 KIRAN PANDAY |
In Nepal, politics is a profession that requires no qualification. While criminals will never be allowed to run a company, there is no law that bars them from running for office. Unfortunately for Nepal, all parties and politicians have taken advantage of this oversight.
Politicians should take guidance from Nandan Nilekani, formerly of Infosys has been offered a cabinet rank and is now running a government program to create an all-purpose ID that will serve many of their holders' official needs. Of course, we have business people in politics and politicians in business in Nepal, but have we ever thought of getting our professionals to help the government?
Had our politicians been better informed they would know about Khimti Project School, which hydropower developer Himal Power started 14 years ago. Today the school's graduates have all passed with first division honors. This proves that although private-public partnership may take time, they do work. We should try to repeat this success elsewhere.
But politicians are not interested in that. Instead, they will demand that these partnerships dole out freebies that will ultimately double their cost and finally thwart them. If grassroots level politicians don't understand that these freebies inflate the cost of production, our 'intellectual' politicians should explain to them just how unreasonable these demands are.
Perhaps the starting point could be for politicians to get to the basics: to establish a code of conduct that self regulates and applies equally to all. Perhaps they don't understand that the free drinks and meals at the parties are the perks political leeches enjoy? Or how much it costs to drive them around in government vehicles?
Nepal's feudal history has created a patronage-based society where everyone in a position of power thinks that they can do whatever they like. But, we are now a people's republic so we should behave like one.
