Where, Mr Prime Minister, is the reconstruction authority that you promised to the world at the international donor conference on June 25th? It was with the promise of timely appointment of vital office-bearers of the reconstruction authority that your government was able to supposedly lock in grants and loans totaling US $4.4 billion. At the closing of the conference, your finance minister had promised that the CEO and other officials of the authority would be appointed "in the next few days". It's been nearly a month. If anything, with the passage of time, your government seems to be in a mood to forget the catastrophic earthquake, which resulted in the loss of over 8,000 lives and destruction of over 200,000 homes. Otherwise, you must clearly tell the people why there has been such a long delay over these vital appointments. The annual budget your government has recently presented is also centered on 'reconstruction' and most of earthquake funds are to be spent through the reconstruction authority. The long delay, as such, is not in the country's interest. Nor is it in yours.There are also allegations that the numbers simply don't add up. It is up to you to explain to the Nepali people how you arrived at the pledged sum of US $4.4 billion. Can you give us a believable breakdown? Does this sum include funding for existing donor programs? How much of this commitment will be channeled though government channels and how much routed through the NGOs affiliated to different embassies? Surely, successfully hosting the one-day conference was only the first step in the long and arduous process of rebuilding the devastated country. But the inaction of your government after the donor conference suggests that you believe the majority of government work has been done and it is now up to individual donors to work in good faith, without any prodding. If only it were so simple to make the parsimonious donors part with their euros and dollars! They too are accountable to their people back home. Unlike in Nepal, in most countries of the developed world, meticulous records have to be kept of every penny spent. So your government must do more to take these skeptical donors into confidence.
Mr Prime Minister, you have earned a name for yourself as a clean and honest leader. And so you have appealed to the international community not to doubt the intention of your government. But your clean image is not enough. The donors first need to see that your government is committed to rebuilding Nepal. The best way of demonstrating this commitment would be to fill all the vacant posts of the reconstruction authority and get it up and running without any more delay. The 500,000 people who have been displaced by the Great Earthquake are in an imminent danger this monsoon as rain lashes down on their makeshift shelters and threatens to take away the land under them. Mr Prime Minister, there is not a moment to lose. Please exercise your authority as government head to clear the roadblocks to timey appointments. Do it now.
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