The Nepal Communist Party is now a formidable political entity, with absolute hold over the federal government as well as six of the seven provincial govern­ments. It also controls most local level units. And yet it is a divided house. Although it has been a year since the CPN-UML and the CPN (Maoist) formally united, old divi­sions have been hard to bridge. The trust deficit between the leaders from the two former parties remains strong. And even senior leaders in the ex-UML party suspect Co-chair­man and Prime Minister KP Oli of striving to cut them to size ahead of the next general convention.

According to insiders, Oli wants to maintain the status quo to retain his hold. “Of the 45 stand­ing committee members, 13 are hardcore Oli supporters who are either in government or in top par­ty positions. Oli does not want to change this favorable setup,” says a senior NCP leader, requesting anonymity. Other senior leaders like Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Madhav Nepal and Jhalanath Khanal would like to tweak this status quo to their own advantage going into the general convention.

If the divisions within the NCP are largely the product of party unification, those within the Nepali Congress have older origins. After the passing of Girija Prasad Koirala in 2010, no single leader has been able to command the party well. Current Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has lost the trust of the par­ty’s rank and file following a humiliating defeat in the 2017 elec­tions under his watch. The 73-year-old Ram Chandra Poudel still har­bors hopes of getting to lead the party, if not the country, by outwit­ting Deuba. Challenging them for party leadership will be the Koirala faction that continues to believe in the “natural right” of a Koirala to lead the NC.

Nanda Ram Jaisi | Jumla  

 It’s surrounded by tall walls with barbed wires on top. The gates are securely locked and guarded by armed police. From inside the rooms of this prison in Jumla dis­trict, all one can see is the sky above. The 84 prisoners here inhabit a different and dark world. No wonder they feel they are like birds in a cage. But ever since the launch of the ‘Books in Prison’ move­ment two months ago, the prisoners have experienced a semblance of freedom and have gotten an opportunity to learn more about the world.

This drive that started from Jumla has been launched in all prisons in Karnali province. After a library was set up in the Jumla Prison, inmates have started develop­ing a reading habit, which has helped bring about positive changes in their outlook.

Siwani Singh Tharu, a nov­elist, formally inaugurated the bibliotheca on April 6. It was followed by an interaction program where Tharu, some prisoners and a few other speakers shared their expe­riences. “The more we read, the more we want to read,” said Tharu.

 “Studying books not only makes us more informed about various topics but also helps develop positive thinking”

Dal Bahadur Karki, an inmate

Deputy Superintendent of Police Sitaram Rijal said that prisoners were becoming more disciplined and urged the inmates to cultivate a fra­ternal spirit. Chief District Offi­cer Durga Banjade requested the prisoners to be content with the services provided by the state and assured them that they would not be mis­treated in the prison.

The library in the Jumla Prison has a collection of var­ious genres of books, which means the prisoners can read the ones that interest them. The number of books is steadily growing.

Dal Bahadur Karki, an inmate, said, “Studying books not only makes us more informed about various topics but also helps develop positive thinking. We have started find­ing freedom and a whole new world in the books.”

Binod Shahi, another pris­oner, said he used to find it dif­ficult to spend his days. Now, he feels days pass quickly when he is reading a book. “Although we inmates have committed different crimes in the past, this initiative will help us emerge from our crim­inal mentality and to think positively,” said Shahi.

The government has adopted a strategy to reduce the rates of recidivism by instilling discipline and civil­ity in prisoners. Raj Bahadur Mahat, a local civic leader, argues that the future of the prisoners who develop a reading habit is bright when they complete their prison sentence. He underscored the need to take this campaign to all districts of Nepal.

On April 6, all other jails in Karnali province inaugu­rated their libraries as well. Libraries were inaugurated in the districts of Surkhet, Dailekh, Salyan, Rukum (Western), Jajarkot, Kalikot and Dolpa. Senior novelist Sanat Regmi, senior novel­ist and storyteller Nayanraj Pandey and poet Nawaraj Parajuli inaugurated the library in the Surkhet Prison. Similary, novelists Yug Pathak (pictured alongside) and Amar Neupane inaugu­rated the libraries in Kalikot and Dolpa respectively.

One of the big fears going into the 2019 Investment Summit was that there would again be big investment pledges and, again, in keeping with the past, little of the pledged amount would materialize. In the last investment summit in 2017, expres­sions of interest worth $13.74 billion were made, of which only $2.5 bil­lion is going to materialize, accord­ing to the Investment Board Nepal. Even though the IBN is yet to make public the pledges made during the 2019 summit, initial indications are that the summit failed to live up to its potential.

Few projects presented during the summit received investment commitments. The govern­ment and the private sector had showcased 50 and 27 proj­ects respectively, worth some Rs 3,468 billion in total. Agree­ments on only 15 projects were signed. They include Business to Business (B2B) agreements by the private sector that were not showcased as potential projects for investment during the summit. Chaudhary Group, a leading cor­porate house in Nepal, alone has signed four agreements that were not in the priority project list that the IBN had unveiled.

