Weak governance

One of the main conclusions of an in-depth study conducted jointly by three major international agencies is that Nepal’s single-biggest developmental challenge is weak governance. There is hardly any disagreement that bad or weak governance – however you term it – is visible everywhere. And worrisomely, it is exacerbating everyday in the country.



In Nepal, it is not unusual to see a few dozen people capturing a section of a main road – in the process, hijacking people’s fundamental right of free movement – and vandalizing vehicles that come in the way for reasons that very few around seem to be aware of. More shockingly, the police force witnesses the whole episode like a lame duck.



It is also not uncommon for Nepali entrepreneurs to suddenly see a small group of laborers, often with direct involvement of outsiders, staging protest programs inside a factory and paralyzing all the operations, sometimes for days. Quite often, entrepreneurs have to spend a lot of energy to find out the actual cause of the closure and the right person/s to negotiate with. Bizarrely, they are sometimes forced to talk directly to the political party with which the agitating laborers are affiliated.



These are but a few examples of the height of lawlessness, which is taking a heavy toll on the country’s governance system. Nepal now ranks lowest in South Asia in many crucial governance indicators, says the research report titled ‘Nepal: Critical Development Constraints’ conducted jointly by Asian Development Bank, Britain’s Department of International Development and International Labor Organization.



Obviously, Nepal’s economy has become one of the most serious victims of weakening governance. Given the grim environment for doing business, it is not surprising that Nepal’s businesspersons have ranked strikes and political instability as the top two constraints in the development of entrepreneurship in the country. More importantly, the report released on Thursday rightly pointed out that lengthening political instability – which has resulted in a spike in political and criminal extortion from private businesses, strikes, road blocks, trade union militancy, to name a few – is one of the prime reasons of weak governance. The World Bank’s governance indicator, which ranked Nepal at the bottom in terms of political stability, speaks loud and clear of a looming disaster in the country.

So, what is the cure? The answer is very simple: ensure political stability. Sadly, for now, that seems a distant dream.

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