#516 20 - 26 August 2010 24 pages Rs 30

RIDE THE RIVERCAR SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: Ifyou’re stumped figuring out whichset of wheels to invest in, dive intoour supplement to get the low-downon compacts, sedans and SUVs.

IT’S HOLY! Participants of last Friday’sDunga Daud, held as part of the 10th

Bagmati River Festival, tune into the clearwaters at Sundarijal before racing down toUttarbahini, seven kilometers south

IT’S HOLY! Participants of last Friday’sDunga Daud, held as part of the 10th

Bagmati River Festival, tune into the clearwaters at Sundarijal before racing down toUttar Bahini, seven kilometres south

KIRAN PANDAY

20 - 26 AUGUST 2010 #516

Publisher: Kunda Dixit | Editor: Rabi ThapaPublished by Himalmedia Pvt Ltd | Chief Operating Officer: Sunim Tamang | Hattiban, Godavari Road, Lalitpur | GPO Box 7251 Kathmandu

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2|PUBLISHER’S NOTE

ON THE WEBwww.nepalitimes.com

WHO’S BAD?Nepali politicians made a fundamentalerror in allowing the Maoists to take partin normal politics while still retainingtheir instruments of murder, loot andextortion and their ability to indulge inviolence (‘Good guys and bad guys’,Publisher’s note, #515). Until this iscorrected nothing will improve.

jange

If by value system you meandemocracy as a system of the politicians,for the politicians, by the politicians thenI agree. That is what the current systemrepresents, and that is not democracy.

But otherwise, I think it is doing wellenough and will survive this turmoil. Youjust have to learn to appreciate thatpeople are smart enough to know thatdemocracy offers them the best hope.Authoritarianism represents a manner offunctioning where the leader assumesthat he knows best and everything mustfollow his belief system.

Slarti

The fact of the matter is that in Nepal,a bunch of second-tier feudals are theones masquerading as ‘democrats’ and‘democratic champions’. To them‘democracy’ is little more than snatchingaway power from the first-tier feudals(King etc.) and divvying it up amongthemselves. And when this doesn’t work,they try to assuage the rest of thepopulace with cliches such as“democracy is messy, but yadda, yadda,yadda...’’

Satya Nepali

SMALL IS BEAUTIFULA good vision, but won’t be realised for afew decades (‘Win-win-win’, AlokBohara, #515). Not in our lifetime. If Iwere Dr Bohara, I would focus on thelittle things we can change instead of

chipping in with big dreams. Educated ornot, living in or out, we need to change ourmindset big time. As a Nepali, I need tochange the way I think, the way I live, theway I treat others, the way I get thingsdone, the way I define success, etc.

Rajan Kafle

HAND-ME-DOWNSThe article is about inheritance laws andthe effect this will have on Nepali society,certainly economically but also culturallytoo (‘Changing inheritance laws’, ArthaBeed, #515).

What happens today when a parenthas one son and one daughter? Whathappens today when the son isunsympathetic and uncaring towards hisparents in old age? Would such behaviourbe mitigated under new inheritance laws?How do sons today plan for their futurewhen they KNOW they will automaticallyinherit everything? How would thischange?

My wife’s family comprised threebrothers and three sisters. During herparents’ old age, one son cared for hisparents relentlessly, one son ignored hisparents, one son was an absolute miseryto his parents with his criminal activity.When the parents died, guess how theproperty was divided, and how would thischange under a future law?

I have in-laws who have two sonseach, both who have wasted parents’funding on meaningless educationoverseas, returning to Kathmandu to live alife of idleness knowing they have only to‘survive’ to inherit substantial propertyand businesses. Both sets of parents arecompletely ignorant of retirement planningor any other form of financial planning forthat matter.

I have another friend who inherited asum of money sufficient to build his ownproperty and we advised him to build atwo-storey property with a home for his Q. What do you think of the en masse

resignation of campus chiefs?

Weekly Internet Poll # 516

Q. Should Dahal and Poudel withdraw theircandidacies before Wednesday’s election?

Weekly Internet Poll # 517. To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.com

Total votes: 2,036

family on top and a lower floor area for abusiness of some sort. Eventually, he built atwo-storey edifice, both living spaces, andrented out the lower floor. Today, he hasnothing to do, no work, no business, andsurvives off the irregular income from semi-squatting tenants.

THESE are some of the issues that willbe touched by the change to inheritance laws.

Dr B

HIMALAYAN HIGHLANDERIf the UML has 9 points, the Kangresis 8

points and the Baddies only 6 points – asreported by your good self – surely the UML’sself-appointed 9-point plan should give themthe lead on points to be Prime Minister?(‘Nothing happened this week’, The Ass,#515)

I have a 20-point plan – my platform is Icould do a great job for Nepal from here, inScotland, as it appears no one actually wantsor expects the prime minister to turn up. I willstart creating the Jockgressi Party inanticipation of my nomination: our partysymbol will be a bottle of ‘Three Bagpipers’and our party slogan will be ‘No ice; justwater’.

Peter Thomson

Peter, the funny (and scary) thing is thatyou are in all likelihood more competent thanany of our ‘Nepali leaders’ (which, admittedly,is not saying much). With a slogan like that,I’m pretty sure you’ll win without requiring arecount. But a more appropriate slogan for acountry like Nepal might be, “On the rocks!”

Hange

POLICY FIXAlthough Nepali politicians both present andpast, and the intelligentsia, shouldacknowledge their culpability in bringing thecountry to the anarchic state it is in today, thecurrent situation in Nepal also reflects thecomplete failure of Indian foreign policy(‘Patronising behaviour’, Prashant Jha,

#515).Given the fractured and unstable

nature of Indian coalition politics,foreign policy decisions many times itseems, are made by incompetentbumbling bureaucrats with misguidedinput from its equally cluelessintelligence service and alsosometimes from partisan politicalleaders. Such misguided decisionshave caused the foreign policydisaster in Nepal.

The Indians would be well advisedto set up an independent non-partisan‘brain trust’ on foreign policy to advisethe government, so that foreign policyis taken out of the hands of thebureaucrats, always is guided by long-term national interest, and does notchange with each successive changeof the government.

A stable, peaceful and independentNepal is in India’s (and China’s) long-term interest. An unstable Nepal, bycontrast, can be a playground forvarious interests including terroristgroups as well as ISI, and adestabilising force for both ourneighbours.

Dahmoines

t is now becoming clear that Nepal’s main politicalparties can only agree on one thing: postponingdeadlines to keep disagreeing.

On May 28, when it looked like they couldn’t do it anyother way, they agreed to postpone the writing of a newconstitution by one more year. Nearly three months later,nothing has been done on the constitution or the peaceprocess, and the country is wedged between two primeministerial candidates. Then on Tuesday, the chief whipsof the three parties actually managed to agree to

THE WINNER CAN’T TAKE ALLpostpone voting for the fifth round till Sunday, because itlooked like the deadlock would continue.

