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| English: Top leaders of Nepali Congress –spokesperson Arjun Narsingh KC, vice presidents Prakash Man Singh and Ram Chandra Paudel and acting president Sushil Koirala—during the Central Working Committee meeting held at its central office in Sanepa, Lalitpur on Wednesday, September 15, 2010. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Showing posts with label earthquake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label earthquake. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Political Cynicism At The Very Top
Saturday, May 09, 2015
Scale The Good Work
This is good work, but it needs to be scaled massively.
यसरी पो बाँढ्नु पर्छ राहत
यसरी पो बाँढ्नु पर्छ राहत
'केही बस्ती बाहेका यो क्षेत्रका सबै गाविसका टोल–टोल राहत पुर्याोइसकेका छौं,' गाउँ पुगेका सामग्रीको कम्प्यूटर तथ्यांक देखाउँदै जिशिअ पुरीले नागरिकन्युजसँग भने। ...... कसरी छिटो पुग्न सक्यो त राहत ? सुरुदेखि नै योजना बनाएर काम गरेको टोलीले खासगरी तीन विषयमा ध्यान दिएको पाइयो। .......राहतसहित मधेसले पहाडलाई बाँस पनि पठाउँदै
पहिलो हो, अवरुद्ध सडक खुलाउने, दोस्रोमा राहतलाई एकै ठाउँमा, केन्द्रीकृत गर्ने, व्यक्तिगत सहयोगलाई सहजीकरण गर्ने र तेस्रोमा गाउँमा छुट्टै वितरण संयन्त्र बनाउने ।
...... टोलीले राहत संकलन र वितरणमा अपनाएको पारदर्शिता उत्तिकै लोभ लाग्दो छ। व्यक्ति, समूह, संस्था, व्यवसायिक घरनाले दिएको सामानको विवरण कम्प्यूटरमा राखिएको छ। संकलनलाई आम्दानी र वितरणलाई खर्चमा बाँध्दै दुई खाता सञ्चालनमा ल्याइएको छ। यो बाहेक गाविसै पिच्छै खडा गरिएको अर्को फाइलमा कुन गाउँमा कति राहत पुगेको भन्ने विवरण राखिएको छ । तथ्यांकले टोलीलाई तत्कालै योजना बनाएर काम गर्न सहज बनायो । ...... बिहान काम सुरु गर्नुअघि टोलीले दिनभर के गर्ने योजना बनाउँछ, साँझ कामको समिक्षा गर्छ। 'काममा ढिला सुस्ति आउनसाथ बैठक डाक्छौं। एकै दिन ६ पल्टसम्म बैठक बसेर कमजोरी सच्चाएका छौं,' पुरी सुनाउँछन्। गुल्ममा खडा गरिएको केन्द्रमा धेरै सामान मौज्दात छ। चाहाना अनुसार दातालाई सिधै गाउँ जना दिइएकाले उनीहरु ओइरिरहेका छन्। यो क्षेत्रमा मात्र डेढ दर्जन एनजिओ, आइएनजिओ, व्यवसायिक घराना र डेढ सय भन्दा बढी व्यक्ति, समूहले सहयोग गरेका छन्। ....... गाउँको सुरक्षा, राहत वितरणमा सहयोग पु¥याउन २४ वटै गाविसमा ११ जनाको प्रहरी टोली परिचालन गरिएको छ । दुबै प्रहरी संगठनको संयूक्त टोली गाउँमा गस्ति गरिरहेको छ। ..... 'दुःखमा राज्यको उपस्थितिको प्रत्याभूति दिलाउन सुरक्षाकर्मी खटाएका हौं,' सशस्त्र प्रहरीका डिएसपी रामकृष्ण महर्जनले भने। गाउँका टोलीको मद्दतका लागि थप प्रहरी माग गरिएको उनले जनाए।
Nepal Government Responds To Criticism
From the horse’s mouth by Leela Mani Paudyal
I get the impression he has attempted to dodge some of the concrete questions that have been raised. There is a vague appeal to work together. And there is no concrete proposal for a new level of transparency.
पुलिस र सेनाको एक महिनाको तलब काट्दिएको हो?
Massive Corruption At The Airport?
