Don’t Get Distracted, Mayor Balen!

February 3, 2023 07:27 am

Mayor Balendra Shah (Balen) of Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) positioned himself as a champion of the impoverished during his mayoral campaign for the May 13 local elections last year. ‘Garib ko chameli bolidine kohi chhaina’ (there is no one to speak for the poor!). The remix rap version of this popular song sung by KMC Mayor Shah was widely circulated on social media and in the door to door canvassing. There is no denying that the emotionally-charged song garnered significant support for Shah during the local elections.

Make Public Enterprises Accountable

February 2, 2023 08:31 am

Despite having the grand portfolios, the state-owned corporations assume almost no responsibility toward the general public. They should internalize in practice the principle of accountability, independence, integrity, transparency and professionalism by conducting their financial audits on time, if good governance is to be instilled in these public institutions.

Nepal’s Corruption Crisis

February 1, 2023 08:37 am

The onus also lies on the ordinary citizens to end the corruption. All citizens should demand accountability and transparency from their elected representatives and institutions. Together, we must create a culture of zero tolerance towards corruption, and work towards a more fair and just society. Nepal's future depends on the actions we take today. It's time for the country to move beyond just lip-service and take decisive steps to combat corruption and build a brighter future for all.

Curbing road accidents

December 4, 2022 08:25 am

What is often not taken into account is the social and economic cost of these accidents. These costs are too high as the accidents involving death or serious injuries do not only impact the family members concerned, but also the country’s national economy. This should raise an alarm bell to the government bodies concerned.

Elections held. Now What?

November 21, 2022 20:10 pm

Currently, the counting of votes is underway and the initial results are pouring in from across the country. It is still too early to predict the results, but the initial results of the elections conducted at over 22,000 polling centers must be surprising for the so-called political bigwigs.

It is in the best interest of both Nepal and the US to find alternative ways to continue with the ongoing military cooperation in areas like disaster response, counter-terrorism and training opportunities.

Let’s act responsibly

July 6, 2021 15:33 pm

Although prohibitory orders have been relaxed, the risk of COVID-19 transmission still exists.  Let’s all act responsibly now so that we do not have to regret it later.

Act now!

April 26, 2021 10:16 am

The second wave of the coronavirus has begun to swallow our health systems. Hospitals and health workers in cities like Nepalgunj have been pleading with the government to provide them with the necessary resources to treat the patients. Major hospitals, both public and private, in Kathmandu have said that they have run out of beds and other resources to treat additional COVID-19 patients. Dr Sagar Kumar Rajbhandari, director of Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital (STIDH), said that hospitals will soon be on the brink of collapse if we do not act now. We have seen Prime Minister Oli violating public health protocols set by the health ministry.

Discontent is boiling. Government beware!

December 15, 2020 19:46 pm

The current government has not been able to do anything substantive on governance and service delivery in the last three years it has been in office.

The CIAA has failed us

September 15, 2020 18:40 pm

This is the question people ask when the country’s anti-corruption watchdog fails on its duty to control corruption. They ask this when they see that the highest anti-graft body is being selective in its prosecution, sparing those with nexus to power centers, and witch-hunting those with minor cases of bribery. This is the question people ask when the corruption cases peak and yet the proven and suspected corrupt walk freely, when their corruption related deeds are not even investigated. We ask this question in this space with the hope and expectation that the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) lives up to its mandate, and that it emerges active and strong to combat corruption which is rampant from the center to the periphery.

Homage to martyrs

January 30, 2020 07:35 am

It’s Martyrs’ Day today.  Martyrs evoke sense of sacrifice and the duty of the state to uphold the conviction and faith for which they fought. Nepal marks Martyrs’ Day every year to commemorate all known and unknown martyrs who sacrificed their lives for welfare of nation and people.

Amend further

January 29, 2020 09:45 am

Media Council Bill registered in the parliament by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology in May last year was flawed in many respects.  It had the provision of Media Council slapping journalists with a fine of up to one million rupees for “publishing content against the media code of ethics.”