What this means is they can agree when push comes toshove. Although the leaders of the political parties believethis means they have five more days to horse-trade, it alsomeans that there is more time to find a consensuscandidate to lead an all-party government. By now, even themore die-hard proponents of majoritarian rule within thethree parties have realised that this is just not going to workbecause their relative strengths in parliament cancel each

other out. They also know that the endless elections areturning into a political farce, and public disenchantment isgrowing.

While the NC still hopes that it can get the UML andMadhesi leaders to issue whips to back Ram ChandraPoudel, both the kingmaker parties have been forced toremain ‘neutral’ if for no other reason than to keepthemselves intact. The Maoist central committee has gotthe message, and says it is ‘flexible’ even though ChairmanDahal hasn’t yet formally given up trying to improve histally in the electoral arithmetic.

Nearly five years after the war ended and two yearsafter the elections, this is what it has come down to. Thelack of trust between the two political camps is so great thatthere is chronic failure to compromise, and hence noagreement on a consensus candidate for prime minister. Onthe surface it looks like a power struggle, and it seems tobe driven by individual ambition. That is partly true. But atthe root of the disagreement is a chasm between those whothink an unreformed Maoist party wants to take the countrydown the path to totalitarianism, and the Maoist chairman’sdetermination to be in power when the constitution iswritten.

If a trust deficit is the reason for this deadlock, the onusis on the Maoists to prove to the NC and UML, amongothers, that they are serious about metamorphosing into alegitimate mainstream political entity by demonstrating acommitment to fulfil the six demands. The NC and UML alsohave a responsibility to be less stubborn about keeping thelargest party out of government.

The main ingredient of a consensus is compromise, notwinner takes all.

I

KIRAN PANDAY

20 - 26 AUGUST 2010 #516 OP-ED|3

PLAIN SPEAKINGPrashant Jha

he Nepali state faces twincrises in the Nepali state –a failure to elect a new

prime minister for the past twomonths, and a failure to electnew local bodies for the pasteight years.

But a caveat is essential at theoutset. There is resilience androbustness in the political systemin Nepal that is oftenunderestimated. This is becausethe purpose of the state structureis not to fulfil welfare functions,but to survive – first by fightingand then co-opting assertive socialforces, and tying them intoexisting patronage networks.Despite the vacuum that wewitness at present, Nepal is notabout to become a failed state.

But the absence of a strong,functional, legitimate governmentat the centre is of course aproblem. A full budget has notbeen presented yet and its impactcan be felt across governmentoffices, and in general anddevelopment expenditure. Policydecisions are left pending, filesremain unsigned, and bureaucratsprefer to play it safe till the nextpolitical boss has taken office. Fora donor footing the bill with littletangible outcome, an MP waitingto get funds for an alreadysanctioned road, a CDO who hasreferred a case to the HomeMinistry, or a normal citizen inqueue for paperwork, there isfrustration all around at howroutine administrative workis stuck.

The fact that governmentformation is so inextricably linkedto the peace process andconstitution writing makes thetask even more urgent. Timelineshave already been missed. Littlehomework has been done toreconcile the core ideologicaldivergence on contentious issues.Non-Maoist parties will not accepta statute as long as the PLA is inthe cantonments, and the Maoistswill not move on integration tillthey get a stake in the governmentand guarantees on theconstitution.

Couple this with the fact that

Nepal is nota failedstate, buttheillegitimate,undemocraticmakeshiftsare holdingup thetransition

the process will take far longerthan people think and the 60-week timeline of UNMIN couldwell be a conservative estimate.Just a reminder – registration andverification of combatants tookalmost the whole of 2007. Giventhese trends, we can almostcertainly say that there will be noconstitution by the newdeadline. The present politicaljostling is to be in anadvantageous position onMay 29, 2011.

Add to this the other, almostinvisible, crisis – the absence oflegitimately elected local bodies.Depending on their strength intheir respective areas, parties haveconstituted joint committees atthe district and village level.They sometimes work far moreharmoniously locally than at thetop. Read: the parties share theloot more peacefully on localtenders, contracts, and funds forschool management committeesand various user groups.

But there are several problemswith such an arrangement. It justdoes not have the legitimacy thatelected representatives possess,thus restricting decision-makingabilities and leading to questionsabout expenditure, and erodingthe credibility of the process. Inareas where the balance of poweramong parties is not defined, orwhere newer groups fall outsidethe committees, conflict sharpensand often takes a violent turn;many killings and abductions inthe Tarai are to do with thesharing of local budgets. Localleaders often complain aboutthese issues to the top brass inKathmandu, which only adds tothe inter-party trust deficit. Thebureaucrats at the VDC anddistrict level skim off money, butoften have to pay the price interms of personal insecurity,which explains their exodus todistrict headquarters or thecapital. There is littleaccountability and instead ofreform, the rot in the systemdeepens.

And there is no prospect ofelections at the local level in the

Twin crisesnear future. Do you wait for thenew constitution to ascertain thegovernance system first? Even afterthat, do you first have generalelections, provincial elections,and only then local level polls?This could well be another fiveyears down the line, in the highlyunlikely event that there is aconstitution on time. Is it

possible then to hold electionsunder the old modelimmediately? But will partiesagree to it, especially those whohave little confidence about theirpopular strength at the grassrootsand fear a rout? Or are they morecomfortable with what is anarbitrary, almost illegitimate,manner of deciding local political

outcomes?The only reason why the state

continues to thrive despite thesemultiple crises is because a largesection of Nepali citizens haveseceded from it and have littleexpectations. But for their long-term survival, the present politicalleadership would do well to thinkbeyond Baluwatar.

MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA

T

20 - 26 AUGUST 2010 #5164|BANKING

rowing up in a small villagein Syangja, HimalKarmacharya excelled in

school. He got a scholarship to theMassachusetts Institute ofTechnology, and worked for fiveyears at Oracle. He could have stayedon like many of his peers, butdecided to return to Nepal.

Karmacharya set up LeapfrogInc. with Ramesh Pant and incollaboration with Kumari Bank,inaugurated Nepal’s first phonebanking project this week. “I hadno doubts I’d eventually return toNepal,” Karmacharya says. “I alwayshad this nagging guilt that I wasn’tdoing enough for my country. NowI have a chance.”

Karmacharya’s technical skillsperfectly complement Ramesh

Two overseas Nepalisreturn to pioneer a mobilebanking venture

Leapfrogging with phone cashPant’s marketing background, fromhaving worked for Xerox andWIPRO. Pant is a St. Xavier’sgraduate, and has returned to Nepalafter 52 years, taking advantage ofthe new facility granted to overseasNepali investors. “We have perfectsynergy with Kumari Bank,”explains Pant. “It’s a forward-looking bank, the first to start e-banking, and our visions arealigned.”

Kumari Mobile Cash will usesoftware developed by Leapfrog tooffer banking services through cellphones to millions of Nepalis. AWorld Bank study shows only 20per cent of households in Nepal arecurrently banking, and the bankbranch and ATM penetrationrate in Nepal is one of the lowest

net,” he says. “Kumari Mobile Cashallows us to leverage a rapidlyexpanding technology to bringbanking services to every mobilephone user in the country.”