Making Nepal Different From Haiti
नेपाल सरकार कि विदेशी सरकार --- प्रश्न नै गलत
हेटी ले सिकाउने: घुस खाने कि तलब खाने?
The Government Under A Cloud
The Nepal Army Has Been Doing Exemplary Work
हो, सरकार अक्षम्य रुपले असफल भएको हो
A Corrupt Elite Rattled By The Earthquake
नेपालमा एउटा अहिंसात्मक कोतपर्व को खाँचो
Outlines Of A 100% Online Transparency Bill
command centers at the central level under the secretary of Ministry of Home Affairs and in districts under Chief District Officers were established within two hours of the first earthquake on April 25 ...... trained security personnel were deployed and helicopters sent for search and rescue operations in all the affected districts immediately. ........ Central Disaster Relief Committee meeting followed by the meeting of secretaries took place on the same afternoon and it took more than a dozen important decisions to mobilize resources for search and rescue. On the same day, all agencies dealing with essential services like communication, power, road, water supply and transportation, etc. were asked to run 24/7. Water supply was a bit sluggish, as were transportation and power service. The delay in resuming road maintenance and water supply was due to the unavailability of many skilled operators who were themselves victims of the disaster. On the other hand, the communication sector was among the quick respondents. ........ Many public servants resumed their service, risking their lives, even amidst repeated aftershocks. An electrical worker fell off a pole in Kathmandu while repairing transmission line due to an aftershock. But major road blockades were cleared by Sunday evening, power in many places in Kathmandu Valley had resumed by that time, and communication improved a lot. Around 22,500 public servants, 65,000 army personnel, 45,000 police and 25,000 Armed Police Force were at work by Sunday afternoon. ........ we have rough data from the VDCs about the number of affected households, schools and health posts that collapsed as well as public utilities that were damaged. ..... Recently, we have deployed about 1,800 officers in 14 affected districts, along with an 11-member team including doctors and engineers for each VDC. ....... This team will help control post disaster epidemic, collect data of losses, distribute relief materials and prepare physical plan. ....... Teams led by secretaries at the district level and joint secretaries in each constituency were deputed on the fourth day of the disaster. This is the highest-level deployment ever at the local level. As of today, altogether 56 joint secretaries and 14 secretaries are mobilized for this. ........ Our public servants were involved in search, rescue, treatment and maintenance of public utilities. ........ Transport entrepreneurs' apathy to the trouble of commoners after earthquake was a shocking phenomenon in a civilized society. There was similar response from the suppliers/manufacturers of essential services. People working there could not demonstrate magnanimity in these troubled times. ......... Even after facing this great tragedy some people were engaged in self-serving activities. Essential service providers, almost all, were out of business in Kathmandu after April 25 demanding water, tents, transportation and other essentials services from the government. How a poor government can supply all those services without their help? ........ We have requested every individual and organization to coordinate with CDOs at district level. One can help CDOs to make sure relief materials reach the needy. There have been false media reports about the government trying to control individual efforts, barring private sector's efforts, etc. Same bloggers used derogatory words against the government. ..... The PM's Fund is used in relief and rescue. The major contributor of this fund is the Government itself. A separate window is created to ensure quick release of fund in case of emergency without any hassles under present budgetary system. The record from the past several years proves that a ninety five percent of the contribution is from government's treasury. This goes through three channels and is fully accounted for and audited by Auditor General and is scrutinized by the CIAA in case of discrepancies.......... But we believe that no one can collect donations in the name of disaster from general public without prior government approval. This is the law of the land. ...... If the people of social and political stature derogate, demoralize, haggle with and try to use public officials for petty/personal or institutional benefit, the efficiency of this moderately operating system will be affected. ......... Some of you have lauded foreign workers while underrating national response. ...... Glorifying outsiders or non-governmental sector and belittling national system only strengthens outsiders and weakens the country. ............. Let us make government system strong and capable by joining hands with it, and making it accountable. ....... With the help of civil society, learned people and private sector working together, the government can hope to ensure equitable distribution. Otherwise, the powerful will continue to grab more and more, at the cost of the deprived. ....... With a stronger government, our national capabilities to deal with foreigners will be strengthened.
I get the impression he has attempted to dodge some of the concrete questions that have been raised. There is a vague appeal to work together. And there is no concrete proposal for a new level of transparency.
