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While the leaders and we—the writers, ana­lysts, scholars and elites or what have you—are obsessed with our relations with neigh­bors (which I too am guilty of), and promoting and institution­alizing democracy in the coun­try (which I am not guilty of), the common citizens of Nepal have different priorities altogeth­er. They rightly believe that both of our neighbors will keep on doing what they are doing and we will be doing whatever we are doing until now, so except for the occasional beer or local brew sessions with friends, for­eign policy is not a priority for most of them. (Once the drinking session is over, the obsession with the foreigners and their activities is also over—well, until the next booze fest). Similarly, when it comes to democracy, most of the country is baffled that the same set of leaders the whole country seems to loathe gets miraculous­ly elected all the time. So much for the argument that the Mao­ist insurgency led to heightened political awareness.Rather, the violent insurgency and the political-criminal nex­us, corruption, nepotism and we-can-do-anything attitude of the leaders have further enfee­bled the country. The people and the elites alike are too meek to ask the questions that really matter. In a way, the rift between the gov­ernment and the public has wid­ened even more. People have no interest in what the leaders have to say, because they know it’s just empty talk. While the leaders live in a different world where everything is provided for, the majority of Nepalis live in a world full of wants. And we, the self-pro­claimed intellectuals, are busy connecting the geopolitical and geostrategic dots and are focused on abstract ideas and ideals.

No wonder, people use all sorts of colorful adjectives to describe and address the leaders and view us, the so called elites, as a weird bunch on some shady foreign agency’s payroll. Many spend Rs 12 to buy a cigarette and Rs 20 for a cup of tea, but are unwill­ing to spend Rs 10 to buy a daily newspaper. The circulation of major national dailies proves it. There are not many readers in our “politically aware” country, and rightly so, because all you get is bombarded with news and views that have hardly anything to do with the real issues and problems.

For example, how many edito­rial and op-ed pieces are penned asking the government what it does with the tax money or sug­gesting it to use the tax money on upgrading infrastructure? Where does all that money go because we seem to rely on foreign aid even for ambulances and fire trucks? Again, how many editorials and expert views do you, the readers, get to read on the importance of urgent and concrete action on road and food safety and alarming pollution? Similarly, hardly any­one is suggesting the leaders to act on their election pledges, and to internalize the importance of decriminalizing politics and con­trolling inflation, corruption and misuse of government vehicles.

Contrast these with the num­ber of pieces advising the gov­ernment on what it ought to do with India and China or on the need to institutionalize democ­racy and freedom of expression and human rights. Not that these abstract ideals, which our lead­ers and writers talk ad nauseam about, do not matter, but in our context, effective utilization of tax money, and access to safe roads, food, clean air, healthcare and education are also equally or even more important.

But we seldom write on these issues because they are not sexy enough.

The politicians are in a different tangent and we can only hope that one day we will be blessed with a responsible leadership. But what about us? We too are guilty of being either timid, unconnect­ed or unconcerned with the real issues and problems. We, the mis­guided elites, have knowingly or unknowingly hijacked the real agenda and the shameless politi­cians are having a field day.

Perhaps it’s about time we asked the right questions and made the right noises so that there’s some semblance of morality and accountability in the country—or at least to get people to read what we write.

The process of forming a new govern­ment is almost complete. Prime Minis­ter KP Sharma Oli has come across as someone very thoughtful about selecting his ministers. Newly-appointed ministers like Pradeep Gyawali, Yubaraj Khatiwada, Rabin­dra Adhikari, Lalbabu Pandit and Gokarna Bista are promising entrants to the cabinet. There are many reasons to be hopeful, albeit cautiously, about this government. But we citizens must not forget that it is also our responsibility to ensure that the government keeps moving in the right direction.Reasons for hope

A stable and all-powerful government has been the dream of the last three generations of Nepalis. Now we are as close to that dream as we have ever been. The likely participation of Madhes-based political parties in the Oli government has further fortified the dream of stability. With three quarters of the parliament in support of Oli, he has become the most powerful prime minister in Nepal’s democratic history. This provides Oli and his government an unprecedented opportunity to deliver on past promises.

