Indian Investment in Nepal’s Hydro Sector

The Indian investment in Nepal’s hydropower sector will definitely lead the country towards a better future. The Indian Ambassador to Nepal Jayant Prasad has said that there could be $ 15 billion worth of investment can be from India in the next five years. But he has given the stress to the ‘investment environment’. 

This statement from the Ambassador has come just around one month later of signing the Bilateral Investment Promotion & Protection Agreement between two countries. Pranav Mukharji, the former Ambassador to Nepal is in town when His Excellency Prasad is talking about the Indian investment in hydro sector of Nepal.

Local Bodies’ High Dependency in Nepal

The local bodies in Nepal have been highly dependent on foreign aid and government's budget. Sushil Ghimire, the secretary of Ministry of Local development has publicly admitted that the reason behind it is the lack of timely election in Nepal.The election in the local level is not happening since last 9 years--almost a decade. Officials and experts have claimed that this situation has been reflected into the dependency of local bodies. Previously, local bodies used to survive on their own by collecting the revenue in their levels.

This high dependency has led to the corruption and mismanagement of budget that goes to the local levels Nepal has been receiving the around 40 percent of total yearly budget as the foreign aid.

Nepal’s Merchandise Trade Rate Goes Up

Nepal Rastra Bank has published its quarterly report of last three months of FY 2011/12. This report says that Nepal’s international merchandise trade’s growth rate has gone up.

• Merchandise exports rose by 6.9 percent to Rs. 18.04 billion ($ 240.53 million) during the three months of FY 2011/12. Such exports had increased by 6.2 percent in the same period last year.

Nepal Gets $ 1 billion Remittance in 2 Years

Nepal has gained around $ 1 billion amount of remittance within two years (2009 to 2011). This amount is quite bigger than the total amount of foreign aid that comes to Nepal. In 2009 Nepal had gained $ 2.985 billion and now in this year the total amount of remittance that comes to Nepal is estimated to be $ 3.951 billion. This amount is 23 % of our total budget of Nepal’s yearly budget in 2011/2012.

This is quite interesting to see that the 23% of our total budget comes through the remittance but we hardly can see any significant uses of it in the development sector. The remittance has been a driving force for the sustainability of Nepali economy.

• Remittance flows to developing countries are expected to total $351 billion this year.
• Worldwide remittances, including those to high-income countries, will reach $406 billion for the current calendar year, according to a newly updated World Bank brief on global migration and remittances.
• The top recipients of officially recorded remittances, estimated for 2011, are India ($58 billion), China ($57 billion), Mexico ($24 billion), and the Philippines ($23 billion). Other large recipients include Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Vietnam, Egypt and Lebanon.
• While the economic slowdown is dampening employment prospects for migrant workers in some high-income countries, global remittances, nevertheless, are expected to stay on a growth path and, by 2014, are forecast to reach $515 billion. Of that, $441 billion will flow to developing countries, according to the latest issue of the Bank’s Migration and Development Brief, released today at the fifth meeting of the Global Forum on Migration and Development in Geneva.

This is How USAID Functions!

Monsanto Controversy

An official release of the United States Agency for International Development’s Nepal office posted on its official website on September 13  had an eye-catching headline-  "USAID teams with the Ministry of Agriculture & Cooperatives and the Monsanto Company to enhance maize production in Nepal.” On November 18, USAID posted a status on its Facebook Page--almost opposite of its own version of the earlier release.  The three paragraph text says "No new programs have been entered into by the US Government with the Government of Nepal (GoN) to introduce hybrid maize seeds."

The days between the two postings amply demonstrates how things are done in Nepal, how much USAID cares about providing facts to the media and so on.

On September 13, USAID Nepal had organized a one-day workshop in the Hotel Himalaya which was inaugurated by  Agriculture & Cooperatives (MoAC) Umakant Jha. The USAID release that followed claimed that ‘secretary Jha appreciated the opportunity to work with USAID, particularly on this maize initiative.’ But, secretary Jha later publicly refuted it and said what was attributed to him was ‘baseless and completely wrong'.  "I was present in that workshop and there was a presentation on Monsanto,” Jha said, adding “I was just listening to the discussion but I have no idea about any partnership between MoAC and USAID to bring Monsanto in Nepal." Monsanto is an American multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation which is the leading producer of hybrid glyphosate and Genetically Engineered Seeds.

Soon after Jha’s rebuttal, USAID officials told me that they had no idea what Jha ‘s statement in the media was all about, ‘ but the government of Nepal and USAID are working together to bring Monsanto in Nepal to distribute hybrid maize seeds. Stuti Basnyat, communication officer in the USAID said, "I don't know what secretary Jha told you but we are working towards having an agreement among USAID, GoN and Monsanto."

While the first release mentioned Monsanto five times, but the update in the Facebook less than two months later omitted the name . It simply talks about promoting hybrid seeds.

The two releases and the period in between have fuelled enough controversy , and there has been no convincing clarification issued from any side  Neither the GoN nor the USAID  have tried to explain how hybrid seeds are different  from the traditional ones.  Dragged into the controversy, the USAID now insists that it will only respond to an email query.  On the Nepal government side, Jha has been transferred to the Ministry of Industry, and many read his going against USAID has cost him earlier job. But the Ministry of Agriculture even without Jha refuses to bail out USAID.

Elaborating the genesis of the controversy, Dr. Hari Dahal,  MoAC Spokesperson  said that ‘ one official from USAID had come to the ministry with Monsanto proposal to discuss, but no concrete decision was taken’ . He also challenged the USAID to publicize the documents or evidence, if any, to suggest a deal was in the offing ‘Ministry of Agriculture is not as techno-savvy as USAID is, ‘but facts speak for themselves,’ MOAC officials say.

The current controversy somehow discredits the USAID that has been working in Nepal for the last six decades with substantial support to many developmental projects, and contributed a lot towards Nepal’s journey to a modern and developing country. But like some other bilateral donor agencies, USAID spending money directly in the name of development (bypassing the government)  has of late is also becoming an issue in the country.

In its the Facebook posting,  USAID  claims that  the US mission remains committed development partner to the GoN. While this is true in many ways,  the word ‘commitment’ can not bypass the existing rules of the government.  The development agency that  dismisses its official press release through a posting in the face-book is not a practice that can be called responsible. The episode may perhaps provoke many donors to review their similar approach , and perhaps it is also the time for the UN Resident office to take cognizance of this.

Majjom’s Livelihood

He was pulling the rikshwa with all his effort. He drove me from Ranja Airport to Tribhuvan Chowk, Nepalgunj and asked for one hundred and fifty rupees. 17 years old, Majjom was hesitant to share his story with me. I insisted.

He told me he has been driving rikshwa since last three years (which meant that he started to drive rikshwa from his fourteen!) I was stunned. I asked him why did he leave the school. He proved my question absolutely wrong. He said he does this means of livlihood in his off time only. Majjom goes to school in the day time and drives in morning, evening and only in off days. I gave him Rs 180 in total with Rs 30 as incentive for his zeal to make a better life. That was the only thing I could do!

I could smile with a thought that this generation is going to do ‘something’ to make a better Nepal. I am owed for Majjom’s  spirit to live and make things beautiful. The history of human civilization has been decorated by the economic activities of people.

Labor Market Can Advance ‘The Hope’

The rays of hope in the labor market of Nepal have appeared. The labor unions have agreed to formulate a new Labor Act which will help to normalize the situation of industrial sector in Nepal.

The draft of new Labor Act, the government prepared with the help of International Labor Organization (ILO) has been taken as a hope to normalize the labor issues in the industrial sector of Nepal.