SINGAPORE - The government of Singapore is embarking on a couple of major long-term projects-blocking off the country's rivers before they get to the sea to reduce its dependence on water from neighbouring Malaysia and, in view of the tourism boom in Macau because of gamblers from mainland China, a $3.2 billion casino and entertainment project. The Las Vegas builder commissioned must have the complex up and running in less than three years, which means an average monthly expenditure of $100 million. That, dear readers, is being proactive.

In Nepal, perhaps due to traditional social conditioning, we are often merely reactive, thinking only of getting through the immediate future. We're hunkering down to live in darkness for the next couple of years because we didn't think a decade ago to allow the private sector in hydropower. Despite the harsh consequences with which we must now live, it seems we are still not thinking ahead to a solution. The same goes for water.

You might think, looking at how families plan dowries and the race to have sons who will light funeral pyres in the future that Nepalis can, in fact be proactive. But consider the realities of the decision-making here: politicians and, by extension, bureaucrats can only think for their short terms in power. Even the private sector is far from blameless-leaders work to be elected to the higher offices of chambers of commerce but, once there, have no plan of action. All of these players are supported by individuals in bilateral and multilateral agencies who themselves have short tenures.

So it happens that people spend more fuel getting to the queues and inching forward than getting anywhere productive. This is so simple, it's incredible we don't get it: petroleum prices are dependent on global markets, and petroleum is not something Nepal has. So why on earth don't we allow a regulated market to take care of demand and supply? Similarly, why can't private firms take the risk to build the plants and trade the power, when Power Purchase Agreements and Survey Licenses and all of that mess clearly doesn't work well enough? It is also no wonder that most people, wary of trade unions, have given up on the idea of any new large-scale labour-intensive projects.

We know it's possible to do things differently, proactively, and make a big difference in the lives of citizens over a relatively short span of time. In four decades Singapore has become a first world country. Malaysia's vision of 2020 has fast-tracked growth and development. Vietnam is following suit.

We don't need to re-invent the wheel but we do need to be proactive enough to build the road on which wheels can run. And to all the doomsday predictors who earn consulting dollars: please, for once, do some proactive thinking about how we can build a better Nepal.