पुलिस र सेनाको एक महिनाको तलब काट्दिएको हो?
Massive Corruption At The Airport?
Making Nepal Different From Haiti
नेपाल सरकार कि विदेशी सरकार --- प्रश्न नै गलत
हेटी ले सिकाउने: घुस खाने कि तलब खाने?
The Government Under A Cloud
The Nepal Army Has Been Doing Exemplary Work
हो, सरकार अक्षम्य रुपले असफल भएको हो
A Corrupt Elite Rattled By The Earthquake
नेपालमा एउटा अहिंसात्मक कोतपर्व को खाँचो
Outlines Of A 100% Online Transparency Bill
Thursday, May 07, 2015
A Marshall Plan Is Possible Through 100% Online Transparency
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| Logo used on aid delivered to European countries during the Marshall Plan. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Needed: A Marshall Plan
governance in Nepal was a disaster zone even before the earthquake. ..... Slow delivery of services, lack of coordination, mismanagement, ad hoc decisions and corruption have been the hallmarks of our soft state. Despite the restoration of democracy and regular elections, accountability has somehow always fallen between the cracks. Leaders who traditionally thrived on patronage have felt no need for performance-based legitimacy. ...... How could we expect the Nepali state to become the epitome of efficient management and speedy delivery overnight, just because there was an earthquake? ....... It would have streamlined procedures to receive maximum assistance instead of creating hurdles, it would have expedited delivery of urgent medical and food supplies to remote areas instead of letting it pile up at the airport, it would have encouraged donations to pour in instead of creating obstacles and obfuscation. ...... what we saw were politicians and bureaucrats showing the same inertia and lethargy as they have during ‘normal’ times. They pushed paper, waited for rubber stamps and ‘clearance from higher-up authorities’ as if it was just another humdrum day in our banana republic. All right, we’ll say it:
the bureaucratic delays in the initial days after the quake cost lives. The earthquake killed people, red tape killed many of the survivors.
........ The Prime Minister toured Sindhupalchok by air 10 days after the earthquake, Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal has been holed up in a secluded villa in Man Bhavan for the past week, and only briefly gate-crashed a relief distribution event organised by the Guru Dwara. The President, it must be said, shunned media attention and made low-key personal visits to ruins of Kathmandu’s historic heart. ..... And when the politicians and the government did act decisively, it was to spread even more hopelessness and confusion. Just like the famously absurd sound bite by a palace official after the royal massacre in 2001 about it having been caused by the “accidental discharge of an automatic weapon” this time too, officials were busy shooting themselves in the foot every time they opened their mouths. .......... The Central Bank issued a dreadful statement that all earthquake aid had to be channeled through the Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund (‘otherwise they will be seized’) that immediately halted most emergency cash donations from abroad. The PMO tried to clarify it was only for NGOs set up after 25 April for earthquake relief, but its interpretation sowed even more confusion. Then some wiseguy in government said we don’t need any more aid. Not to be outdone, another smartass told foreign rescue workers “we don’t need you anymore we can handle it ourselves”. The government is the subject of ridicule across the world, it is squandering the goodwill that Nepal and Nepalis command internationally – testament to which is the tremendous and prompt delivery of relief flights.......... The Army and Armed Police together have 120,000 personnel deployed in the 12 districts, and by all accounts have gone beyond the call of duty, despite their own family tragedies, in search, rescue and ferrying supplies. Civil society, individuals, overseas Nepalis and the private sector have stepped in to fill the gaps. ......... In the short-term there is still the need to get emergency food, medicine and shelter to the areas where they are most needed. In the medium term, we will have to turn our attention to semi-permanent housing as well help with seeds for the planting season as the rainy season approaches. This is of vital importance so subsistence farmers who have lost their granaries have something to eat in the coming year and will not have to depend on outside food aid. Then there is the colossal need for reconstruction of the 300,000 homes and 15,000 schools that have been destroyed. ........ This needs a Marshall Plan type movement with seamless coordination between the government, local bodies, the international community, the UN and the multilateral agencies. By now we have plenty of lessons learnt from Haiti to Haiyan about how to best manage the rehabilitation of vast populations. No two countries are alike, but there are red flags about where things went dreadfully wrong elsewhere, and why things worked brilliantly in places. ....... more than anything else, we in Nepal need to turn this tectonic shift into a paradigm shift in the way we govern ourselves, how we plan, move towards a renewable energy economy, be more self-sufficient, enforce urban planning, zoning and safe housing regulations, and decentralise decision-making. ....... Nepal has turned into a no-man’s land because of overseas out migration. Village after village devastated by the earthquake have only women, children and the elderly.
