It's been over a month since Nepal was rocked by the Great Earthquake and subsequent aftershocks. People have no doubt gotten over the initial fear and have returned to their houses whose safety they feel confident about. The government has declared the rescue and relief phases as completed while still allowing I/NGOs to deliver relief supplies to remote parts of the country. It has started homework for reconstruction but so far this has been only at the level of ideas and with each passing day differences are emerging and confidence in the present government decreasing.
No doubt the present government was not the most popular one, judging by its performance before the earthquake. But the saddest thing is the 'huge confidence gap' in the national government at this time of crisis. Burdened by its continued failure to forge consensus on major points of dispute in the new constitution, and increasing criticism for bad governance, the government had come under unrelenting criticism not only from local press and intelligentsia, but also from the international press for its incompetent handling of the rescue and relief in early days.The government's request to donor agencies to deposit their contributions preferably in cash into the "Prime Minister's Disaster Relief Fund" backfired. This 'one-window system'—which the government argued would ensure better transparency, accountability and equity in rescue and relief efforts—was met with the greatest suspicion. The donor agencies—I/NGOs, humanitarian relief organizations and the foreign governments—joined by the press had criticized the government with one voice for 'lack of sensitivity to the plight of victims' and for being guided by 'greed' given its bad track record in governance and impunity for wrongdoers. To date, most governments and agencies that had pledged contributions have not deposited any money into the Fund.
While relief works were being carried out, the ugly face of politics started becoming all too visible. Not only were ministers and CA members (barring few) were seen doing nothing positive, political parties and their sister organizations started 'looting' relief materials. The infamous distribution of tents to CA members inside the CA premises seemed to be the last straw as people's faith in their chosen representatives nosedived.
At the same time the work carried out by rescue and relief teams sent by various governments were genuinely praised. But certain sections of Nepali press as well as some ideologically-biased Nepali intellectuals were busy using social media and national press to further deepen the bias of average Nepalis against one particular neighbor. The unprofessional behavior of media personnel from that country didn't help.
Coming on the heels of this media debacle, another diplomatic row ensued when for unexplained reasons the government refused permission to let the heavy duty British 'Chinook' helicopters to come to Nepal to assist in relief works. The most talked about reason for refusing to let in the Chinooks, apparently, was our army's way of retaliating against the British government for arresting and prosecuting Colonel Kumar Lama for human rights-related crime and his continued imprisonment in the UK.
In this environment of trust deficit, among citizens and donors alike, political parties have themselves sent rumor mills churning by floating various permutations and combinations of either a Rashtriya Sarkar (National Government) or a Sahamatiya Sarkar (Consensus Government). Some even went to the extent of provoking the disciplined Nepal Army to take over the reins of government without thinking about its long-term consequences.
If press reports are to be believed political parties are bargaining for a national unity government with the stated goal of embarking on the gigantic task of the country's reconstruction. There also seems to be a consensus to constitute a high-powered autonomous "Reconstruction Authority", the "single window" for all tasks related to reconstruction. The need is rather for a "Responsible Government" which is politically neutral.
To do so, first we need to come to a consensus in the CA on amending the Interim Constitution to: a) Agree to form an apolitical transitional government comprising exclusively of ex-bureaucrats, intellectuals and civil society leaders selected on the basis of their qualification, experience, gender, inclusion etc., b) Elevate the post of the President to Executive President and Head of Council of Ministers, c) transform the post of Vice-President to the post of Vice-President/Speaker of CA, d) 'Freeze' the implementation of federalism for at least three years and enable the transitional government to hold elections to local bodies—Village Development Committees (VDCs), Municipalities and District Development Committees (DDCs), and e) Continue the business of CA and Legislature-Parliament as requested by the transitional government. Since the Ministers won't be members of CA they will not have to attend CA business, but they shall be obliged to participate in discussions of CA committees as and when necessary.
The transitional government shall form a high-powered "National Reconstruction Authority" (NRA) headed by a national figure with adequate members as decided by the transitional government. While NRA shall be solely responsible for reconstruction, it shall be answerable to the transitional government and to various committees within the CA. The main task of the government shall be to hold elections to local authorities within a period of two years. It's estimated to take longer because the boundaries of local bodies have to be reaffirmed, electoral rolls revised and other logistical preparations completed.
In these three years the transitional government shall: i) Impose a 'state of emergency' to ensure that the trade unions or other professional bodies cannot stage any strike or take industrial action, all educational institutions become a 'zone of peace', and all essential services are delivered on time, ii) Suspend some laws and issue decrees to facilitate the government's work, iii) Impose 'austerity' by curtailing unnecessary government expenditures, medical treatment abroad, withdrawal of escorts to Ministers (except for the President and Vice-President), selling all expensive vehicles to save fuel and maintenance costs for government vehicles, ban import of all vehicles and other measures as deemed appropriate.
The Executive President shall take over both as the President and the Chief Executive of the country. The Executive President shall have the right to fire any minister on grounds of improper conduct or incompetence.
The Vice-President shall continue as the Vice-President and the Speaker of the CA. All CA members shall have equal status: no difference between the government and opposition benches. However, discussions shall be conducted along party lines. The Speaker shall have full right to take disciplinary action against any errant member under CA code of conduct.
All other constitutional bodies provided in the Interim Constitution shall continue their functions as provided therein. The government shall concentrate on only a few "national pride projects" and complete them on time.
The Executive President and Vice-President shall go back to their ceremonial posts after three years when they have overseen the formation of a new national government from the CA/Legislature-Parliament and handed over power to the duly elected Prime Minister and Speaker.
The author was with the Department of Housing, Building and Physical Planning under the Ministry of Urban Development