Pardafas Reporter
Reform in the system and process has been emphasized for achieving development aspired to by the people.
Sociologists, economists and politicians speaking in a book launching cum economic-political debate here today pressed for this. The event was organised for launching the book 'Atripta Awasar (Unfulfilled Opportunities)', penned by economist Dr Swornim Wagle.
National Planning Commission (NPC) former member and sociologist Dr Usha Jha said even though everything is okay in Nepal, the country lacks a 'sound and functional' system. She stressed the need of keeping the citizens first in order to take the nation towards a sustainable development trajectory.
Stating that development would not be achievable only by formulating a plan of work for five years, Dr Jha said, "Sustainable development would not happen in the nation with five-year plans. Its duration should be extended. We should make plans for at least 25 years. If we don't do that, then it will be like the unmet opportunities as the just-released book has pointed out."
Sociologist Dr Jha asserted that paying attention to education, health and social security would help in the economic and human resources development, adding that Nepal is rich in terms of formulating policies and plans, but that was limited to paper.
The book's author Dr Wagle said that the erstwhile NCP government had a lot of opportunities at hand but it could not tap these opportunities. He called on the political parties to prepare the outline for the nation's development and prosperity beforehand rather than making ascending to power as their only mission.
"The erstwhile NCP government did some good job in terms of stability in the initial year at that time. The results were average the next year due to the unusual situation, which I have mentioned in my book. The third year of the NCP-led government was wasted and no tangible works were carried out by the government due to the intra-party political instability."
As Dr Wagle said the political parties are ill-prepared regarding what to do when in government. "A broad team is required for this. This was not done. Now, it's time the political parties came to senses and learnt from such weaknesses.
Also the NPC former vice-chairperson, Dr Wagle stressed on policy stability and system and process reforms for achieving development goals. He also expressed concern over the domination of politics in the separation of power and called on the civil society to review the structure.
"The nation cannot move ahead if the politics is impure. The expected outcome cannot be achieved by doling out budget only in the infrastructure sectors," he argued.
Taking part in the discussions, Nepali Congress general secretary Gagan Thapa said lack of well-thought out preparations in the parties reflected while they reached the government. “As a result, they get engaged in just the power game.”
“Political parties must correct themselves,” he said, adding that the NC had already started that with the distribution of party membership.
He pledged to take a lesson from the past and work with a plan, seeking the help of experts.
Thapa also pointed out the importance of civic role to see the government rightly functioning. “Political parties are just prepared for reaching power, but a work plan is missing and this tendency must be changed.” He also took time to highlight the need for party strengthening within the NC.
- Narayan Dhungana,RSS
