By design or default, Nepal’s political leaders took the extraordinary decision of putting in place a Chief Justice-led government packed with senior civil servants four months ago. The question now arises: has the government demonstrated the seriousness in thought and action needed to pull the country out of its current quagmire? It has an incredible challenge on its hands, as the following measures suggest. [break]
Global Peace
This well-researched report prepared by the Institute for Economics and Peace, the global non-profit established to conduct research on the intersections between business, peace and economic development, mentions that “The world has become a less peaceful place… and threats to peace are more likely to be found at home than abroad.” This certainly is applicable in Nepal’s case. Among the 162 countries studied worldwide, Somalia tops the list as the least peaceful country in the world, with Afghanistan a close second. Five of the eight SAARC members are in dire situation, thankfully, not Nepal, which ranks above the likes of India and Pakistan, but well below Bhutan.
Nepalis want far-reaching changes, but they want those changes to be peaceful and democratic and they want their aspirations for change reflected in the new constitution to be written by their own elected representatives. That is why, despite many questions, leaders created and people supported the current government. The successful integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist combatants has transformed the long and painful conflict into peaceful competition for power. All political actors must now commit to this process of peaceful and democratic change by participating in the forthcoming Constituent Assembly election.
Corruption Perception
Another highly regarded indicator of human welfare through institutional development, transparency and accountability in governance is Transparency International’s Global Corruption Perception. In this measure as well Somalia tops the list as the most corrupt country in the world, scoring 8 out of 100 marks. Denmark, Finland and New Zealand all score over 90 as the least corrupt. Afghanistan is neck and neck with Somalia, with comparable scores. Nepal is not very far behind at 139th position, with a score of 27.
Corruption is an indicator of lack of transparency and accountability as well as growing impunity and governance deficit created by dysfunctional institutions. In Nepal this has been worsened by the prolonged political transition. Effective governance is vital to tide over this long and arduous transition.
One of the other main problems of Nepal’s democratization process is over-politicization of society. By deciding to install a non-political government, political leaders have tried to de-politicize day to day governance. Now the challenge for the Council of Ministers is to meet the governance deficit.
Deep divisions among major actors plague Nepali politics. But beyond the division in values, Nepal today suffers more from politics sans values. Headed by the Chief Justice and composed of senior administrators, the current government is in the best position to restore the norms and values of good governance. The government can start making people feel the difference by introducing a system of merit-based appointments to important positions, zero-tolerance on corruption and improving law and order. There at least has to be the commitment.
Human Development
Based on three dimensions of Health, Education and Living Standards, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) compiles the Human Development Index (HDI) every year. In its latest report, Norway is ranked number one with the best human development in the world, while Niger is the worst performing at 186th position. Nepal is placed 157, only marginally above Afghanistan in 175th position.
While Nepal is reported to have done well in some social indicators, in overall development it is stagnating or declining as reflected in the dismal economic growth and pathetic balance of trade position. This is the reason Nepalis are compelled to seek jobs abroad under the most difficult conditions.
While the government’s main mandate is to hold CA election, it must respond to day to day needs of people as well as do serious homework to create conditions to make the best use of natural and human resources in the areas of the country’s competitive advantages such as energy, tourism, niche-agriculture, services like health, education and so on.
Failed State
Conflict and corruption affect the HDI which in turn contributes to the overall fragility of society, best reflected in the fourth set of indices called the Failed State Index (FSI). The FSI is compiled by the Fund for Peace and the Foreign Policy and derived from a list of 12 variables, including Demographic pressure, Refugees and IDPs, Group grievance, Human flight, Uneven development, Economic decline, De-legitimization of the State, among others.
In 2013 FSI Somalia tops the list with a score of 114 out of the total of 120, 10 points for each of the 12 indicators. Finland is the last with a score of 18. The study of comprehensive list of variables and scores give a good idea of the difference among a failed, failing and successful state. From SAARC Afghanistan again is the worst placed at 7, with the score of 106.7. Nepal is in 30th position with a score of 92.
By all these indicators, Nepal appears to be on the edge.
Conclusions
Somalia and Afghanistan are best examples of how people suffer when leaders and states fail. With the central Himalayas emerging as one of the epicenters of the new global paradigm flux, Nepal’s political parties must commit to peaceful and democratic changes. As there are still lingering doubts in the minds of many, creating conditions that make people believe there will actually be election on November 19 has become vital. As participation in the CA election is the best measure of a party’s commitment to peaceful competition for power, all political parties interested in institutionalizing peaceful and democratic changes must participate in the forthcoming CA election.
For its part, this government must move decisively to fulfill its main mandate of timely CA polls. It should also act as the driver to take Nepal away from past failures and move towards peace, prosperity and democracy under a new constitution. By creating a non-political government, leaders have gone some way towards depoliticizing governance. Now the government must meet the governance deficit by professionalizing its work to make people feel the difference. For this the government must be acutely aware of its main and complementary responsibilities.
The author was a member of the Secretariat of the Special Committee for the Supervision, Integration and Rehabilitation of the Maoist Army
sambins@gmail.com
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