Wrong pick

January 21, 2020 08:00 am

Ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has made a mockery of rule of law and justice, sent a troubling message and set a disturbing precedent by fielding Agni Prasad Sapkota for speaker of the House of Representatives. This is the decision that will have long-term repercussions in party’s image and is going to further erode credibility of the government. Agni Sapkota is a wrong choice for the prestigious post of the speaker for one big reason. He has been accused of murdering a schoolteacher in Kavrepalanchowk during the insurgency and the case against him is sub judice at the Supreme Court. Now the ruling NCP is poised to elevate the murder-accused to the post of the speaker. If he had been declared innocent by the court, it would be a different matter but NCP did not show patience to wait for the court’s decision.  Hearing in Sapokata’s case is scheduled for February 5.

Failing to spend

January 14, 2020 08:15 am

When the government fails to speed up infrastructure development, it could mean three things. One, the government has not been able to manage fund for development, meaning there is little capital to spend. Two, the government has enough money to spend but it has no proper plans for the same. Three, the government has commitment for speeding up capital spending process but the procedural hurdles are way too many or our bureaucracy is too lethargic. But in either of three cases, it is the government or the people in the government who are responsible. Nepal’s story has been that, despite being a struggling economy, we somehow manage funds for development but we simply fail to spend. Here is the irony, the irony that is making the mockery of capacity of almost every government, of federal democratic Nepal that needs to be sorted out once and for all.

Dismal outcome

December 31, 2019 09:10 am

That Nepal’s agriculture sector is not producing enough to meet the needs of its about 30 million people is a reality. Despite having potentials for growing a huge amount of crops, vegetables and fruits, most of our fertile lands in the hills and plains remain barren. We are importing fruits, vegetables, even food grains, mostly from India. Official figures show Nepal imported agriculture products worth Rs 200 billion in the last fiscal year and it’s in the increasing trend.

SAG and state of our affairs

November 27, 2019 09:36 am

The 13th South Asian Games (SAG) is just a few days away. But Kathmandu is still scrambling to ready the needed infrastructure for the South Asian sports festival

Reinventing NRNA

October 20, 2019 02:00 am

The ninth global conference of Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) concluded on Friday by electing new leadership.

Unhealthy travel

September 19, 2019 02:00 am

Health Minister Yadav’s unnecessary trips

Statement of impunity

September 10, 2019 02:00 am

Nepal Communist Party (NCP) co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal seems keen on granting amnesty to the perpetrators of 2015 Tikapur carnage. On Sunday, he said that the anti-constitution protest that resulted in lynchings of seven police personnel and a toddler in Kailali was a political uprising and that it should be dealt with as such. Such a remark from the head of ruling party is irresponsible and smacks of impunity.

Time for correction

September 4, 2019 02:00 am

Amendments on media council bill

How safe are our banks?

September 3, 2019 02:00 am

On Sunday, Nepal Police arrested five Chinese nationals on the charge of hacking bank data and stealing millions of rupees from automated teller machines (ATMs) from various banks in the capital.

Where are the disappeared?

September 1, 2019 02:30 am

Friday marked the International Day of the Disappeared, the day to draw the attention to the fate of individuals whose whereabouts and conditions are unknown to their relatives and legal representatives.

Let them speak

August 28, 2019 01:00 am

NCP ruling against dissent

Who stole the wildlife parts?

August 26, 2019 02:00 am

Nepal’s old palaces, many of which today house government offices, are also the repository of valuable antiques.

What’s the rationale?

August 22, 2019 02:00 am

On July 31, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli gave the impression that he meant business, seriously. He had the ministers in his cabinet sign performance agreements and instructed that they should deliver as per those agreements.

Do not obstruct justice

August 20, 2019 02:00 am

As the victims of the decade-long insurgency (1996-2006) are voicing their grievances against the government for failing to provide them justice, we have discovered a disturbing development in one of such cases of the conflict era.

High in promise, low in substance

August 19, 2019 02:00 am

Most ministers in K P Sharma Oli’s cabinet have failed to do substantive works, which is why they, including Prime Minister Oli himself, have become the subject of public criticisms.

Read the suicide note

August 14, 2019 02:00 am

When the country’s anti-graft agency, which is largely seen as failing to investigate the high-profile cases and take the accused to the court, is accused of pushing the low-ranking officials to the point of committing suicides for its alleged role in framing them, what will happen to the credibility of the anti-graft body?

