Who to take responsibility?

On/Off the Record

 

By P.R. Pradhan

The ministers and prime ministers are always making big claims on achieving success in every sector. At a time when the entire nation is suffering from the spread of coronavirus outbreak, Finance Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada claimed that the country economy is in a good shape. The very minister, immediately after assuming the office, had made public a whitepaper on the nation’s economy. That whitepaper had presented a gloomy picture of our economy. Without any miracle, how the minister could achieve such tremendous progress in the economic field?

The economic scenario is that hundreds of thousands Nepali youths have lost their job abroad; they are returning home but they don’t have a job; the domestic labour market has also been seriously affected due to the prolonged lockdown and prohibition orders; many districts are going to face famine soon; banks are going to face loan payback problem; tourism industries may collapse as there is no sign of the arrival of tourists shortly; the same fate the aviation industries are going to face; middle-class people have lost their business; big businessmen also are unable to pay back their bank loans; low-income group people are already facing the problem of managing two-time meals. In such a horrible situation, the government is unable to offer a relief package to the people as like in India and other countries. If one visits Kathmandu streets, everywhere on shutters, one can find the “to let” notice.

We can assume, the government has already failed to overcome the coronavirus pandemic as day by day the infection cases are increasing at an alarming stage and the government has already surrendered against the pandemic. No beds for treatment in hospitals, no ventilators for serious patients, these are the realities. Along with patients seriously suffering from the coronavirus, due to the lack of proper attention by the hospitals, patients suffering from different chronic diseases are dying every day. The government seems to let them die.

Health experts, from day one of witnessing the spread of the pandemic in China, had alerted the government. The ministers, instead of taking the pandemic outbreak seriously, were found campaigning for the “visit Nepal year 2020” claiming that Nepal is free of the coronavirus pandemic.

When witnessed two cases in the country, the government, without any homework, announced lockdown, which was continued for four months. The lockdown period was an opportunity for the government to overcome the pandemic. Serious lapses were seen on controlling migration of people from India. Experts had suggested the government to keep on hold people coming from India in border points and allowing them to enter only after they were found coronavirus negative after a throat swab test. The government had sealed the borders but could not stop the migration of people. People entered into Nepal without any tests. The government had stopped cross-district transportation, but could not stop mobility of private vehicles due to the poor state of Nepal Police. In result, the situation became vulnerable, thus it announced prohibition order in above 47 districts nationwide. People were found travelling inter-districts and even were freely entering the Kathmandu Valley by paying an additional amount to the brokers. Even in inter-district travelling, if the government had made PCR test mandatory and kept the travellers on hold until PCR report, such a vulnerable situation could be avoided.

If the government didn’t wish to trust the local experts, it would have studied in some foreign countries, which had successfully overcome the pandemic and followed the same practice in Nepal. While doing so, the present worst situation could be avoided.

The government didn’t try to coordinate with the political parties, in the meantime, due to the power tussle in the ruling party, the party workers were not been mobilized to tackle the pandemic. The government totally relied on the corrupt government organs including the federal government, provincial governments and local governments. The sole intention of these organs was how to make money by creating a crisis. The government failed to mobilize the business community as well. However, some local governments have procured PCR testing machine by raising donation from local businessmen, which is commendable. When the Health Ministry was found engaged in a commission deal, the lower organs followed the same. “Create a crisis and make commission deal”. Even having enough time, the government has failed to manage the fund to import ventilators and necessary medicines, instead, the government was busy in purchasing luxury vehicles for the “people’s representatives”.

The World Health Organisation has estimated that it may take two years to bring into control the coronavirus pandemic. This is the warning for the government that economic scenario would be more critical in days to come.

Even today, if the government is really committed to overcoming the coronavirus outbreak, Nepal-India borders have to be sealed permanently except for operating some trade routes. To stop the illegal movement of the people in borders, the Nepal Army should be deployed five km beyond the international boundary as the back force to the Armed Police Force deployed in border points. Those arrived from India should compulsorily be conducted the PCR test at the border points and kept them on hold unless confirming Covid-19 negative report. In this regard, holding centres have to be developed in border points.

So far, one cannot hope any action-oriented programme from the government authorities whose sole intention is to make money and take personal benefit only!

Noted administrator Bihari Krishna Shrestha, in his piece, “Enough is Enough” is not enough in Nepal” published somewhere in this Weekly, has illustrated the wrong government practices with the conclusion that the problem is a systemic, not individual aberration. Shrestha has pointed out that Nepal’s multiparty democracy thrives on shared corruption or “bhaagbandaa” that is a kleptocracy. This scribe solely agrees Shrestha’s remarks that the country cannot take a proper path following the present system. Moreover, we are seriously concerned about Nepal becoming a failed state! Earlier to the arrival of such a scenario, let the Nepali people think about the betterment of the nation!

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