Radhesh Pant sees phonebanking as a means to remit moneydirectly and instantaneously. Thefamily of a migrant worker doesn’thave to travel to a bank branch,women don’t have to walk long

distances to settle microfinanceinterest payments, pensionersdon’t have to spend two days goingto towns to collect their paychecks,and parents don’t have to wastetime while paying school fees.

To demonstrate the ease of thefacility, Radhesh Pant flips out hisphone and sends Rs 100 to HimalKarmacharya’s phone, which alertshim about the incoming transferalmost instantaneously. “It’s verysimple, and we are hoping adoptionwill be viral,” says Karmacharya. Atechnical team from Kumari andLeapfrog have been working round-the-clock for 10 months to set upthe software, iron out the kinks andsolve teething problems.Subscribers to all three GSMnetworks in Nepal – NT, NCell andHello – will be able to phone bank.

Radhesh Pant admits there willbe challenges: new regulations formobile banking have to be enacted,the bank needs to set up anationwide network of agents, andthe technology barrier amongilliterate phone users has to beovercome. Leapfrog says it has amulti-layered security system.Anyone who wants to phone bankhas to join the service by applying,in much the same way he or shewould open a bank account. A pincode will be required fortransactions, to be executed fromthe customer’s phone.

Phone banking may soundfuturistic, but the optimism ofLeapfrog and Kumari stems fromthe experience of Kenya andPhilippines, where mobile bankinghas taken off in a big way. Kenya’sM-PESA has 7 million customers(out of a population of 38 million),barely three years into operations.Studies have shown that theincome of Kenyan householdsusing M-PESA went up by upto 30 per cent once they adoptedphone banking.

Says Radhesh Pant, “KumariMobile Cash is a game-changer,because it piggybacks on the rapidproliferation of mobile phones tospread banking access to those whoare out of reach.”Kunda Dixit

in the world.However, mobile subscribers are

growing at 36 per cent annually andby 2014 there are expected to be 14million hand phone users, nearlyhalf the population.

CEO of Kumari Bank, RadheshPant, is thrilled with thepartnership. “We have been talkingfor years about the 80 per cent ofthe population outside the banking

MOBILE MONEY: CEO of Kumari Bank, Radhesh Pant(right) transfers Rs 100 to Leapfrog’s Himal Karmacharyato test Kumari Mobile Cash ahead of the launch of theservice this week. Leapfrog partner, Ramesh Pant (centre)checks if the transaction has gone through.

G

WHO BENEFITS80 per cent of Nepali households that don’t have access to bankingFamilies of migrant workers, for safe and instant cash transfersCustomers making payments to shops, restaurants, airlinesCustomers paying utility bills Peer-to-peer lendingGeneral public, to add stored value and turn cell phones into electronicwallets

20 - 26 AUGUST 2010 #516 NATION|5

THIS WEEK

JANAKPUR. Physical violence is often theonly way for small towns in Nepal to getinto the headlines of the metropolitanpress. Sure enough, a gun attack on a priestat the Janaki Temple became ‘breaking news’for television channels in Kathmandu.Some of the national newspapers carried thestory on the front page.

The local press takes its cue from thenational media. For local dailies, eventsfrom neighbouring villages hardly matter.When there is no news of shootings,abductions or political protests, FM radiochannels clamour to interview nationalleaders rather than farmers or activists ofthe hinterland.

From Parsa to Siraha, at least eightdistricts of the central Tarai are in the gripof major to severe drought. In a regionknown as the rice bowl of the country,trans-plantation of paddy has beenadversely affected. Except in select placeswhere irrigation facilities are available –usually the constituencies of influentialpoliticos – farmers have lost all hope intheir main crop this year. Rice fields arecracked and dry with shoots ready fortransplantation wilting in seedbeds.

The scale and the extent of the ruralcatastrophe waiting to unfold is frightening.When food production falls, of course, itwill influence the political economy of thecountry in unpredictable ways. However,Nepali audiences have little clue what is

The urban biashappening in the countryside, as they arefed hourly accounts of the parlour games ofpower politics in the capital city.

The press across the border has shownmore consideration for the plight offarmers. Forthcoming assembly electionsdid play a major role in politicising thedrought in India. But at least part of thecredit must go to the intensive coverage inthe Indian media for getting Bihar declareda crisis zone and securing relief packagesfrom central government for affectedvillagers.

Government interventions have theirown flaws. To depict the corruption andcallousness of relief measures, RamonMagsaysay Awardwinner P. Sainath oncecompiled a book from his fieldreports:Why everyone loves a good drought.However, everybody loves a drought inIndia because the government cares aboutit, for whatever reasons. In Nepal, droughtis a misfortune that does not interestanybody at all; villagers have to endure itall on their own.

In contrast, the devastation wrought byfloods is spectacular. Scenes of helicopters

rescuing people from their rooftops lookgood on TV, and earthquakes, too, providetheir share of drama. But the effect ofdrought is less dramatic and moreinsidious. It is much easier to leave it all todevelopment organisations.

The fascination of the metropolitanpress with fashion, food, fun and thefantasies of the middle class isunderstandable to a certain extent. Afterall, they are the buyers every advertiserwants to reach and influence. An obsessionwith politics, too, has its own logic; in apoor country, the government is the biggestbusiness enterprise.

The media, however, needs to prove itsrelevance by showing it cares about society.Endless footage of Shyam Saran beingescorted to the VVIP lounge of TribhuwanInternational Airport and honeymoonphotographs of Manisha Koirala may tickleas audience’s fancy, but do little toenhance the image of the press as theFourth Estate of a nascent democracy.

What’s more, few television channels ornewspapers have invested in trainingjournalists for reporting from small townsand the rural hinterland. The neglect ofagriculture is a symptom of a deepermalaise; it reflects the urban bias of anational media that cares more about thetraffic congestion in Kathmandu thandeforestation in the Tarai or thedenudation of fragile mountain slopes.

It has been said that what is news ontelevision often depends on where yourreporters and camerapersons are. The mediamanufactures news by reporting it. But itshould remember it’s not just governmentthat has been guilty of neglecting thepauperised peasantry. Peace building hasmany dimensions; compassionate coverageof the travails of the marginalised is one ofthem.

FOURTH ESTATEC K Lal

The media is asguilty asgovernment inneglecting thehinterland

New dateParliament’s Business AdvisoryCommittee has set 23 August as thenew date for the fifth round of electionsfor PM. The UCPN (Maoist) proposeddeferring parliamentary voting,scheduled for Wednesday, as a mark ofrespect for CA member Ram KumariYadav, who passed away Saturday.

Obsolete currencyNepal Rastra Bank will replace oldcurrency notes that are damaged orwhich bear the former king’s portrait bymid-April, 2011. Notices have been sentout to public organisations and financialinstitutions, and the bank has alsoannounced it will not accept wads ofnotes with more than a single stitch inthem.

En masse resignationCampus chiefs of 10 major TU-affiliatedcampuses in the valley resignedMonday, saying they have been unableto implement the recent fee hikes forBachelor’s level students due toprotests by student unions. TU hadreviewed the old fee structure after 18years.