Probe the fake credentials

August 13, 2019 02:00 am

We are used to with cases of top government officials, including the chief justice of the Supreme Court, altering date of births in the citizenship certificates and other academic documents to prolong their stay in powerful positions or to claim the benefits from the state.

Anger on the streets

August 12, 2019 02:00 am

People are losing patience and have begun to stage demonstrations against the government for its failure to carry out vital works of road widening and maintenance on time.

Think beyond short-term measures

August 11, 2019 02:30 am

Women in Karnali are dying due to delivery-related complications and the state response to this serious problem has not gone much beyond airlifting of some desperate women to cities including Kathmandu for treatment.

What are we teaching?

August 8, 2019 02:00 am

Nepal has been spending a lot of money for public education. In fiscal year 2017/18, the country allocated Rs 126 billion.

Clean up the mess in CAN

August 7, 2019 02:00 am

Last week was a bit disappointing for Nepali cricket fans as our national cricket team got knocked out from the global qualifiers race after losing the decisive match with Singapore in ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia Region Qualifiers in Singapore.

Probe the crossfire claims

August 6, 2019 02:00 am

At a time Nepal Police is being criticized for its failure to arrest the perpetrators of Nirmala Panta’s rape and murder, it has become the subject of public criticism over its alleged role in ‘killing’ Kumar Paudel, Sarlahi district in-charge of the outfit led by Netra Bikram Chand.

Costs of delay

August 5, 2019 02:00 am

International human rights groups and various international agencies have been pressing the government to resolve transitional justice process by amending Transitional Justice Act in line with Nepal’s commitment to international conventions and verdict of the Supreme Court.

Remove the bottlenecks

August 4, 2019 02:30 am

Promoting breastfeeding in Nepal

Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) issued the monetary policy for the current fiscal year 2019/20 last week. One of the major expectations of the private sector from the central bank’s monetary policy was measures to check the skyrocketing interest rates of bank and financial institutions (BFIs).

Decline in education outcome

July 31, 2019 02:00 am

The result of Grade XII examinations, which was published on Monday, has come as yet another reminder of how quality of education in our schools is declining,

Tiger tiger, rising high

July 30, 2019 02:00 am

Nepal has made an outstanding achievement on conservation sector. Yes, problems remain. Our wild animals still face the threat of being killed, even being extinct.

Source of sorrows

July 29, 2019 02:00 am

When floods and inundations wreak havoc in Nepal’s Tarai plains and elsewhere the issue raised every year is about illegally built structures—dams, embankments, roads etc.

367 days of injustice

July 28, 2019 02:30 am

Nirmala Panta’s rape and murder must have been the only case that agitated the whole nation for justice in recent years, which brought people from various walks of life to the street protests, which dominated media landscape and which attracted attention of the international community.

Walk the talk

July 25, 2019 02:00 am

In May last year, Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa had made a commitment that received a huge public approval.

Setting the right example

July 24, 2019 02:00 am

The constitution of Nepal has fully empowered local governments to work on wide range of issues—from raising taxes of various kinds to managing basic health and sanitation among others.

They defamed Everest. Book them

July 23, 2019 02:00 am

Mount Everest, the icon for which people in the world know this Himalayan republic, received bad press, both at home and abroad in June this year.

Lessons to learn

July 18, 2019 02:00 am

Since the devastating floods and landslides triggered by incessant rains last week ravaged the settlements in various parts of Nepal, mainly in the Tarai plains, political actors have risen up to help the flood-affected people.

The Speaker must be impartial

July 17, 2019 02:00 am

The Speaker of House of Representatives is a neutral arbiter. S/he is supposed to stand above all biases and prejudices.

Come for talks

July 16, 2019 02:00 am

Netra Bikram Chand-led outfit—‘outfit’ because it has not been registered in the Election Commission and it is guided by violence—has to be contained.

Recurring tragedy

July 15, 2019 02:00 am

Deaths, homelessness in floods, landslides

Lesson not learned

July 14, 2019 02:30 am

Tribhuvan International Airport incident

Ailing public health facilities

July 11, 2019 02:00 am

Health service has always figured as the top priority of the state in its policies and legal framework.