नेपाल सरकार कि विदेशी सरकार --- प्रश्न नै गलत
अहिले नेपालमा व्यापक छलफल भएको छ ----- राहत र पुनर्निर्माण को पैसा कसले खर्च गर्ने? नेपाल सरकार ले गर्ने कि विदेशी सरकार र संस्था हरुले। प्रधान मंत्री राहत कोष को कुरा आएको छ। हेटी को कुरा आएको छ।
नेपाल सरकार कि विदेशी सरकार --- त्यो प्रश्न नै गलत हो। राहत र पुनर्निर्माण को पैसा सबै प्रधान मंत्री राहत कोष मा हाल्ने हो भने अर्को जाजरकोट हुने हो। राहत र पुनर्निर्माण को पैसा सबै प्रधान मंत्री राहत कोष मा हाल्ने कि नहालने --- त्यो प्रश्न पनि अव्यवहारिक छ ---- नेपालको संसदले हाल्ने भनेर निर्णय गरेमा हालिने होइन। अरुको पैसा के गर्छ उसको निर्णय हुन्छ।
मुख्य कुरा हो राहत र पुनर्निर्माण हुनुपर्यो। सहयोग पाउनु पर्ने ले पाउनुपर्यो। बढ़ी भन्दा बढ़ी सहयोग हुनुपर्यो।
I believe this is the solution: Outlines Of A 100% Online Transparency Bill.
हेटी ले सिकाउने: घुस खाने कि तलब खाने?
The Government Under A Cloud
100% Online Transparency Not Just For Nepal Government
The Nepal Army Has Been Doing Exemplary Work
हो, सरकार अक्षम्य रुपले असफल भएको हो
Massive Infrastructure, Massive Growth
Digital Sharing: How It Could Work
Exemplary Relief And Reconstruction Through Digital Sharing
Time For The People To Revolt Against Corruption
A Corrupt Elite Rattled By The Earthquake
नेपालमा एउटा अहिंसात्मक कोतपर्व को खाँचो
Outlines Of A 100% Online Transparency Bill
The Perfect Time
Complaining About Tuna And Mayonnaise
सरकारले काम गरेको कि नगरेको?
भारतको रोल, चीनको रोल, नेपालको आफ्नो रोल
The Corrupt Ones Are Worried About Money Laundering
What Kills? Earthquakes? Collapsing Buildings? Or Corrupt Governments?
Shesh Ghale Tells It Like It Is
Mass Action For Relief And Reconstruction
An Insane Act By The Nepal Government
Criminal Acts By The Political Leadership
My Article On Nepal Earthquake For Foreign Policy: Draft 1
नेपाल सरकार कि विदेशी सरकार --- त्यो प्रश्न नै गलत हो। राहत र पुनर्निर्माण को पैसा सबै प्रधान मंत्री राहत कोष मा हाल्ने हो भने अर्को जाजरकोट हुने हो। राहत र पुनर्निर्माण को पैसा सबै प्रधान मंत्री राहत कोष मा हाल्ने कि नहालने --- त्यो प्रश्न पनि अव्यवहारिक छ ---- नेपालको संसदले हाल्ने भनेर निर्णय गरेमा हालिने होइन। अरुको पैसा के गर्छ उसको निर्णय हुन्छ।
मुख्य कुरा हो राहत र पुनर्निर्माण हुनुपर्यो। सहयोग पाउनु पर्ने ले पाउनुपर्यो। बढ़ी भन्दा बढ़ी सहयोग हुनुपर्यो।
I believe this is the solution: Outlines Of A 100% Online Transparency Bill.
हेटी ले सिकाउने: घुस खाने कि तलब खाने?