Goodwill gestureThe Nepal Government has offeredRs 10 million in cash assistance tosupport the Pakistani flood victims.Floods that have left 20 per cent of thecountry under water have killed morethan 1,500 people and displaced at least12 million.

20 - 26 AUGUST 2010 #5166|BUSINESS

Under the initiative of the Standard CharteredBank’s Global Technology & Operations (GTO)Team, about 100 staffmembers from the bankparticipated in the ‘GreenYour Flight’ campaignconducted on 14 August2010. Bank staff, membersof BishankhunarayanCommunity Forest Consumer Committee andofficials of the District Forest office volunteeredto plant about 5,000 trees at Bhoot Dhunga, inBishankhunarayan, VDC- Ward No. 2, Lalitpur,

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Safety netThe Rural Drinking Water andSanitation Fund DevelopmentCommittee has decided toinsure all taps, tanks and otherinfrastructure built with itssupport with National LifeInsurance. The insurance willcover earthquakes, floods and landslides.

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Penguin’s turnGadgets Nepal introduced Bird Mobiles’ Penguin K298. Thedouble-sim model is equipped with a digital camera, FM, MP3,video player, and Bluetooth, and supports a memory of 4GB.

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New modelsZenith Technology, authorised distributor of HASEE Computers inNepal, launched seven new models of notebooks/laptops in themarket. The new models are fitted with a processor from Intel DualCore to Core i5 with a LED/LCD display of 10.1 inches to 15.6inches. The models have hard drive space ranging from 160GB to320GB, and are available for between Rs 27,500 to Rs 57,500.

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Give bloodStandard Chartered Bank organised a blood donation camp thisweek with assistance from Nepal Red Cross Society, BloodTransfusion Centre. Around 80 people participated in the camp.

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BlackBerry launchedNcell, in associationwith Emitac MobileSolution (EMS) andResearch In Motion(RIM), has launchedBlackBerry solutions inNepal. It is offering theBlackBerry Bold 9700model, fitted with 3Gfeatures, a next

generation (624 MHz) processor, 256 MB flash memory, built-inGPS and Wi-Fi and a 3.2 mega pixel camera. The smartphone ispriced at Rs 49,999 including tax with BlackBerry EnterpriseServer (BES) for the corporate segment and BlackBerry InternetService (BIS) for smaller businesses and individual users.

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Green and cleanClean Energy Development Bank planted trees in the foothills ofJal Binayak Chobar. The event was organised in partnership withJal Binayak Community Forest Users Group and BudhathokiNursery, along with Thompson Nepal (JWT) as a creative partner.The participants dedicated a tree to their loved ones with acontribution of Rs 1,000 to the Clean Circle Trust, which will beused to maintain the plants for the next decade.

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Good shiftGoodwill Finance has shifted its corporate office from Dillibajar toits own premises in Hattisar. The Dillibajar office will now operateas a branch.

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Rising upAmbe Steel received the Nepali standardsaccreditation, NS 191, for its products in 8mmto 32mm segments. The company has already received the ISO9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 certification for its products.

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Coffee blendsCamel Coffee (Nepal) has launched its series of Kaldi FreshRoasted Coffee blends. The coffee is a blend of Arabica coffeebeans imported from Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, andCosta Rica, as well as from Nepal. Camel Coffee’s roasting facilityis located in Kathmandu.

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Return giftsVirgin Mobile marked its second anniversary by organising a‘Customer Loyalty Offer’ scheme. Rupak Regmi took home the firstprize worth Rs 100,000. Deepak Shahi and Tika Simkhada won thesecond and third prizes respectively.

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Sharp coloursEvolution Trading has launched theSharp Quattron LED TV inNepal. The four-colour technology ofthis model ensures bright and vividcolour reproduction. The Quattronline is available in 40, 46 and 52inch-sizes.

wo weeks ago, Nepal RastraBank sent a letter to thecommercial banks. It asked

the bankers to consider whetherthere could be provisions forcreating smaller gaps between therange of perks and benefitsenjoyed by the top bankers andthose at the lower end of thehierarchy.

Seeing this as an instance ofunwarranted meddling, thebankers responded last Tuesday.Nepal Bankers’ Association(NBA), normally a diffident body,sent out a letter basically arguingthat as per Nepali laws, the taskof determining a bank executive’ssalary, perks and benefits issomething that’s best left to thejudgment and discretion of herbank’s board of directors.

In both a free market and legalsense, the bankers are correct. Thejob of the Central Bank is to be anumpire that enforces the rules ofthe game and punishes violators.Its job is not to tell players when,how and which foot they shouldmove in the game. Doing sodiminishes its importance, andgets it bogged down in minutiae.

Still, it’s arguable that there isa range of wider contextual issuesthat any banker should considerwhen thinking about salaries,

It’s the bank’s business

perks and benefits in theindustry.

Friendly boards: Though theCentral Bank should beapplauded for strengthening thecorporate governance of banks,much work remains to be done.At some banks, certainindividuals are still both thechairman of the board and theCEO of the company. Thisarrangement might have servedits purpose in earlier times whenthe banking sector was in itsinfancy.

In these days of competitionand scrutiny, the arrangementsimply strikes investors as ahassle-free way for the chairmanto reward himself with otherpeople’s money. Besides, thisalso makes it easier for thechairman to stuff the board withhis buddies so that all decisions,often made during family BBQs,go as per the chairman/CEO’swishes. Given the reality of theseand other widespreadquestionable corporategovernance practices, it takes a bitof chutzpah for some banks topresent their boards’ decisions assomething that’s kosher.

The issue of optics: TheNepali media never tires ofreporting bankers’ jaw-droppingmonthly salaries, which rangefrom Rs 500,000 to Rs 1.4 million– the latter being comparable towhat commercial bankers in

major finance centres around theworld earn. Put this in thecontext of the world’s 16th

poorest country, which has ahigh rate of unemployment and avery-sympathetic-to-the-Leftpopulation, and the optics donot come out well.

The point here is not that thebankers shouldn’t be paidhighly. It is that given thebroader societal context, whichenvelops all that we do in Nepal,bankers should not complainwhen non-bankers are bitterabout banking salaries. It’s nosurprise that they wantsomebody somewhere to dosomething to tighten the reins. Awise banker would recognisethese broader societal trends, andfind ways to mitigate the risksthey pose – perhaps by rampingup credible CSR activities and byrecasting their institutions astrustworthy servants of otherpeople’s money.

Moreover, given that bankersalways complain of losing theirgood people to other banks allthe time and that there’s a severeshortage of people at the lowerend, it’s not a bad idea to re-examine HR policies, especiallysalary levels, perks and benefits,and see whether some paritycould be achieved to retain highperformers.

Viewed this way, the CentralBank’s letter, though wrong in itsintent, could serve as a wake-upcall to the banks.

Banks should have the freedom to decide how much topay their employees, but they would do well to considerthe society they live in

Green standardscovering an area of about 3.5 hectares of land.

