A Year of Government: A Message of Political Stability

Even if the government of two main competing parties is numerically strong, there are some complications in the operation of the government in terms of political psychology. Even if a small decision is made, the decision-making process is complex, drawn-out and long because both parties keep thinking that their competitor is here.

Shrawn 2, 2082

Bishnu Rijal

A Year of Government: A Message of Political Stability

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In a country where the government changes frequently, it is not unusual to have a discussion about the achievements of the joint government and the expectations from it, when the government should be considered successful for one year.

According to the seven-point agreement between the two major parties - Nepali Congress and CPN (UML) on June 17, 2081, the chairman of CPN (UML) KP Sharma Oli, who was appointed as the Prime Minister on June 29, took the oath two days later on June 31.

Even when the two major parties form a government together, there is no shortage in building the psychology of setting the life of the government like every month and now the government will collapse. However, due to the high level of understanding and agreement between the top leadership of the two power partners, a reliable foundation has been prepared that the same equation will continue for the rest of the period.

Even though they do not have enough numbers, the Maoist circle, which is leading the power by fighting the two big parties in turn, repeatedly claims that the government will fall by setting a period, and when the internal strife within the ruling Congress itself spills out in public from time to time, although the work of the government has been affected, the message of political stability has flowed. 

From this, it is clear that the two parties are committed to the agreement that the government will run under the leadership of Prime Minister Oli for another year and after that, Congress Chairman Sher Bahadur Deuba will lead the government for one and a half years. The Prime Minister himself has repeatedly reminded the people of his government's lifespan and made his commitment a matter of public concern, assuring the citizens to be sure of the government's continuity.

Although the government of the two major competing parties is numerically strong, there are some complications in the operation of the government in terms of political psychology. A year's experience has shown that even when making a small decision, the decision-making process is complex, drawn-out and long, as both parties keep in mind that their competitor is here.

Although Prime Minister Oli has a strong will, good decision-making ability and the ability to judge people, the government's ability is being questioned due to the fact that he cannot run without agreement with the power partner party. For example, the tug-of-war over the appointment of the Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank can be taken.

When both the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister are from the same party, the appointment process was delayed by one and a half months when the Congress "bargained" that the Governor should be appointed as per their wishes and recommendations. In the general practice of running the government, it is easy for him to take charge of the efficiency and merits of the ministry when the appointments under that ministry are made on his recommendation. However, the Congress took such a stand on the Rashtra Bank that, after the atmosphere was created that the government would be at the top or the bottom, a situation arose where a non-political person should be appointed. Although

is not part of it, the continuous pressure of the Congress on the appointments under the Ministry of Finance has not only brought into question the qualifications of the persons appointed there, but also the qualifications of the government itself have been raised. In order to correct such trends, there should be consensus at the political level regarding political appointments, performance determination and responsibilities.

is the economic sector where the government made major reforms during the year. The figures obtained show that the government has been successful in this. When the government was formed, the country's economic situation was mainly mentioned in the seven-point agreement. During this period, the size of the economy increased by 4 trillion to 61 trillion. Laws have been reformed to facilitate business.

The morale of the private sector has increased, the investment environment has been created. Steps have been taken to cut unnecessary expenditure, efforts have been made to make government agencies more business-friendly. Despite this, it is a matter of concern that the government's spending capacity has not improved. Capital expenditure has not risen above 60 percent.

Administrative expenses are increasing in the name of ordinary expenses, but the limited capital budget allocated for development cannot be spent without improving the development goals. A strong and effective government can only be felt by the people when the reflection of development is reflected.

There is no situation to get discount just because the whole budget could not be spent due to the plans and budget allocated by the government before it did not match the reality. Because, we don't have to wait much time to calculate how much the budget made by ourselves will be implemented this year.

No matter how many differences there are between the political parties of Nepal, if they did not stand together on the main issue, neither today's change would be possible, nor would it be possible to face the challenges faced by the Federal Democratic Republic. It has proved to be a watershed because the major parties have stood together against those who are trying to create chaos, despair and resentment in the society in the daydream of restoration of the so-called monarchy.

