIAL PAGE 7 Geographic channel on her satellite PAGE 2 tv, her husband listens to agriculture programs on FM radio, and both talk to their son in Qatar regularly on their WHEEL mobile. Meanwhile, urban sprawl and PLANNING TO PLAN POWER outmigration has reduced the production The National Planning Commission Three young Nepali of Pokhara’s rare rice varieties. Reports needs to reinvent itself sportstars and their journey by Merilin Piipuu in Pokhara. to international arena BY BIHARI KRISHNA SHRESTHA PAGE 16-17 PAGE 4 PAGE 10-11 2 EDITORIAL 12 - 18 SEPTEMBER 2014 #724 MUDDLE-THROUGH ECONOMICS t is one of the fatalistic traits of Nepali culture: we One would expect the monetary policy to be restrictive presume that what we do not see does not exist. We don’t given the market sentiment, but if the Nepal Rastra Bank Ireally care what happens to our household sewage or encourages lending by cutting interest rates and increasing plastic waste as long as it is no longer visible. Out of sight is liquidity in the market, it could be a recipe for disaster. out of mind. Pedestrians deliberately don’t look when they No doubt, Nepal’s economy still needs a push to register cross the road, hoping that if they don’t see the truck, it is further growth and some economists would even say that not there. income disparity and inflation are necessary evils and a It’s the same stoic attitude we see in a government about price we need to pay for growth. But inflation is a boulder the economy, and the looming inflation crisis. Our leaders on a slope, and is very difficult to control once it tips over seem asleep half the time, and the other half they are trying the edge. to strangle each other. Political leaders are lucky; Nepalis The elephant in the room is India. Nepal’s currency are such a tolerant lot. Since we don’t expect much from is pegged to the INR, and the open border, growing trade our elected government, we aren’t surprised or disappointed deficit, and our overwhelming economic dependence when it doesn’t deliver. means that Nepal’s economy will only perform as well as There are predictable signs that we are stuck again on the India’s. Inflation across the border is 8 per cent, and this constitution. But what is more worrying is that no one seems MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA will add further inflationary pressure. The Indian central unduly worried about our deepening fiscal crisis. At first bank chaired by Raghuram Rajan, a former chief economist glance the macro-economy doesn’t look so bad. Buoyed by Our politicians ignore the economy, and at the IMF and one of the very few people who questioned a healthy monsoon last year, the GDP grew at 5.2 per cent– real estate values and the possibility of a housing bubble the sharpest increase in five years. Revenue grew to 18.5 per especially price rises, at their own peril in 2006/2007, is applying a restrictive policy. India does cent of the GDP, and tax revenue rose to 16.2 per cent. The have some real hope of getting inflation under 5 per cent, balance of payments surplus hit $1.3 billion, exports nearly which is good news for us. But the not-so-good news is that touched $1billion, and foreign exchange reserves topped a raise in minimum wage. The Narendra Modi visit and the our economy will do better not because of something we do $6.8 billion, enough to cover 10 months of imports. hope for a boost in investment from India has lifted spirits proactively, but what India does. Nepal’s migrant workers sent home $5.5 billion in the in the business community. High inflation will hit the middle class and the past year through official channels, and this figure does not Looking at all this, Nepal’s real problem seems to be underclass the most, and will surely have political include hundi transfers or remittances from the estimated too much cash, and too little investment in job-generating repercussions. Our politicians ignore the economy, and 2.5 million Nepalis in India. Nearly 530,000 Nepali workers productive sectors. The banking sector is reeling under especially prices rises, at their own peril. We seem to have migrated to work in Malaysia and the Gulf in 2013, a 16 per excess liquidity, and lenders don’t know what to do with too many doves and too few hawks at the policy making cent growth over the previous year. their money because no one is borrowing. There are alarming levels of government. The NEPSE briefly broke an all time high by going over signs of hyperinflation. If market conditions remain