Archive for August, 2008

Public Private Partnership: winning strategy

August 29, 2008 at 11:14 am · Filed under Public private partnership

“Anything that pays stays” is a quite thought provoking statement. It assigns a price tag to things that are often taken for granted. Price is usually worth its utility, which changes over time to balance the demand supply equilibrium. In a similar analogy a government stays longer if it fulfils the aspiration of people, majority of them, over time. Singapore is one such country to emulate from. This isn’t an impossible proposition in Nepal but only if the government comes clean and committed.

Whatever said and done, Maoists made it to where they are today by selling hopes. The time for reality check has begun. People pleasing cosmetic changes in short term with poor foundation cannot stand their own weight in the long run therefore fail to stay longer. A party with regimented approach has better chance of delivering promises than argumentative and principle based. A trained architect, a Maoist ideologue, who is known so far for designing armed battles than modern cities, is on the helm of Nepal’s economy. Can he transform this south Asian laggard having abundant resources and location advantage? Sure he can if has right strategy and will to act upon.

Government alone cannot deliver is no more a secret. There is no better option than to mobilize the private resources and expertise. All you need to do is to ensure security of investment and sell your economic dreams in the marketplace of rich just as you sold the hopes to your followers from the poverty trap. Do not only make the natural resources a political issue but see them through the economic lens. Water from Himalayas has been flowing since ages but Nepali’s have barely shared its benefits. Nepal is shortest land link between two population billionaires but she neither has good roads nor efficient border access. Visit Raxual in South and Tatopani in North to find out there cannot be more difficult conditions for trade between the countries.

The incumbent finance minister has time and again repeated that public private partnership [PPP] is the basis of his economic policy. Kudos he is on a right track. But whether Nepalese economy will crawl or leapfrog will depend on how PPPs will be implemented. Remember the failures in the past were not lack of policies but poor implementation. Also that PPP is not panacea for all the ills but a tool for improving service delivery, enterprise development and infrastructure building. Furthermore, partnering is as much a science as it is an art. Success depends on how a partnership is structured among the partners and what is the objective of partnering.

Although PPP appears to be a handy tool for development and also sends out private sector friendly signals one wrong move will jeopardize the trust in the government policy and its capabilities. Success of PPPs will also depend on the ability of the government to generate interest from the private sector. This depends on how quickly the government will make decisions having financial and economic implications. In Nepal, so far, such decisions are sole discretion of the ministry of finance. Therefore, to begin with all ministries should have a PPP desk while the finance ministry should establish a high level PPP cell coordinated by a senior ranking official and PPP advisor reporting directly to the minister.

Comments (1)

Economic choice: a second generation right

August 8, 2008 at 10:59 am · Filed under अनुभव र अनुभूति

Nepali’s have passion for politics. It’s everywhere from neighborhood teashops to five-star cocktails. While the former ones are local pastime dozes to kill the hangover of the last night, later ones are generally the sponsored ones to sum up alliances of the day. When I was in school, Nepal had unique autocratic democracy, which evolved into a superb form, as they said, in two-pillar system only to be revolutionized around a single pillar, all in one generation. While the agents of change then and now are essentially the same, it happened for the right of political choice. Choices change over time and god knows what lies in the store next. Democracy comes with abundance of freedom to raise voices anywhere anytime but is hardly heard by those who matter. This is true especially in Nepali context where there is only political freedom sans livelihood choices.

Monopolistic economy is an autocratic regime, which is extremely possessive of the country, her people and natural resources. The actors of monopoly make believe themselves as the true servants of the people and their deeds and behavior as the only way to keep humanity alive or else sky would fall and earth crumble into pieces. The rhetoric of pro-poor and inclusiveness is even worse. It ends up making everyone equally deprived. Citizens are prohibited from free participation in the economic decision making. In such regimes people are showered with scarcity of what they need and with abundance of what they wish that didn’t exist. State decides how much you can cook or drive, as fuel is in government control. Likewise, basic public goods like drinking water and electricity are controlled for consumption. But there is abundance of stench from the heaps of garbage in the streets.

Currently an army of six hundred both elected and selected CA members are having a ball of time costing taxpayers over 30 million per month. Democratic political processes are argumentative and slow. In the last four months in the office, CA hasn’t moved an inch. Government couldn’t be formed even after four month from the elections. Lack of work for the CA members is taking its toll. Some find refuse in gambling dens, other rest fatigued younger ones try to busy themselves with fact finding mission such as in Nepal Oil Corporation. Their finding: subsidy in the undersupplied fuel is over a billion rupees per month, government’s priority is of course not same as ours and serpentine queues to remain. Yet none suggested how to manage queues let alone the oil crisis. A cash starved corporation couldn’t pay for more fuel but it could manage the queues without a penny. At least, odd and even dates for odd and even numbered vehicles and separate days for private and public vehicles will do wonders.

Autocratic decision making process is command based and quick, which generally is to tighten control than loosen out. Government- incumbent or would be alike demonstrate this fact in all economic decision making in Nepal, especially in areas of public enterprises such as Nepal Oil Corporation. In another revolutionary act of economic devastation, Maoists have ordered 46,000 farmers of Koshi Zone to not to repay loans ranging from 5000- 100,000 to agricultural development bank. This has affected Rs 1.5 billion in the ADB of eastern development region. There are 13 other zones in Nepal and total cost to ADB is anybody’s guess. So if loans taken between Maoist insurgency to ceasefire two years back are to be waived in the agriculture why not in other sectors those also including from the private banks? A simple measure to absolute majority in the next election!  

Large number of youths voted for Maoists in CA elections. Not for want of communism but for positive changes: rule of law and opportunities to work and earn. Nepal is a young country where more than half of the population is below 25 years. Of these, over 300,000 leave Nepal each year in search of work and study abroad. One who dares to live beyond the cocoon of parents early on, work odd hours to support her studies in foreign countries aspires opportunities to progress in life not alms. Can current political leadership provide these young people their right of economic choice at home?

Leave a Comment