The GTO wing intends to plant 50,000 treesglobally by the end of 2010under the ‘Green YourFlight’ initiative, and 26,000trees have already beenplanted this year. TheEmployee VolunteeringProgram is an internal

initiative of the bank, whereby staff areencouraged to participate in communityactivities by taking up to three days leave inaddition to their annual leave.

STRICTLY BUSINESSAshutosh Tiwari

T

KIRAN PANDAY

720 - 26 AUGUST 2010 #516LIFE TIMES

orget foreign brands whenit comes to fruit juice inNepal. Local options like

bel (marmelos) and sea buckthornjuice will have you asking for moreonce you experience their exquisitetaste and enjoy their healthbenefits.

Fabulous marmelosMarmelos which grows wild in theTarai region of Nepal, had long beenan underutilised crop before it hitthe stands in a bottled avatar. Nowmarketed by the Alternative HerbalCompany under the brand nameMarmelous, they sell 15-20,000bottles of juice every month duringthe summer.

Some say marmelos comesclosest to litchi in terms of taste,although it is a whole lot healthier.The juice is packed with vitaminsand minerals and comes sansartificial colours and flavours. Theuse of marmelos in Ayurveda iswell known, and it is used as acardio tonic, to treat indigestion,and is prized for its memory-enhancing properties. Bel juicealso revitalises the body instantlyand fights fatigue.

“People who know of its healthbenefits keep coming back formore,” says Gobinda Ghimire of theAlternative Herbal Company. Butit is not just health you are lookingout for when buying Marmelous.You are promoting the local

economy as well. Fifty-one percentof the total sales of the juice go tothe local producers in Siraha andBardiya, who have been trained bythe company to collect and processthe fruit.

Local farmers and communityforest user groups are also makinggood money from the sales ofmarmelos that just rotted in thewoods earlier. “A single personearns up to Rs 2,400 everyday fromselling marmelos,” Ghimire says.

One glass of Marmelous canmake four glasses of sorbet withoutadding sugar. This is why they arebeing widely used in weddingparties as well. With restaurants inKathmandu offering bel juice, thedemand is likely to rise even more.Dhokaima Café, for instance, offersa bel juice cocktail, ‘Nepal libre’.

Wonder fruit, sea buckthornThe people of the Khumbu hadnever imagined that they would beserving local sea buckthorn juiceto tourists, as it was a fruit theyhad frowned upon as bird food tillnow. Today, sea buckthorn is amust-have item on menus

throughout hotels and teahousesin the Khumbu; it has become animportant alternative incomesource for high mountain farmers.

Locals collect the sour berriesthat grow wild along the riverbanks and the trekking trails inthe region and process themmanually to create a highlyconcentrated juice. This initiativestarted after the Khumbu AlpineConservation Council, withsupport from The MountainInstitute, trained locals to turnsea buckthorn into an ediblehealth drink.

There are few fruits in theworld that can match up to thenutritional credentials of seabuckthorn. Largely cultivated inChina for its medicinalproperties, sea buckthorn isbeing heralded as the new wonderfruit. This citrus has 15 times theVitamin C found in oranges, andis also rich in carotenoids,Vitamin E, amino acids, andminerals.

Sea buckthorn has long beenused in traditional Chinese andIndian medicine to treat diarrhoea,

Exotic Nepali drinksulcers, and cardiac disease, and topromote tissue regeneration.Russian scientists have developeddrugs from sea buckthorn oil toincrease immunity. The berries arealso believed to be potent againstcancer and the dengue virus. Andthe good news is, sea buckthorngrows like anything in the alpineregions of Nepal, from Mugu toTaplejung.

However, juice made from seabuckthorn has caught on only intourist regions like the Khumbu,Mustang, and Manang, wheredemand is high. Manual processingand the lack of human resourcesmeans that production is limited,and it is already difficult to sustainthe huge demand.

“The demand for sea buckthornjuice is so high that imported juiceshave been almost displaced and wecannot even supply enough toNamche, let alone Kathmandu,” saysAng Rita Sherpa of The MountainInstitute. But they are not pushinghard for mass production either. “Wewant the initiative to progressgradually without damaging theecosystem, our priority is localconsumption,” he adds.

Apart from making for a healthydrink, sea buckthorn also helpscontrol soil erosion and retainswater. There is enough sea buckthornnot just to produce juice for exportbut also for use in thepharmaceutical industry. “If thegovernment brings in the rightpolicies, we can transform Karnaliin a few years from sea buckthornalone,” says Youbaraj Pokharel of theTree Improvement and SilviculturalUnit, who was awarded theAbraham Conservation award byWWF last year for his work inpromoting sea buckthorn.

For now, Kathmanduites willhave to either wait or ask theirfriends returning from the Khumbu,Manang, or Mustang to get a taste.Sea buckthorn is on the horizon, butyou may have to go to the sourcefirst.Rubeena Mahato

F

PICS: BHEEM RAJ RAI

Forget fizzy sodas,how about a realNepali energy drink?

10|HAPPENINGS

OLD WISDOM: Members of Senior Citizens’ Society Nepal stage a sit-inprotest outside the CA building on Wednesday, demanding timelyformation of the new government, completion of the constitution andassurance of peace and security.

KIRAN PANDAY

PUTTING IT ON: Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal dons aphotojournalist’s vest after meeting with members of the National Forumof Photo Journalists at his residence on Tuesday. The Forum discussedthe attacks on photojournalists by Maoist party members during protestprograms.

20 - 26 AUGUST 2010 #516

SUNITA DANGOL

SKIPPING PYRAMID: Chinese artists perform an acrobatic show atNepal Academic Hall on Monday to mark the 55th Anniversary of Nepal-China diplomatic relations. The show ran till Thursday.

KIRAN PANDAY

WEEKEND WEATHERby NGAMINDRA DAHAL

FRI SAT S U N

30-20 31-21 32-21

With the exception of cloudbursts leading tolandslides and flooding in western Nepal, thismonth’s weather will follow a regular pattern.But this time, unlike the decreasing trend ofrainfall from east to west, the reverse has beentrue. This is mainly because of the powerfulcyclones over the Arabian Sea and Pakistan,from where breakaway clouds are reaching us.The satellite picture shows the Bay pumping inmoisture at a relatively slower pace. Themonsoon trough has been consistentlypositioned along the Himalayan foothills, whichmeans a couple of showers every day, mostlyduring the night.

KATHMANDU

n the international medicalnews last week, there was agreat deal of alarm caused by

some resistant bacteria thatinfected western patients inIndia, who had come to thecountry for treatment. Suchincidents could potentially

threaten the medical tourismindustry of India, which has beenprogressing by leaps and bounds– a jump of almost 30 per centevery year.