In many ways, we can say this government is more powerful than the constitution. It can rectify constitutional weaknesses and work towards safeguarding and institutionalizing the statute. While this government has the ability to revise the constitution, this is not necessarily a cause for alarm, just a matter requiring greater vigilance. Rather than dis­mantling the constitution, it could well be the case that this government will work to imple­ment and strengthen it. For the time being, we have to give this government the benefit of the doubt.

Reminder to the left

Nepal’s left alliance has secured the political authority that it could never have achieved violently. The political capital, which was impossible to garner during the decade-long Maoist conflict and the two CA terms, has the potential to be finally unleashed through the alliance of the UML and CPN MC formed in the run up to the general and provincial elections last year. In a sense, it feels like the coun­try wasted many years. If after a decade of violent war and another decade of transition, the Maoists were going to merge with the UML, it makes sense to question the very purpose of the past two decades. But perhaps such a painful process was necessary to get to where we are today. And now both the UML and the Maoists have an opportunity to deliver on their decades-long dreams of prosperity and equity.

Price of impunity

Impunity is becoming institutionalized in Nepal in large part due to the concessions that were made in the name of the transition. The justice system is biased, selective and politically influenced, and little has been done to curb the rot. After the peace process started, the cases of impunity during the pre- and post-conflict eras were also completely sidelined in the fear that addressing them may derail the process. There was a strong argument that raising the issue of impunity will cost the peace process high. Because of the fear of fresh conflict, civil society groups and the international community maintained studied silence on the topic of impunity. In a way, the earlier governments bought peace with impunity. With the official end of the ‘transition’, it is now time for Nepal to get back on the path of due process and the rule of law.

While the benefit of the doubt must be given to this government, there is still the danger that it may push the argument of development in exchange for continued and perhaps great­er impunity than before. This is the greatest challenge facing us now. The Nepali people’s desperation for ‘development’ is at its peak and so the challenge lies in not allowing the development discourse to subvert due pro­cess. And this is why a strong, vibrant, regen­erated and largely new civil space is necessary and must be created.

There are rumors we might get a metro system or sky train in Kathmandu. Wouldn’t that be interesting? I think it is quite clear an underground metro would not be suitable in the unsta­ble ground underneath a city that sits not only on a dried out lake, but a seismic fault. But a fea­sibility study has been done as to whether we might be able to install an electric skytrain. Off the top of my head the monorail/sky­train will run from Tilganga Eye Hospital to Shahid Gate and on to Koteshwor. But don’t quote me… I might be dreaming!What I didn’t imagine was an electric bus system, the trol­leybus, which used to run various places around the city and its out­skirts. In fact, on my first visit to Kathmandu in 1990 I rode that bus to Bhaktapur. And it ran through agriculture land and rice fields. (Next time I’m in Scotland I’ll look to see if I have any pictures from that trip.)

I also seem to recall a few years ago the trolleybus was reintroduced within the city. I know one of the routes ran up to the stadium. I’m sure it was challenging in those days to make anything electrical work well. So it’s interesting that the pow­ers (sic) that be are contemplating using electricity again to operate a public transport system. Power aside, do we want to be sitting how many meters up in the air in a metal container if there is an earthquake? And, even those of you who think the earthquake is ‘done’, what about the disruption to traffic which this system will cause while it is being constructed? Does anyone know the reason the trolleybus system was ditched in the first place? It would be interesting to find out.

Most of us remember the road expansion project—indeed it is still going on. I live near Lazimpat and it took—what—three years to complete the enlargement of Lazimpat Road. The inconvenience, dust, and dis­ruption to people’s lives was huge. Not to mention those who lost their livelihoods and homes because of it. Can we really go through more years of that?

I have also ridden the train out of Janakpur which meandered at snail’s pace through thatched roofed villages. Yes—there was a train! The only train in Nepal! Why did that close down? It certainly wasn’t for lack of customers. When I went on it, it was completely packed with villagers transporting goods from Jankapur back to their homes. Standing room only!

After visiting whichever village we went to, my friend and I decided to walk back to town as it was slightly faster than the train! I hear that the train service been opened again, and I did plan to visit the railway station when I was in Janakpur three months ago. But I failed to get to the station so I am none the wiser as to why it closed.