The lukewarm response from investors is also highlighted by the fact that the IBN is listing even old investment pledges as the outcome of this summit. Among the four agreements signed by the Chaudhary Group, the one with TurkCell was already signed on February 26 during the Mobile World Congress 2019 in Barcelo­na. Similarly, another summit agreement between Hydro Solutions and Yunan Xinhua Water Conser­vancy and Hydro Investment had also already been signed during Prime Minister KP Oli’s visit to China last June.

According to former finance sec­retary Rameshwore Prasad Kha­nal, foreign investors are yet to change the way they look at the communist parties. “The Maoists had, in the past, attacked foreign companies like Pepsi, Unilever and others, and trade unions affiliated to that party had threatened inves­tors,” he says. Khanal further says the erstwhile CPN-UML had also failed to clearly articulate its posi­tion on foreign investment.

Nepal sought plenty, investors gave little

Agreements on only 15 projects was signed in this year’s summit. They include Business to Business (B2B) agreements by the private sector that were not showcased as potential projects for investment during the summit

 The government’s two-day Investment Summit ended with only lukewarm response from potential investors. Very few projects showcased during the sum­mit have received investment com­mitments. The government and the private sector had showcased 50 and 27 projects respectively, worth some Rs 3,468 billion in total.

The Investment Board Nepal (IBN) has declined to share information about the investment commitments and expressions of interest. In the last investment summit in 2017, expressions of interest worth $13.74 billion were made, of which $2.5 bil­lion is going to materialize, accord­ing to the IBN.

Agreements on only 15 projects was signed in this year’s summit. They include Business to Business (B2B) agreements by the private sector that were not showcased as potential projects for investment during the summit. Chaudhary Group, a leading corporate house in Nepal, has signed four agreements that were not in the priority project list that the IBN had unveiled.

Maha Prasad Adhikari, CEO of the IBN, says the government has set April 22 as the deadline to file applications. “We have devel­oped criteria to avoid unwanted expressions of interest. To file an application, an investor must have a net worth equivalent to one-third of the total project cost. And those expressing interest must send confirmation within two months,” says Adhikari.

The investment summit has drawn flak after the organizers listed the financial closure of the 900-MW Arun III project as an outcome of the summit. Arun III hydel proj­ect is going to be developed by the Indian government-owned Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) Limited, which has signed agreements with a few Nepali banks to raise loans for the project. However, the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) have said that the government should have encouraged SJVN to raise loans from banks in India or other countries, citing the perennial loan crisis in the Nepali financial markets.

“The major objective of invit­ing foreign direct investment is to bring in capital and technology from foreign markets to upscale production and to create more jobs in the country,” says Shailendra Guragain, president of the Indepen­dent Power Producers’ Association Nepal. “When Nepali investors are facing a crisis of loanable funds, it is a pity that the government allows foreign investors to borrow from Nepali banks to finance their proj­ects,” says Guragain.

Around Rs 500 billion that is being mobilized by Nepali financial institutions is reportedly insuffi­cient for domestic investors. As a result, banks have been facing a loanable fund crisis for the past two-and-a-half years, even as the demand for loans continue to rise. Now, political stability is seen as a sign of improvement in the coun­try’s investment climate.

Around Rs 500 billion that is being mobilized by Nepali financial institutions is reportedly insufficient for domestic investors

Old wine, new bottle

Of the 15 agreements signed during the recent summit, four were signed by the Chaudhary Group. One of these agreements, with Turk­Cell, was already signed on Feb­ruary 26 during the Mobile World Congress, 2019 in Barcelona, in the presence of Minister for Information and Communication Technology Gokul Baskota. CG signed another agreement with Sky Power Global, whose representatives had visited Nepal last April under the initia­tive of Madhu Kumar Marasini, the erstwhile Consul-General to New York. They had met Finance Minis­ter Yubaraj Khatiwada and Energy Minister Barshman Pun to take for­ward their investment plan worth $1 billion to develop 600 MW of solar power within four years. However, the government has been reluc­tant to accept their proposal, citing insufficient installed hydroelectrici­ty capacity to get to Nepal’s desired energy mix.

Similarly, another agreement signed during the summit by Hydro Solutions and Yunan Xin­hua Water Conservancy and Hydro Investment had already been signed during Prime Minister KP Oli’s visit to China last June.

Likewise, non-resident Nepalis had proposed an infrastructure company with paid-up capital worth Rs 10 billion in London last year. The Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) has been requesting the gov­ernment to raise around 80 percent of the proposed capital by issuing shares among the Nepali diaspora. However, under Nepali laws gov­erning this matter, 51 percent pro­motor shares are required to set up a company. As per the securities regulation, there is an exception for hydropower companies. The rest of the companies must have booked profit for three consecutive years since the operation to issue shares to the public. The government has signed an agreement with the NRNs without clarifying how it will resolve such legal complexities.