These resistant bacteria havebeen found to trigger urinary tractinfections in India. Even Nepali

Kathmandu Valley Down theAges: depicting life in ancientand medieval Kathmandu, apainting exhibition by veteranartist Hari Prasad Sharma. Till21 August, Art Council Gallery,Babar Mahal, 9841269959

Root Periscope, a group artexhibition by celebrated artists.Till 24 August, Sattva ArtGallery, Kupondole, 9841241790

Gaijatra, solo painting exhibitionby acclaimed artist RaginiUpadhya Grela. Starts Saturday21 August, 5.30pm, SiddarthaArt Gallery, 4218048

Docskool, screening of WildStrawberries, a Swedish film byIngmar Bergman. Friday 20August, 3.30pm, KathmanduAcademy, Mahendra BhawanPremises, Naxal

Dabur Vatika Teej Festival 2010,get all decked up for this Teej,stalls of handicraft, sarees,jewellery and more. Till 22August, United World TradeCenter, Tripureshwor

Nepal Seen Through My Lenses,a photo exhibition by DanishAmbassador Finn Thilsted. FromTuesday 24 August to 29 August,12pm to 6pm, Yala Maya Kendra,Patan Dhoka

House of Music, 1974 ADperforming live. Friday 20August, from 7.30pm, House ofMusic, Entry Rs 250,9849243807

Sunday Jazz Brunch, enjoy arelaxing Sunday in The Terraceat Hyatt Regency with barbequeand live jazz music by ‘InnerGroove’. Every Sunday from12pm to 3.30pm, Hyatt Regency,Boudha, 4491234/4489362

Dhokaima Cafe has a new menu,try the Blackened NorwegianSalmon and Grilled ShrimpAjillo, Patan Dhoka, 5522113

Olive Garden, mediterraneanfood fest. Every day, 6.30pm to10.30pm, till 31 August,Radisson Hotel, Lazimpat, Rs1200 plus taxes for veg. and Rs1500 plus taxes for non veg. call4411818

Splash Bar & Grill, greatweekend BBQ dinner, Fridaysand Saturdays, 6pm to 9pm,Radisson Hotel, Lazimpat, Rs1200, 4411818

Koto Restaurant, the firstJapanese restaurant inKathmandu, serves up 25 years ofhistory. Whether it's the freshsashimi, sushi, sukiyaki ortempura, their experiencedJapanese and Nepali chefs aresure to impress. Darbar Marg,4220346

Saturday @ Hyatt, take arefreshing dip in the pool andsample the delicious barbeque inopen air. Every Saturday from12.30pm to 4pm at the poolside,Hyatt Regency, Boudha, 4491234

ABOUT TOWN

doctors have detected suchinstances here that have becomeincreasingly difficult to treat.Doctors believe that the infectionhere may have been introducedfrom India, but this remains to beinvestigated.

One bacterium among thisresistant army is E. Coli. Itappears that E. Coli has fortifieditself with a special enzyme calledthe New Delhi metallobetalactamase (NDM), which

makes it resistant to regularantibiotics such as ciprofloxacin.In fact E. Coli, doctors havefound, is not only resistant toregular antibiotics, but also theRam Banh of antibiotics – theextremely effective but expensivecarbapenems. This is worrisome,

because the antibioticarmamentarium against moredangerous strains of the usuallyharmless E. Coli could be fastdiminishing.

India is understandablyworried that the lucrativeindustry of medical tourism maybe negatively affected by theadvent of these ‘superbugs’.Although the article in TheLancet Infectious Diseases thatbroke this story on 11 Augustfocused on India, Pakistan andthe UK, it is unclear as yet if thisproblem exists in other parts ofthe world. Only time and furtherstudies will tell.

Regardless of how NDM playsout, it is clear that in our part ofthe world, there are severalpractices regarding antibioticusage that may exacerbate therisks. Antibiotics in Nepal,unlike in the West, can be easilybought over the counter. Thisleads to misuse, and eventuallyresistance to antibiotics. Ourfuture government will clearlyneed to have better control overthe sale of antibiotics. Inaddition, patients need to beeducated about antibiotics andtheir side effects. Finally, doctorsneed to guard againstpolypharmacy, which is thecommon practice of prescribingtoo many medicines orantibiotics to treat a singledisease in a patient. All of thesemeasures will help in preventingthe rise of sinister enzymes suchas NDM, and retain theeffectiveness of treatments.

Superbugs

I

DHANVANTARIBuddha Basnyat, MD

SOCIETY|1120 - 26 AUGUST 2010 #516

crop of neo-Nazis is gaining ground in Mongolia, TheGuardian recently reported. They might be the exact opposite ofthe Third Reich’s Aryan ideal, but the ultra-nationalists there want

to fight the influence of Chinese in their homeland, and they want AdolfHitler to show them how.

In India, Hitler’s Mein Kampf has been a bestseller for more than adecade, giving steady business to roadside hawkers, bookshops big andsmall, and online stores. His fans are found in the most unlikely of places– the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, for example, whosemanagement students say they “admire his leadership qualities”.

But we need not go so far to meet the crazies. A book fair in Kathmanducarried a Nepali translation of Mein Kampf last week with a translator’snote that read: “Hitler had a bad and a good side. This translation focuseson his good side with the hope it will be instructive to young people inNepal today to learn about nationalism.”

In a discussion titled "Nepal is in need of a leader like Hitler!!" onFacebook, someone has commented: “It’s Nepal’s misfortune that a Hitlerhas not been born in Nepal.”

Fringe thinking is not and should not be a cause for alarm but idolworship guided by sheer ignorance should be worrying. In the process ofturning Narayanhiti Palace into a museum, a senior bureaucrat spokeproudly of a Mercedes Benz apparently presented to the then king of Nepalby the Nazi leader. “The car will be a major attraction there,” he said.When it turned out that the vintage car was actually in India with one of thedescendants of Juddha Shamsher, the Indian media sounded almostjubilant: “Hitler’s car in India, not in Nepal’s palace”.

In Nepal, idol worship is a standard political affair with Maoist leadersposing next to Joseph Stalin in official portraits. But don’t blame theirversion of communism and somewhat easier relationship with violence forthe worship of a man responsible for the ‘liquidation’ of 15 million people;the centrist CPN-UML had to hide a picture of Stalin hanging in theiroffices when former US ambassador James Moriarty dropped in for a visita year ago.

What seems to be lost in attempts to channel these strong leaders, andamong young people donning t-shirts with Nazi swastikas in Jawalakhel,is the understanding of basic historic facts. Over six million Jews,homosexuals, and disabled people were gassed in Germany under thestrong leadership and efficient management of Hitler. Nearly 700,000 wereexecuted during Stalin’s Great Purge, that too by conservative accounts.His policy of forced collectivisation was responsible for the death of 15million peasants. We can argue they were strong leaders but what of theirbrutality?

Without a doubt, there is a yearning for a great leader here in Nepal,just as in Germany following the crushing humiliation of the First WorldWar and its aftermath. We want a leader to show us the way forward, andto deliver unto us the rewards of freedom that we were promised. It’s alsoclear the Maoists and others, in seeking to align themselves with the‘great’ leaders of the past, mean to present themselves as great leaderswhose time has come.

The question for Nepal is whether nationalism is even a workable ideaif the goal is prosperity for the country and security for its people. Alreadyfour million Nepalis work outside Nepal. Remittances are the biggest andfastest growing source of national income. Individuals are pursuing theirown goals. Never mind international boundaries, Nepal isn’t really onenation. Just ask the minorities.

