Curbing officials' foreign visits

The news that the Nepali government and donor agencies have started making efforts to curb unnecessary foreign trips by government officials misusing both foreign and domestic resources has come as a breath of fresh air. This step was definitely long overdue. It is no secret that Nepali officials miss no opportunity to go abroad on tours, both necessary and unnecessary, on state’s and donor’s money. In what is extremely appalling, sometimes some of them do not even hesitate to sneak in their family members and close friends. A classic example of this unhealthy practice came to the fore during the Climate Summit last year when about 100 Nepalis, which included government officials, donors and journalists, went to Copenhagen, Denmark. The question that naturally arose then was whether such a big team was needed to represent a tiny country like ours.



That the government has woken up now and has asked donors and embassies to help it in its effort to stop this deeply disgracing practice is laudable. But it still needs to be seen whether this move will translate into meaningful action. If the government is able to make inroads into minimizing this practice, it will not only help burnish its image in the eyes of the public, donors too stand to gain a lot from it. Among other things, it will to some extent help put to rest the often-heard criticism that though donors pump in money to the country, it is mostly spent on unnecessary administrative expenses, fat salaries and meaningless trips such as the ones being discussed here.



The public rage against such trips is not without reason. They are bound to get infuriated on seeing government officials go on lavish and many a times unwanted tours on money that they have paid in the form of taxes while they have to fight all the time for basic amenities such as power, water, fuel and good roads. Their logic is simple: The money could have been used to ensure such essentials.



But we must resist our tendency to drag our skepticism to an extent where we begin to question every such trip. By virtue of being in the government, many officials have to go abroad for official works. This is something that the embassies should also understand. In an attempt to redress this ill, they must not deny visas to officials seeking visas for genuine reasons. They must work together with the Nepali government offices to separate wheat from chaff. But we trust their judgment and hope that they would work in tandem with the government to take this initiative to the next level.

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