Financial closure of the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydel Project has been touted as a fruitful outcome. How­ever, the South Korean developer has proposed to chip in only half the amount in the hedging fund set up by the government to cover the risk of exchange-rate fluctua­tion. In the hydel projects, the gov­ernment, the sole power off-taker Nepal Electricity Authority and the project developer should chip in certain foreign currency as a hedge against exchange-rate fluctuations. The developer has proposed to chip in half the foreign currency and pro­vide free electricity to the NEA that equals the remaining 50 percent of the foreign currency.

Losing charm

According to former finance sec­retary Rameshwore Prasad Kha­nal, foreign investors have not yet changed the way they look at the rul­ing Nepal Communist Party (NCP), which was created in 2017 with the merger of the two major communist parties of Nepal. “The Maoists had, in the past, attacked foreign compa­nies like Pepsi, Unilever and others, and trade unions affiliated to that party had threatened investors.” Khanal further says the erstwhile CPN-UML had not clearly articu­lated its position on foreign invest­ment either. But he appreciates the prime minister’s commitment to facilitating and protecting foreign investment. “PM Oli’s speech at the inaugural session of the investment summit has shown the government’s readiness to welcome foreign invest­ment. But first we have to improve our business climate and we should be able to impress investors with our comparative and competitive strengths,” says Khanal.

It has been widely reported that the government organized the investment summit in haste, with­out adequate preparation and that the foreign investment-related bills were tabled and endorsed by the parliament without proper discus­sion and public hearings. “American and European investors did not like the way the bills were passed,” says Bimal Koirala, a former chief secre­tary. “The government also failed to attract investors from neighboring India and China because of inade­quate preparations.”

Chinese investors were also reluc­tant to sign MoUs. Shengping Zhou, Kathmandu bureau chief at Xinhua News Agency, has cautioned Chinese investors against signing agreements without careful consideration.

 Manika Jha, Janakpurdham

 “How much is a life worth? Many say it’s priceless. But life for some Madhesi women has become even cheaper than their sindoor (the vermil­ion powder worn by married Hindu women along their hair parting). This is happening largely because of disputes over dowry.

Sunita Devi from Birgunj is a recent victim. She endured 15 years of torture for failing to bring ‘adequate’ dowry. She succumbed to her injuries on March 29 at Tribhuvan Uni­versity Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu, where she was brought after she was beaten senseless by her husband Sachitananda Yadav, a medi­cal doctor.

Sunita’s family, which hails from Parwanipur in the dis­trict of Bara, spent Rs 2 million to get her married to a doctor. But Yadav’s greed for more dowry was insatiable. He demanded a car and a house from his in-laws, which they could not fulfill. And so tor­ture against Sunita intensified, according to her parents.

Rani Sharma Tiwari, a provincial MP, blames educated parents for keeping the practice alive

In Janakpurdham, 25-year-old Seema Sharma and her 18-month-old daughter were reportedly poisoned to death in January, because her fam­ily could not meet dowry demands. Seema’s family had given Rs 800,000 in cash, two tolas of gold and a motorcycle so that she could get married to an educated man. But a few years into their marriage, Seema’s life was made hell­ish by her in-laws. The dowry demands kept mounting, and so did the mental and physical torture against Seema, says her aunt Sarita Sharma.

The story of 20-year-old Kriti Jha from Dhanusha is similar. Kriti was married to Randhir Mishra, a businessman from Madhubani district in the Indian state of Bihar. Kriti’s family had given Rs 300,000 in dowry. But just four months into their wedding, Mishra’s family started asking for more, and torturing her. “In the end, they killed her,” says Kriti’s brother Rajeev Jha. Kriti’s body was found in a pond in her village in August 2018.

On 22 November 2018, 22-year-old Ranjana Sharma from Janakpur, who was studying to be a nurse, was found dead in her own bed. Her husband Ananda Mohan Sharma, who works at Pokhara Hospital, beat her repeatedly because her fam­ily could not meet his dowry demands. (Neighbors say there had been a bad alter­cation between Ranjana and her husband a day before her death.) Ranjana’s family had given a dowry worth Rs 1.8 million to Ananda, but he kept asking for more.

Rekha Jha, an advocate, says that although asking for a dowry is a crime, it shows no sign of ending as those involved are socially pro­tected. “So long as the society does not boycott the practice, women will continue to face torture and violence,” she says.

Rani Sharma Tiwari, a pro­vincial assembly member, blames educated parents for keeping the practice alive. “Parents whose daughters endure torture due to dowry disputes do not speak up for fear of losing their dignity. Instead they ask their daugh­ters to adapt,” she says.

Likewise, Subhadra Ale, who served in the Nepal Police for 17 years and now works to control gender-based violence, says, “It’s mostly women from educated fam­ilies who are the victims of such violence. When a wom­an’s family cannot meet the dowry demands negotiated prior to the wedding, torture against the newly married bride starts. So long as parents offer dowries, the cycle of vio­lence will not stop,” says Ale.