Great nations need great leaders. The best leaders aren’t those whoemulate past figures, they are those who take inspiration from theirsurroundings and the people they seek to serve, and those who understandthe context of the changes taking place around them. Hitler may have runa tight ship back in the day, but if we follow him blindly, we will end uplooking like the Mongolian neo-Nazis – just plain stupid.

Nein Kampf

Erasing the past won’treveal our future

POLITICALLYCRACKEDIndu Nepal

A

RABI THAPA

14|FROM THE NEPALI PRESS 20 - 26 AUGUST 2010 #516

Rewati Sapkota in Annapurna Post, 15 August

The Maoists are going to make an alliance with theroyalists, because they feel they both support peace,constitution, and national sovereignty, while otherpolitical forces don’t.

The Maoists have formulated a strategy to endthe present government-less status of the countryby roping in the royalists. Shakti Bahadur Basnyat,a member of the Maoist politburo, says that thecentral committee meeting on 19 August will decideupon how to proceed with developing this alliance.

The royalists have been in conversation withthe Maoists time and again. Maoist ChairmanPushpa Kamal Dahal met RPP-Nepal's Kamal Thapato ask for his support during the PM elections.Supporters of Dahal held meetings with Tulsi Giri,vice-chairman of the last royal government, to forma ‘new alliance for national sovereignty’. The Maoistsalso held discussions with Kirti Nidhi Bista andRamesh Nath Pandey.

According to Basnyat, “The palace’s affectionsdid not reach the ethnic people, so it was unable to

Robin Sayami in Nagarik, 17 August, 2010

Interview with Nilambar Acharya, Chair, ConstitutionalCommittee in Kantipur, 15 August

How is the constitution-writing process going?The process has come to a standstill. We couldn't bring thebudget or the constitution on time. And now we have not beenable to form the government on time. We have been making thiscrisis worse from day to day. The entire process of constitutionwriting is in crisis.

What is the reason for the CA’s inability to continuewith the process?Constitution writing has never been a priority of the politicalparties. The process has been hampered by the differencesbetween political parties, their internal conflicts, failure inimplementing past agreements, their tussle for power, and theerror of starting to write the constitution without agreeing uponits fundamental points. Political parties have forgotten that itis an interim period. They are suffering from the belief thatthey can direct the entire process as they please once they getpower. This has put the process in danger.

You just pointed to an erroneous start to the process.Why was this not thought of in the beginning?We should have thought about it, but no discussions were heldregarding the basic principles of the constitution. I hear ofpassing the final draft with a majority and then going to thepublic for their opinion, rather than agreeing on constitutionalfundamentals. Ten of eleven preliminary drafts were passedwith a majority while one draft did not get a majority. Weshould still move forward and maybe forge a consensus on thefundamental issues, otherwise it will be impossible to finalisethe constitution with a majority decision. Consensus is idealand it is compulsory for two-thirds of the committee toendorse the constitution. Decisions have been taken by majorityso far, but it is likely to invite difficulties at the final stage.Another mistake was to put the government and theconstitution in the same place. Can there be a consensus if wepass the draft by a majority government? This is the paradox ofthe moment.

Why hasn’t there been any discussion on these issuesthen?The truth is we never looked back and reviewed the process ofwriting the constitution. We would have corrected some thingshad we evaluated then. But is it the government or the bigparties that should assume responsibility for taking the processforward? The big parties are the ones who should beresponsible, but they tussled for power instead of writing theconstitution. Why do all parties need to be in the governmentfor an interim period? It is ridiculous to see parties fight for aninterim government. If it is really important, we should have agroup of experts draft the constitution to be tabled inparliament for endorsement.

What should be done to move the process forward?Political parties should find out the reasons for its delay first.There should be a different plan of action this time. The leadersshould sit together and resolve their differences. We talk aboutconsensus but there is no mechanism to facilitate consensus intimes of disagreement.

Editorial in Nagarik, 17 August

A dispute between the Nepal Federation of IndigenousNationalities (NEFIN) and its donor, the UK aidagency DFID, has revealed that foreign aid is beingused to deprive Nepali citizens of their basic rights.This became apparent when NEFIN enforced anationwide strike to pressure the ConstitutionalCommittee to expedite the process of writing theconstitution. The strike took place despite DFIDthreatening to withhold funds from NEFIN.

Whitherconstitution?

EU bandh?It is unfortunate that organisations that receive

foreign aid to enable and promote citizen’s rightsinvolve themselves in activities that curtail freedomof movement. Donors should be wary of such caseswhere rights advocacy and empowerment aid getused for political interests. A huge chunk of aidgoes into the pockets of local employees forconsultations, junkets, protests, workshops, andseminars. These activists who feed on foreign fundsare to be blamed for threatening national integrity.

Finance ministry officials, who are supposedto monitor foreign aid, keep silent as they too getconsultancy fees and free trips abroad. As aninstitution, DFID does not intend to curb rightsnor promote individual political interests.Therefore, it is the local employees of theorganisation, corrupt government officials, andactivist groups that are to be blamed for the misuseand misappropriation of funds.

The government should act to prevent suchincidents. Issuing a white paper on received aidand project expenses of organisations should be thefirst step.

Give ‘em rope

bond all Nepalis. The palace wasn’t pro-people butthe Maoists are. We are trying to build nationalunity among people who care for the country.” Hefurther said that if the UML has the courage tomove forward without the NC, then the Maoists areready to welcome them as well.

“We shouldn’t lose our way because of electionswhere no one ever wins,” said Mohan Baidya, vice-chairman of the party. He added that the three bigparties have to sit down together to reach aconsensus.

"This isn't the octopus Paul, it's Jhal, it doesn't make any decisions."

INTERVIEW|1520 - 26 AUGUST 2010 #516

How has your time here been?It’s been a great four years. Not just in terms of the deepfriendships I and my family have developed, and theplaces we’ve seen, but also because we’ve been able toexpand our operations to reach many more Nepalis. WFPwas feeding 700,000 Nepalis with a yearly budget of $25million when I got here, it went up to $125 million lastyear, and this year we’re feeding 2.5 million people with$100 million.

Why did you expand your operations sodramatically?It was a necessity. WFP has been in Nepal for 40 years, butwhen we carried out our first emergency operations duringmy first year a lot of people wondered why. The truth isthere was a silent emergency going on here for years, eventhough the malnutrition across the country would havejustified emergency measures anywhere else. It wasunacceptable to do nothing and say “oh, hungry peoplewill just migrate to India for work”. By arguing the case forbigger operations we made the issue of food insecurity akey part of the public domain.

What triggered the shift in attitudes?When I arrived, the peace process was kicking off, but therewas still a lot of tension in the countryside. Many NGOs,INGOs and donors had scaled back operations, but Iinsisted on helping people out there transition out ofconflict. We were willing to go into remote areas and takerisks to reach people, and I think our funders recognisedthe importance of what we were trying to do.

