Under a winter sky, Nepal meanders through a labyrinth of issues that must be addressed by the government and its citizenry. The complexity of policies, the hurdles in bureaucracy, scarce resource mobility, political volatility, increase in crime, lower quality of life, challenging business environment all point to an erosion of authority, capacity and delivery mechanism over the years.
People only engage with what they believe in and feel ownership of. The government must progress from public control to offer alternatives in bridging the gap between rights driven public models and profit motivated private sector. The social security scheme is case in point. All initiatives that impact the lives of citizenry must be well thought out, planned and executed keeping in mind what impact it will have on all people and not just one segment of populace, in the short, mid and long term.
A few points that the government might consider are:
Ease taxation Encourage private investment in public services Focus on infrastructure development Invest in health and education Zero tolerance on corruption Sustainable and comprehensive planning at local government level Create an enabling environment for FDI Ensure rule of law Promote active civil and social leadership Respond to change effectively Build economic diplomacy with other countries Create a new approach to energy development Develop e-governance Transform how local authorities deal with public Conduct needs assessment of youth Keep trade and economy at top of its agenda Support innovative research and technology
The challenges are great but not insurmountable especially if the government supports active citizenship. Leadership today must go beyond political and party ideology. With changing generations, perhaps it is also time to change definition of these philosophies, and work towards sustainable and scalable economic growth and progress.
Charu Chadha editor