The Government Under A Cloud
100% Online Transparency Not Just For Nepal Government
The Nepal Army Has Been Doing Exemplary Work
हो, सरकार अक्षम्य रुपले असफल भएको हो
Massive Infrastructure, Massive Growth
Digital Sharing: How It Could Work
Exemplary Relief And Reconstruction Through Digital Sharing
Time For The People To Revolt Against Corruption
A Corrupt Elite Rattled By The Earthquake
नेपालमा एउटा अहिंसात्मक कोतपर्व को खाँचो
Outlines Of A 100% Online Transparency Bill
The Perfect Time
Complaining About Tuna And Mayonnaise
सरकारले काम गरेको कि नगरेको?
भारतको रोल, चीनको रोल, नेपालको आफ्नो रोल
The Corrupt Ones Are Worried About Money Laundering
What Kills? Earthquakes? Collapsing Buildings? Or Corrupt Governments?
Shesh Ghale Tells It Like It Is
Mass Action For Relief And Reconstruction
An Insane Act By The Nepal Government
Criminal Acts By The Political Leadership
My Article On Nepal Earthquake For Foreign Policy: Draft 1
Wednesday, May 06, 2015
The Government Under A Cloud
Could Nepal’s messy politics hamper relief efforts?
Big earthquakes happen in Nepal roughly once a century. More than 7,000 died in the last one in January 1934, a life-defining caesura for those old enough to remember it ..... Nepal’s ability to co-ordinate efforts unfortunately look likely to be hampered by unresolved political issues and a lack of strong leadership. ..... It might be tempting to think that delays over writing Nepal’s long-awaited constitution don’t matter, that life can go on as normal without political resolution (and many Nepalis, bored with the games of political musical chairs in Kathmandu, had begun to think just that). But the earthquake shows just how vital it is to have political institutions that work, both at the centre and, even more importantly, at the local level. ..... Panchayat rule was milder than the preceding Ranas – it was more nationalist and developmentalist and spoke the language of democracy and equality. But it was ruthless with opponents, banned political parties, and, in practice,उद्धार र राहतमा भेदभाव भएको छैन: सरकार
institutionalised ethnic and social exclusion
...... Even when hostilities ceased and parliament was reinstated, the old game of sharing the spoils in a series of coalition governments continued. The hard work of thrashing out what a new reconstructed federal state would look like was repeatedly put off to the last minute. ..... Earlier this year, the prime minister himself torpedoed any chance of compromise and the timely declaration of a new constitution, as success would have meant handing over his job to his UML counterpart, as part of a coalition deal. ..... The fact that Koirala is 75 and and physically weak does not help in producing a vigorous response to the crisis. The lack of strong, co-ordinated leadership at the top is evident. ..... Apart from coming up with a constitution, there is a great deal of unfinished business from ten years of civil war, which will inevitably be put off still further by this natural disaster. One important example is the Truth and Reconciliation Commission which is supposed to look at serious human rights abuses that occurred during the war. Another, which really should have been dealt with by now, is local elections.
पछिल्ला खोज तथा राहत काठमाण्डू, गोरखा र सिन्धुपाल्चोकमा बढी केन्द्रीत रहेको भन्दै अति प्रभावित दुर्गम पहाडी गाउँहरुमा पनि राहत पुर्याउनुपर्ने आवश्यकता औल्याएको थियो। .... अबको ६ हप्तापछि सुरु हुने भनिएको वर्षायाम अघि नै भूकम्प प्रभावित सबै स्थानमा दिगो उद्धार तथा राहत पुर्याइसक्नुपर्ने जोड राष्ट्रसंघको रहँदै आएको छ।सहयाेग रकम दातृ निकाय आफैं खर्च गर्ने धुनमा
मुलुकलाई राहत र पुन:स्थापनाका लागि रकम आवश्यक भइरहेका बेला अधिकांश दातृ निकाय भने सिधै गैरसरकारी संस्थामार्फत खर्च गर्न खोजिरहेका छन्। सरकारले सहयोग रकम प्रधानमन्त्री दैवीप्रकोप उद्धार कोषमा दाखिला गर्नुपर्ने अनिवार्य व्यवस्था गरेपछि लबिङमा लागेका दातृ निकायले सोमबार परराष्ट्र मन्त्रालयमा भएको छलफलमा यसलाई प्रमुखताका साथ उठाएका थिए। ..... दातृ निकायले हालसम्म रकम कबोलेर करिब ३ अर्ब रुपैयाँबराबरको प्रतिबद्धता जनाइसकेका छन्। तर, कुनै पनि रकम प्रधानमन्त्री दैवीप्रकोप उद्धार कोषमा जम्मा भइसकेको छैन। सरकारले अहिले मुलुकभित्र दुई वा दुईभन्दा बढीबाट उठाइने रकम र विदेशी सहायता कोषमार्फत परिचालन गर्नुपर्ने व्यवस्था गरेको छ। दातृ निकायले अनौपचारिक रूपमा सरकारको खर्च गर्ने संयन्त्र कमजोर भएको र जवाफदेहिता पनि नरहने दाबी गर्दै कोषमा रकम दाखिला गर्न चाहिरहेका छैनन्।Nepal's disastrous politics could hold back its recovery
