ADB’s Forceful Behavior Objectionable:Severn Trent not Preferred by the Nepalis

     The Asian Development Bank has given <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Nepal a direct threat that it would reconsider its future loans to the nation if the Severn Trent, a private water company of England, is not given the responsibility of managing and distributing drinking water in the Kathmandu valley of Nepal. Nepal’s newly formed interim government stated that since the autocratic government had accepted the Severn Trent without following the universal criteria of bidding and competition, the previous government’s decision has to be reconsidered. Nepali media have reported that the Severn Trent is already a bad-stained company in England. As far as the service of drinking water is concerned, the Severn Trent has been sued by its customers not only in England but also in other countries such as Ghana. As the company has been disreputed for poor quality water supply, the majority of conscious Nepalis do not prefer that the Nepali government accept the company. 

 

     A survey carried out by an intermediate college group of mass communication and journalism students in Kathmandu indicated that 87 percent of the people of the Kathmandu Metropolis believe that the Nepalis themselves must be made accountable towards managing and supplying quality drinking water to people. They expressed their objection to the military-styled dictatorship of the ADB over the Nepali legislative and the government. Ninety-nine percent of the people in the random sampling survey clearly indicated that an independent and sovereign Nepal must never succumb to the ADB dictatorship. Only-one percent of the respondents said that as the Nepalis are dependent on foreign loans, they have to accept loan-givers’ preconditions without questioning. But 93 percent said that the money to run all hydroelectric and drinking water projects can be generated from within the nation. Inviting dollar-calculating foreign companies in an extremely poor country would not be in favor of the majority.

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     What is interesting in this context is that the same corrupt leaders of the same corrupt parties that changed Nepal into a bankrupt and politically chaotic nation have been roaring that because of Maoists’ participation in the interim government, both the World Bank and the ADB are going to stop giving loans to Nepal. Such corrupt leaderships, who have delayed and tried to derail even the whole national peace process by regularly misinforming their foreign owners, have focused their vulturistic minds on commissions and baksheesh.

 

     History is the greatest evidence that the greatest blame goes to Nepal’s feudalistic and status-quoist forces nurturing disguised democracy and poverty industry in the name of poverty alleviation through huge loans. These self-seeking political forces headed by Girija Prasad Koirala and aided by king’s loyalists as well as other political parties with similar ideologies and moral character will never develop or encourage any innovative nation-building approaches.

 

     The Nepalis must remove from power the political leaderships that never realize that complete dependence on foreign loans means an endless poverty cycle and slavery. Unless innovative, sovereign and self-sacrificing leaderships courageously replace the existing change-resisting slave-minded political forces, the Nepalis will never see the promises of ‘New Nepal’ delivered on.

 

     What is equally true is that the ADB and other creditors will keep on playing on the heads of the Nepalis so long as their shameless puppets continue ruling Nepal.

 

     The Nepalis have a final hope in the Maoists. But they fear that even the Maoists may lose their tracks because of well-designed conspiracies to convert them into the corrupt patterns similar to ones of the Nepali Congress, the Nepali Congress (Democratic) and the Emalay. If conspirators succeed in remolding the Maoists into their desired formats, Maoists will lose people’s faith and support; as a result, they may have to come down to a low size party or may have to go through several divisions, factions and sub-factions. Therefore, Maoists’ core leaderships, the only hope so far, have to undergo serious brainstorming exercises and rigorous homework sessions.

 Mohan Nepali, Kathmandu: 

     What Maoist Minister Hisila Yami has done regarding the drinking water management contact is logical. However, it looks improper for a well-visioned top national leader like Prachanda to meet ADB clerks and request them to continue giving loans. This is a serious mistake of the Maoist leadership, which they must correct. Indeed, the Nepalis expect a mature water strategy form the Maoist leaderships.

 

     Besides, the Maoist leaderships need to do more to manage their public relations and public policy communication so that people’s perceptions about their party policies can develop more clearly.