the It is for the Nepal Rastra Bank to get serious 1,000. The cash reserve requirement is at 5 per cent of same this year, the effects of delayed and deficient monsoon about addressing inflation before it gains more total bank deposits, and the loan-deposit ratio is at 80 per accompanied by devastation floods in the west, and the momentum. The governor seems to be busy with banking cent. The recent budget has promised fiscal stimuli in the fiscal stimulus will raise inflation into double digit from 9 regulation, but inflation is where his attention is needed economy including tax cuts, spending on infrastructure and per cent last year. more urgently. YOUR SAY www.nepalitimes.com AMONG BELIEVERS Hinduism in Nepal was never an Like Sapana, there are many in relief and recovery costs tomorrow (‘A The shift to the right in policies of intolerant religion. By our very nature, thousands of young Nepalis who were fl ood of images’, Guna Raj Luitel, #723). WHAT’S TRENDING Nepal is hardly surprising (‘Among we are an accepting, welcoming and brain washed to join the “people’s Anil Karki believers’, Editorial, #723). Most of the friendly people. I do not think those war”, with false hopes and promises. mainstream party leaders are highly who want to practice their religion in These innocent young men and women NEPAL’S AUTONOMY conservative in their outlook. Until peace will have any problems doing so trusted Maoism and sacrifi ced their life What we need is a solid public a fresh batch of leaders is elected, regardless of whether Nepal is deemed with much hope for better future. Sadly, transport system, not more private cars we can expect very little progressive a Hindu state or a secular one. nothing has changed for them. The only (‘Nepal’s autonomy’, Elvin Shrestha, change. Satya Nepali change that the war brought was on #723). If two-wheelers and small Stoking atavistic fears of religious the lives of Maoist leaders like Pushpa public vehicles are the problem, why conversion is just one of the many This issue should never be guided Kamal Dahala who succumbed to their not advocate for replacing them with greed for personal wellness and forgot tricks peddled by the political elite to by the consensus of majority of people. more large and reliable buses, like the BIKRAM RAI justify their conservative and outdated If a referendum is held, let’s say in the about those who helped them get in ones at Sajha Yatayat? If there was a Most liked on Facebook mindsets, along with other favorites, United States, with some persuasion power. Sajha bus running through my route A devotee carries the living goddess including the infamous ‘hoards of and money, the majority would happily Tashi Lama every 10 minutes, I would gladly sell my locally known as Kumari to a chariot Indians wanting Nepali citizenship’ (to vote to turn America into a Christian motorcycle. during the week-long Indra Jatra festival in Kathmandu on Monday. justify medieval citizenship laws), or state. Most would be ecstatic if India is SUNKOSI FLOOD Pulinkath ‘foreign funding of ethnic separatism declared a Hindu State. This is the true It is because of the incompetency Most shared on Facebook of corrupt lawmakers of Nepal that etc’ (to justify greater xenophobic test of our lawmakers and society at Yes, let’s lower the taxes so that we One month after the mountain fell by monitoring of the aid sector and large. Have we really grown out of the the citizens who became victims of can import more petroleum products Kanak Mani Dixit foreigners in general). medieval mind set or even Pre-Socratic natural disasters are facing all kinds of and our current account defi cit can go MJS polytheistic one for that matter? problems and not receiving help in due even higher than it is right now. Also Most popular on Twitter Newa Lahana by Tsering Dolker Gurung Krishna S time (‘One month after the mountain let’s put more vehicles on the road This editorial misses one critical fell’, Kanak Dixit, #723). and further choke our non-existent Most visited online page point. Freedom of religion has been EVEREST CAFÉ Yam Gurung infrastructure. Comrade Manju’s Everest Café by and is misused by Christian groups, The party didn’t abandon ex-combatants Abhishek Sharma Deepak Adhikari especially evangelicals from Korea like Sapana Maya Baju because it I am wondering if having permanent Most commented and Malaysia to convert Nepalis to never truly adopted them in the fi rst Early Warning System Cameras might Among believers, Editorial their sect.