Over the past nine years, Nepal has had eight prime ministers. The country still has no permanent constitution. And the same vested interests that once shaped its civil war, have become entrenched once again in its politics.Bureaucratising relief
according to one international rescue and relief worker, in the four days after the earthquake, over 200 international teams had arrived in the country. Coordination for any functioning government would be an uphill challenge. ...... But this is not just ‘any government’ and it has never been the most ‘functioning’ even before the earthquake ....... an issue of a ‘lingering lack of governance’ ..... The state, based on inherited feudal structures and cultures of government, has built upon and expanded patronage networks prioritising the distribution of state funds among elites (read the now resurrected all-party-mechanisms [APM]) and has continued to treat inhabitants as subjects and not rights-bearing equal citizens. ........According to an international relief worker, in the immediate days following the earthquake, the Israeli rescue and relief team had been ready to take off in its helicopter at the airport at 6.30am. However, they were made to wait until 9am when the bureaucrat whose signature they required to be able to fly in the helicopter, arrived for work. Such permissions are still required on a day by day basis. When every second counts to save lives, especially in the early days of rescue, the feudal state mechanisms ambled, and ambles, on; literally causing death by bureaucracy. ......... The same feudal logic informs the holding up of vital relief supplies at the airport. Home Ministry spokesman Laxmi Prasad Dhakal is quoted as saying the inspection of all goods from overseas “is something we need to do”. At a time of emergency, that what the government ‘needs to do’ is save lives appears to be missed. An international source stated that a few days ago, a Japanese team had arrived ready to spring into action at 7am but were forced to wait until they received their goods 12 hours later. How many lives could have been saved in that time? ....... Official clarifications that organised relief materials and ‘individual’ relief materials are not taxed, but the latter require additional paperwork and post-work confirmation have been useful. However, doubts have been raised on the actual implementation of these rules. That taxes on tents and tarpaulins were only lifted on Friday raises the issue of how Nepali custom officials had defined relief materials before this date and what had and had not been consequently taxed. There are reports from the eastern part of the Tarai of taxation on relief materials crossing the border by land. ....... “The taxes the state is forgoing is not trivial…It wants to ensure that the implicit state subsidy is targeted towards genuine relief. Do not underestimate the scale of cheating that goes on when there is no monitoring or voluntary code of honour in place.” .......
here the ‘business as usual’ mentality holds sway in the face of the biggest tragedy the nation has faced in decades. Concern over loss to the national treasury trumps the need to save lives. Underlying the monetisation and clear devaluation of people’s lives is the logic of a state that seeks not to serve citizens, but to accumulate power to justify its existence along feudal lines of authority.
...... “Lying by the road in the village was a pile of supplies under tarpaulins. These had been delivered by the government the previous evening. However, the officers at the small police station there had not been authorised to distribute them, so they lay untouched.” ........ it has been the internationals and the non-state sector (with the exception of the Nepal Army) which have played key roles in responding to the needs of the people. With few exceptions, the state has so far performed miserably in the aftermath of the earthquake. While there is a real need to not undermine state authority, and indeed to build state capacity, it must be made clear that rebuilding/strengthening a feudal state is not the goal. The feudal legacy embedded in an antiquated bureaucracy and reinforced by a political elite centered on power and its preservation, must be fiercely critiqued and resisted by all citizens. Prioritisation of the lives of citizens—not the policing of restrictive rules in a time of emergency—should be central. The expedient delivery of relief materials from the airport and other locations to citizens in need must take precedence.