As road congestion becomes an increasing problem in Kathmandu, it is sensible to look at other alter­natives. But how about the easy and considerably less expensive options first? Options such as proper bus lanes, expanding the Sajha Yatayat network, and how about carpool­ing? We all know carpooling can work here in Kathmandu as infor­mal car (and bike) pooling was suc­cessfully set up by the Nepali youth during the blockade in 2015/16. A similar system could be intro­duced which requires, as in other countries, cars to contain more than just the driver at peak times. And of course parking facilities out­side core city areas where people can then walk or take (especially provided) public transport to work would reduce vehicle numbers in the city center.

However, all of this could be just a dream…

Implementing federalism is a cost-intensive proposition. As the projected federal budget for the next fiscal year shows, current revenues will cover only half (US $8 billion) of the estimated $16 billion budget. Early indication suggests the government plans to generate an additional $4 billion from foreign aid and domestic borrowing—leaving a quarter of the budget unfunded. That is a sizeable deficit. Finance Minister Yubaraj Khati­wada is already scrutinizing cus­toms collection—instructing offi­cials to follow reference price for import duties to clamp down on the collusion between businesses and officials. This has significantly increased daily collection at key custom points. He is also rolling out an online government pay­ment system to minimize leak­ages. The new finance minister has assured businesses he would not increase tax rates to fund the deficit; instead he would widen the tax net.

Revenue collection can be increased to a certain degree—particularly by bringing more individuals and informal busi­nesses within the existing tax bracket. But keeping up with increasing public and develop­ment expenses in the next few years—including extra-budgetary requests for province and local level infrastructures—would call for a multi-faceted approach.

Local levy

There is tremendous scope for generating revenues for local gov­ernments via a property tax—a sort of an annual levy—based on market valuation. An alter­native formula for taxation can be derived from market rates for housing rents. For instance, families that own concrete homes in urban areas can be charged an annual levy of 1/12th of what they would pay if they were renting an equivalent apart­ment in the local market. This needs to be built upon the current house rent tax that local govern­ments collect. For this to work, an increase in tax will have to result in an increase in munici­pal services. Even now, in many cases, citizens contribute up to 70 percent of the funds for local development projects that direct­ly benefit them: blacktopping of the alley road, constructing sew­age plants, etc.

Policy banks

In any country, the biggest tax contributors are private firms. Naturally, growth of the private sector is central to spreading prosperity and increasing reve­nue base. Two of the big obstacles to private sector growth in Nepal are high cost of doing business and political uncertainty. While KP Sharma Oli’s overwhelming majority in the parliament hope­fully addresses the political uncer­tainty part, reducing the cost of doing business would require tar­geted policy interventions.

For starters, the government can reduce the cost of borrow­ing for businesses through policy banks interventions in the form of a concessional lending and line of credit for select businesses that meet strict criteria. A revolving fund of about $400 million can be established over five years. This facility can be extended to businesses that have high export potential, and thus reduce trade deficit, or to entities that create a certain number of jobs.

For reference, current interest rate on business loans in the US is around 4 percent. Of course, this could foster crony capitalism. Yet if the governance of such policy banks is handed over to an inde­pendent party or a foreign equi­ty investor (five percent return should be lucrative), this could work. A separate policy bank for SMEs could also be formed to similar effect. This can also make lending by commercial banks competitive.

PPP for infrastructure

Innovative use of a private-pub­lic-partnerships (PPPs) model can address funding gaps in public infrastructure development. This can allow the government to spread available resources to several projects. For instance the hybrid annuity-based model (HAM), a variation of PPP, only requires government to pay 40 percent during construction. The rest is paid annually over 15 years. In this period, the private party is also responsible for project operation and maintenance. In this region, the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, has worked with the government of India and state governments to structure such a model to construct sewage treatment plants along the Ganga Basin.

Done right, PPPs can foster private sector growth while allowing effective mobilization of private capital in public sector infrastructure development.

Parajuli is a Kathmandu-based journalist with an interest in public policy