Likewise, in order to complete the remaining works of the peace process, as well as the creation of laws, the commissions on truth and reconciliation and investigation of missing citizens have also been created in agreement. The parties are also on the same page on bills like education and civil affairs.

Prime Minister Oli has shown that cooperation between disagreements is the main link of democracy by promoting the practice of providing information and discussion among the top leaders of major parties. Being able to sit at the same table and talk when necessary, even if they criticize and abuse each other for consumption in public events, is the unity among diversity in a democracy.

In terms of conducting foreign affairs, the government seems to be away from momentary gains and losses and excitement. Due to the deep influence of neighboring India on the Nepali intellectual community, media and analysts, comments are being made that the Prime Minister of Nepal will not be considered successful unless he visits India, but Prime Minister Oli has continued his established height of national self-respect by not doing any unwanted activities for his power-security.

While visiting the northern neighbor China and signing the famous Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), he has reflected Nepal's independent stance and foreign policy by building national consensus and not on the draft sent by the Chinese side, but on the draft he created. In the meantime, routine business with India has not stopped.

Not only did he not follow the tradition of going to India as soon as he became the Prime Minister of Nepal and being prepared to raise only the issues they wanted to on the condition of being allowed to go to India, Prime Minister Oli did not want to go to Delhi just to take pictures until there was an atmosphere of solid agreement on the solution of the problems between the two countries, so there was no adverse effect on Nepal-India relations.

In the meantime, having two conversations with the Indian Prime Minister in New York and Bangkok and having three telephone conversations even after the Pahalgam incident should be taken as a sign of ease in the relationship between the two countries. Nepal has made the world aware of its concerns and sensitivities by successfully organizing 'Sagarmatha Samvad'.

The country expects many major reforms and reforms. It is not possible to address today's expectations with routine inauguration, foundation laying, release, observation, instruction etc. It is too late to enhance the capacity of the state for that. Government decisions are rendered ineffective by a small interest group. The teachers come to the streets, the government is forced to compromise that we will bring the education act as they say. Doctors come to the streets to cancel the provision that doctors should be held accountable if they treat patients wrongly, the government is forced to accept their demands. 

Even when the employees are protesting inside the Singh Darbar, the government seems innocent. So much so that the government is forced to take back the decision regarding 'ride sharing' to transport passengers cheaply by breaking the syndicate. The university has been held hostage by the student organization of the ruling party.

The professors are protesting against the introduction of high-quality, foreign-educated, university-educated personnel who do not have to take study leave after getting a job. No matter how strong the government is, the state itself is seen as harmless. In fact, the recent developments have shown that the state should be strong for the citizens to be strong. 

A strong state does not mean being autocratic and authoritarian, but rather being more transparent and able to enforce the law. On the one hand, they are trying to curb the effectiveness of the cabinet by hanging the sword of the court on the head of the government, on the other hand, we have become so much right-oriented that only the police and the army have yet to open a trade union organization. If this vision cannot be broken, no matter how many chakravartis the ruler is, his pulse will not melt. Undoubtedly, the government is strong. 

Also, we need an effective government, which can spend the minimum allocated budget, does not repeatedly kneel to the unwanted demands of different groups, can address the psychology of citizens in a legal manner. Now in Nepal, the government is the government. "Minimum Government" should be "Maximum Government". However, the opposite is happening here. The government that should be found during a disaster is not found, the construction of a highway that collapsed a year ago is in the process of contracting until the next monsoon.

And the biggest irony is that even when there are big accusations of corruption, ministers are seen making confident speeches about good governance. No matter how strong the government is, effective government is not possible without improving these issues. If the government made up of two major parties can't do it, if negative psychology is created that they can't, there is a danger that Mission-84 will boomerang. For that, on the one hand, on the basis of political consensus, constitutional amendment and law making, and on the other hand, effective law enforcement can only be justified. 

Bishnu

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