In The News (5)
Nepalis in New York Improvise a Relief Effort for Earthquake Victims
Most Nepalis here have sidestepped the major international humanitarian organizations, which many view as slow or inefficient. Nearly all have avoided the Nepali government, calling it ineffective and corrupt. They have instead sent money and goods to their homeland through grass-roots Nepali groups, or directly to relatives and friends...... the largest enclaves in the Queens neighborhoods of Corona, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, Ridgewood, Sunnyside and Woodside, as well as in Midwood in Brooklyn ..... In recent days, Western aid organizations and governments complained that Nepali bureaucratic procedures were holding up relief supplies at the Kathmandu airport. Representatives of Heartbeat have sent a request through their social media networks that travelers bound for Nepal consider using part of their luggage allotment to carry relief supplies.Nepal’s Young Men, Lost to Migration, Then a Quake
When the dense pillar of smoke from cremations by the Bagmati River was thinning late last week, the bodies were all coming from Gongabu, a common stopover for Nepali migrant workers headed overseas, and they were all of young men. ...... The countryside was largely stripped of its healthy young men even before the quake, as they migrated in great waves — 1,500 a day by some estimates — to work as laborers in India, Malaysia or one of the gulf nations, leaving many small communities populated only by elderly parents, women and children. Economists say that at some times of the year, one-quarter of Nepal’s population is working outside the country. ...... unless the government acts swiftly to create work opportunities at home, the exodus of young people will accelerate after the relief operation ends, permanently handicapping the country’s ability to rebuild. ..... The Gongabu neighborhood was one of the deadliest places in Kathmandu. It is an area where recruiting agencies housed young village men awaiting work overseas, with several thousand budget hotels and guesthouses crammed in lanes near the long-distance bus station. ..... The scale of the economic migration from Nepal has amazed development economists for many years. ..... Today, manufacturing contributes only 6 percent of the country’s gross domestic product ...... The earthquake will make things much harder for the country’s poorest people, especially in rural areas where most Nepalis live. ..... The tourism industry, which had been growing and contributing about 9 percent of the country’s output, is now expected to drop off sharply. ..... many will decide that they can best help their families by going abroad and sending their earnings homeWith Monsoon Nigh, Tent Shortage After Nepal Earthquake Prompts a D.I.Y. Response
The monsoon is expected in about three days. ...... An entire Toyota dealership is now assembling tents — one every minute....... The estimated need is for 500,000 tents by the end of the week. The government thinks that with current supplies they can obtain 300,000 rectangles of canvas, and are uncertain where the rest will come from. ...... There is no immediate solution for permanent structures that will be needed for the coming winterAmid Katmandu’s Earthquake Wreckage, Hints of a Shift to Safer Construction
Progress would be a good thing, because this earthquake is not nearly Katmandu’s “big one.” A closer quake of similar magnitude is inevitable, although seismologists cannot say how soon...... In 1960, a 9.5-magnitude earthquake struck Chile, after which the country embarked on a massive earthquake-safety program and enforcing new building codes. By contrast, Haiti did nothing during this period, lulled into complacency by a lack of seismic activity and hampered by constant political unrest and extreme poverty. ..... “only about 10 percent of the country’s buildings are designed by engineers – and they typically aren’t even at the construction site as their building rises.” ...... “In an environment of poverty and corruption, rigorous building codes do more harm than good.”
100% Online Transparency Not Just For Nepal Governemnt
Actually it might primarily be for foreign governments.
100% online transparency would show things like, look, US citizen, Binod Chaudhary built 10,000 homes and 100 schools with a 25 crore donation, but your government has spent 2500 crores and built only 5,000 homes ---- where did the money go?
Each declared donation would be directly linked to all the resultant specific projects on the ground.
The biggest donors are all democracies. They answer to their people. And their people will not know to ask the right questions unless they have the information. You build the pressure through 100% online transparency.
The NGOs doing the best work would surface up. And that would create an environment for them to raise more money to do more good work.
Tuesday, May 05, 2015
Massive Infrastructure, Massive Growth
What needs to be done is fairly simple. Which means Nepal has been paying a huge price for corruption, political incompetence, and the ethnic myopia of its current crop of leaders. One more revolution (this time electoral) has become necessary.