So the conflict was a trigger for WFP to reachmore people in need?The aftermath was. There was a vacuum after the conflictin places the government had not reached, and we seizedthis opening to go for a different approach. As a logistics-based organisation, we had the capacity to get to theseplaces. Things are not going to change until we access theseplaces and get a real sense of how people live up in Humla,Jumla, Dolpa.

One of the big benefits of WFP’s expansion was that webegan to work with NGOs, and we started pushing Nepalis

Reaching the hungry

into these remote areas. We’ve created a whole new wealthof Nepali capacity that wasn’t there before.What kind of work have these people beendoing?We are working with a whole range of NGOs that arelargely staffed with Nepalis, on a range of initiatives. Butwe also have a Vulnerability & Analysis unit that movesacross the most remote districts with PDAs and SATphones to feed us real-time information on what exactly isgoing on regarding food security. These districts are nowno longer just places on a map – we have the informationto act on now. We have built up food security networks in54 districts with the government.

I also believe modern communications has changedthe game for us. Having a phone doesn’t mean they canaccess services, but at least they have the means to trynow. Technology can do different things, and allows youto be creative.

You mean doing more than just giving peoplefood?WFP started out as a development organisation, not ahumanitarian one. We’ve tried to link the two, rather thanjust give food or money to people without asking foranything in return. So we’ve implemented food for workprograms and had success, particularly with gettingcommunities to build roads and other infrastructure inexchange for food. We even tied in such programmes withcivic education about democracy and the constitution.

Cash for work programs are more recent, but we arepiloting them in areas with large clusters of unemployedpoor people, for example in the Tarai. We have a deepreach, so we try to think of ways to take advantage ofthat, and allow other programs and organisations topiggybank on us.

What needs to be done to eliminate food securityin Nepal?We need a multi-pronged approach led by government, toaddress food security in terms of health, education, foodaccess and food production. To date government hasfocused mainly on the last, whether we produce enoughcereal. The answer is no, it hasn’t kept pace with demand.

But access is a problem too, and providing roads is part ofthe solution. Take the road to Jumla. Prices of beans havegone down by 60-70 per cent. We also need to developmarkets, give farmers incentives to produce and sell locallyfor a profit, and invest in farmers like they are a nationalsecurity interest, like in the US.

Can farmers in Karnali produce enough food?A lot of the land at higher altitudes, in places like Karnali,is simply not productive enough. It’s not that the farmersare lazy! And many households don’t have access to plotsbig enough to support themselves. For some, the answer istourism, like in the Annapurna and Khumbu regions. Ifplaces like upper Gorkha, Dolpa and Humla are developed,the market will come to them, there is huge potential fortourism as well as for cash crops like herbs.

What are the difficulties of working in Nepal?The frustrating thing is the multiplicity of factors at play.The geography, the weather, the closed borders (in terms ofopen trade) have an impact on the food market. There areunfair commercial practices and supply issues, whichpush up inflation. With some political help, we aredealing with the problem of the transport cartels, but theyare a big impediment when we are racing against time tofeed people. And of course, political instability disruptsoperations: during a bandh, between 500 to 3,000 tonnes offood get stuck.

But with a multi-pronged approach over the medium tolong term, there’s no reason why the country can’t moveaway from food insecurity. At least people now recognisethere is a serious problem, and are talking about it. Themedia and the government are finally accepting it’s cholerakilling people in the west, not WFP food. If we had tosuffer from the accusations last year so people are talkingabout the real issues now, then it’s been worth it.

Are you ready to leave Nepal?No! The people I’ve met here are probably the best in theworld in terms of kindness and generosity. They may nothave anything, but they’ll welcome you and cook you theirchicken! I’m from the south of the United States myself;Nepalis remind me of the people there.

The outgoing countryrepresentative of theWorld FoodProgramme (WFP) inNepal, Richard Ragan,spoke to Nepali Timesabout theorganisation’sexpansion under hiswatch, how foodinsecurity should beaddressed, and whyNepalis are likeAmerican Southerners.

KIRAN PANDAY

20 - 26 AUGUST 2010 #51616|BACK SIDE

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CDO Regd No 194/056/57 Lalitpur, Central Region Postal Regd. No 09/066/67

he donkey’s hardcore fanshave been writing inasking what’s up and

what’s gonna happen. Well,having been sent this picture ofBagmati Bridge during the JunjatiBund on Sunday, I can only referyou to my friends, the goats.They’re the only ones who seemto know where they are going.

That bund was an appropriatecurtain-raiser to the autumntourism season: announcing anationwide chukka jam as a signof things to come during VisitNepal Ear 2011. Poor Yogi,tried his best to convince hisfellow Adivasis to call the wholething off, but to no avail. He

Only the goats know

should’ve known it was futilebecause NEFIN is answerable to amuch more powerful force thanHAN. This was probably the first-ever bund called by an NGO thatis a direct beneficiary ofKathmandu-based aidorganisations. No wonder theshutdowners announcedbeforehand that unlike publicbuses and motorcycles, blue-plated SUVs would not bevandalised and set on fire iffound to be defying the ban ontransportation.

It was when people startedcalling Sunday’s shutdown an ‘EU Bund’ that DFID quicklydisassociated itself from the NGOand even threatened to cut offNEFIN’s funding, inadvertently

letting the cat out of the bag. Butthe plot thickened whenComrade Lekhi confessed he hadbeen under pressure from DFIDto call off the bund, and said hehad told the Brits in no uncertainterms to shove it. The Ass nowlearns NEFIN is split down themiddle, and the bund was calledby a faction that has fallen foul ofthe donators. Perhaps the samefaction responsible for wallgraffiti in Jawalakhel earlier thisyear that read: ‘DFID don’t fundNEFIN, they are cheats’? Politicalparties are supposed to beaccountable to the people, butwho besides their donors areNepali NGOs accountable to?

The authoritarians in charge of TIAhave refuted an Americanintelligence report that theairport’s security is lax. How can itbe lax, when they have just put upa computer printout next to the x-ray machines (see pic) banningbasket ball bats, bows and arrows,and hockey sticks? They have alsoadded two more layers of rubberstamp security: one before themanual hand baggage search andone after the rubber stamp checkerhas checked the rubber stamp andadded his rubber stamp to thebaggage tag. That should do thetrick. With such foolproof securityapparatus, and when the line atthe x-rays takes more than an hourto get through, how can theAmericans call our security ‘lax’?

The airport has demolished theugly edifice at the Ring Roadintersection and replaced itwith a phallic symbol that is aneven bigger phallus. This meanswe as a nation are now fullyprepared for VNY 2011, andready to impress the world withour monumental erections.

It’s now official: the Baddieshave the hots for a return to themonarchy and are leaving nostone upside-down to get themandalays on board. They weretrying to elicit the support ofthe Hindutva-wallahs in India,but the BJP made it clear itwouldn’t tolerate the Baddiesin power. So that’s that. Farfrom a sign of flexibility andingenuity, the comrades battingfor a ‘cultural king’ is beingseen as a sign of desperation.We get it from those close tokingji that his ex-majesty is in nomood to talk toAwesome, and theChairman is nottaking too kindlyto the royal rebuff,re.

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