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Deputy Prime Minister Bamdeb Gautam has said that the Maoist-affiliated trade unions' refusal to cooperate and obey the law is thwarting the government's latest drive to enforce order in casinos.
There are eight casinos in Nepal, targeted at tourists and they employ more than 7,000 Maoist affiliated workers. They argue that without Nepali customers, their jobs would be threatened. But this argument is only a fa?ade. There is reason to believe that corruption and nepotism are other motivating factors since most trade union and YCL leaders have their own relatives enrolled as members at the casinos. In the past, they bribed the police to let Nepalis in?now government officials are taking their share of the pie.
Although they were built for tourists, more Nepalis than visitors frequent casinos. At least 200 Nepalis visit each casino every day. And, the numbers are increasing. If the government wants to enforce the law, it must be determined.
In total, casinos rake in around Rs 5 billion a year with each taking about Rs 1 million a day. Their collective turnover is up, even though tourism is down. Moreover, since most of them are run by foreigners, their profits are not contributing to the Nepali economy.
Besides revealing the lack of power of the executive in Nepal, failure to enforce the law also reflects on the social, economic and cultural instability of the country. The government should not acquiesce to the demands of a single group; instead, it should bring those guilty of disobeying the law to justice.