India was richer than China in 1990, measured by per capital income. China happened right before your eyes, and you know it. 20 years would be enough time to turn Nepal into a living, breathing China, economically speaking. All you have to do is clean up the politics, get rid of the entire political class. They had their chance, and they blew it. Get in some new blood.
Those who are saying this is not the time for politics, this is the time for relief work are either dishonest, or ignorant and misguided. This is precisely the time to clean up the politics. If you can bring about 100% online transparency, that would kick start the system.
The work is obvious.
India was richer than China in 1990, measured by per capital income. China happened right before your eyes, and you know it. 20 years would be enough time to turn Nepal into a living, breathing China, economically speaking. All you have to do is clean up the politics, get rid of the entire political class. They had their chance, and they blew it. Get in some new blood.
Those who are saying this is not the time for politics, this is the time for relief work are either dishonest, or ignorant and misguided. This is precisely the time to clean up the politics. If you can bring about 100% online transparency, that would kick start the system.
The work is obvious.
- Broadband is at the top of the list when it comes to infrastructure talk today. Get broadband to a village before you get a road there, and people could go to college right there, and they could engage in global ecommerce.
- Roads and bridges are important. The political elite in Kathmandu has been doing all it can to make sure the Hulaki Rajmarg in the Terai does not get built, they hate Madhesis so much. The truth is, if you build that highway, that makes the Terai vibrant, and less Nepalis will end up abroad. If you are against sex trafficking, build the Hulaki Rajmarga.
- Revolutionary education. This is the centerpiece. How fast can you take 100% of the population, young and old, through high school? How fast can you take 50% through college? You do that much, and you are a first world country. You have to use technology. You use the FM radio. Beam out lessons over the air. Adults too proud to attend school will tune in. Use MOOCs (Massively Open Online Courses) for the college part.
- Health. Here I admire Mao and Fidel. You train health care workers and teachers on a massive scale. And deploy.
- A business friendly policy environment. Modi is not a corporate stooge. He realizes that the government's budget is small. For all that he wants to do, he has no option but to involve the private sector. A small, effective government does the trick. FDI is key. The single, best, easiest thing to do there is to do the dual citizenship thing that the NRNs want. Let the diaspora bring in global money. You could bring in FDI, or you could send cheap labor to Qatar. Take your pick.
- Once these basics are put in place, Hydro and Biotech and all the fancy stuff happen on their own.
But it all starts with clean politics. I say it is Kotparva time.
Monday, May 04, 2015
The Earthquake And Federalism
An Appeal for Decentralization: Nepal’s Earthquake Politics
nothing can really prepare a nation for a disaster of this magnitude. ...... The earthquake gives a whole new meaning to what state restructuring will entail. ...... Nepal has been struggling with what Heather Hindman has termed “long-term provisionality” due to the lack of national political progress and regular turn-over of governments. There have not been local elections since 1997, leaving villages and towns at the mercy of the whims of appointed bureaucrats and, for a time between 2008 and 2012, their local political leaders through “All Party Mechanisms.” Development and resource allocation from the center to the local level has been inconsistent and citizens have few means of accountability. ........ The government plays a minimal role in many people’s lives. Consistent shortages of electricity, water, and fuel have forced communities and families to be creative in building their private infrastructure just to get on with daily life. Many of the Kathmandu valley’s new wells come from communities boring for much needed water and a number of villages have learned if they want a road, they must build it. ....... The largest oversight in the government’s disaster preparedness is the lack of robust, empowered local governance. ....... Nepal’s constituent assembly government needs to stand true to the promises of the 2006 People’s Movement. The underpinning logic for federalism was to devolve power from the center, Kathmandu, and relegate it to the provinces in order to create more regional autonomy. The ongoing debates over the federal state structure and nomenclature have focused on ethnicity and identity-based rights. These issues are central to addressing the many histories of marginalization and healing the wounds of a decade of civil war. However, these disputes obscure the fact that
there is little political will among Nepal’s politicians to decentralize power
. All of the parties are stuck in the centralized, top-down mode of governing .....
Imagine if robust local and regional governance had existed when this earthquake hit? Then the relief efforts would not be mimicking the ad hoc approach the central government has taken to governing and state restructuring over the last seven years.
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