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Weekly Editorial Cartoon

The inclusion of Upendra Yadav-led Sanghi­ya Samajbadi Forum gives the government of KP Sharma Oli over two-third majority in the federal lower house. As we went to press, the Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN), the other big Madhesi party besides the Forum, was also said to be ‘positive’ about joining the government. If the RJPN does indeed join, the ruling left coalition will, effective­ly, have absolute control over the federal government as well as all seven provincial governments, including in Province 2 that is ruled by a Forum-RJPN coalition.

This would make KP Sharma Oli, the leader of the left coalition, perhaps the most powerful prime minister of democratic Nepal. But PM Oli does not stop there. From now on the Prime Minister’s Office will directly oversee such vital state organs as the National Inves­tigation Department (which works on national securi­ty), the Department of Revenue Investigation (which investigates possible leakage of taxpayer money), and the Department of Anti-Money Laundering. Oli-led PMO will also directly oversee the functioning of NGOs and form think-tanks to advise the government on var­ious issues of national concern.

The prime minister, as such, will enjoy sweeping powers. This is not necessarily bad. This can be a sign that PM Oli aims to be a no-nonsense, hands-on prime minister. Nepal has long been saddled by weak prime ministers who were either uninterested in exercising their authority for the common good, or could not do so for various constraints of coalition politics. PM Oli, who hopes to make the PMO a ‘center of excellence’, now has few of these constraints.

In this light, this could be a start of a new era of good governance and accountability. It could also help bring the country together, if the prime minister is indeed serious about his commitment to amend the constitution to meet at least some demands of the Madhesi parties.

But there is also a risk. As the chairman of CPN-UML, a party that has come to be linked with various vested interests, particularly in health and education sectors, Oli could just as easily use his vast powers to strength­en and expand his patronage networks. If so, he will not be the first post-1990 prime minister of Nepal to abuse his authority. But for his sincere outreach to the Madhesi parties, his appointment of clean and capa­ble ministers in key portfolios and the can-do attitude on display in his early days as prime minister, PM Oli deserves our benefit of doubt for now.

President Bidya Devi Bhandari’s bid for a second term is all but certain to be successful after CPN-UML central committee meet­ing decided this week to nominate her for the position. Two factors seemed to have worked in Bhandari’s favor—that she is close to Prime Minister KP Oli and that she has only served two years in office (the constitution stipulates the President’s tenure to be five years long). Former prime minister and senior UML leader Jhala Nath Khanal was also an aspirant to the post.

Following the UML central com­mittee decision, Bhandari filed her candidacy for presidency with the election officer at the federal par­liament. Her candidacy was pro­posed by senior UML leaders Mad­hav Kumar Nepal, Subas Nembang, Iswor Pokhrel and Maoist leader Onsari Gharti.

The presidential election is slated for March 13. Bhandari’s victory is almost certain as the ruling coalition led by the UML holds a majority in the federal as well as the provincial assemblies whose members will vote in the election.

After a slow start, construction work on the international airport in Pokhara in western Nepal is moving ahead at a brisk pace. According to the Chinese govern­ment-owned construction company CMC, 6 percent of construction has been complet­ed. In the first phase, CMC has begun leveling the land. The work picked up steam after 20 pieces of equipment such as trippers, rollers, excava­tors and dozers reached Pokhara from China. As many as 20 additional pieces of such equipment will soon arrive in Pokhara via the Kolkata port, according to Krishna Chapa­gain, CMC’s public relations officer. Earlier, 45 pieces of such equipment were being used for the construction.

Along with new equipment, 35 work­ers have also been added. Although construction started seven months ago, it has only been four months since work on the main site began, and in those four months, 35 percent of the annual construction target has been met, says Vinesh Munankarmi, chief of the Pokhara Regional International Airport Project.

“During the monsoon, we worked on the ter­minal building and the runway; now land level­ing is going on at a swift pace,” said Chapagain. He claims that the pro-activeness shown by the local government and local residents has expe­dited the construction and that 80 percent of the work will be completed by Jeth (May/June). “Barring mishaps, the airport will be built and handed over to the Nepal government before the 2021 deadline,” he said.

Model for success?

The government had awarded the contract to CMC in May 2014 under an EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) model. It stip­ulates that the construction must be completed by July 10, 2021, failing which CMC will have to pay a fine to the government. KP Sharma Oli, during his first term as prime minister, had laid the foundation of the airport on the first day of the Nepali year 2073 (April 13, 2016). He had signed a bilateral loan agreement on the air­port’s construction during his visit to China in February 2016. The work on the airport began after the Exim Bank of China loaned Rs 22 bil­lion to Nepal government for its construction.

The international airport is being built over 3,700 ropanis (462.5 acres) of land at Chhinedanda. The government undertook land acquisition in two phases. It will start paying compensation for 60 ropanis of land starting next week, for which it has already allocated Rs 1.5 billion, according to Munankarmi.

The 4D model airport, which will have a 2,500m-long runway and which will meet ICAO standards, will be able to accommodate medi­um category aircraft like Boeing 757 and Airbus 320 that can carry up to 200 passengers.

By Krishnamani Baral 

NRB-directed capital increment of the banking and financial sector followed by the insurance board-di­rected one for the life and non-life insurance companies had already created a glut in the secondary mar­ket. Unfortunately, concerned reg­ulatory and policy making bodies were hardly prepared for the glut. When the floodgates opened, the regulatory body simply released a press communiqué asking the inves­tors and traders “not to panic”— something which was too little too late. The call was hardly heard and the index continued moving south.

The promise of three levels of elections, implementation of the new constitution, and hope of new and stable government and socio-economic development kept most investors and traders hope­ful. They were duly rewarded with good bounce-backs at least on three occasions ( July/August 2017 when the index reached 1,675, Septem­ber 2017 when it reached 1,587, and November/December 2017 when it got to 1,556) triggered by “positive” political news. Smart traders were able to accumulate at successive support zones while booking profit whenever the mar­ket became euphoric with “feel-good” political news and events. The euphoria turned into momentary blitz of opportunity.

With each bounce-back, Mr. Mar­ket continued losing its steam and overall index continued to shed more points. Just a few weeks back, when the confirmation of Mr. Oli as prime-minister and promise of stable government hit the market, it galloped by 69 points, giving a second chance to the ones who were either unable to book profit or make a stop loss at previous touching of 1,445-1,450 zone.

Last week the warning bells started ringing louder when one of the commercial banks came up with saving deposit product at 10 percent return. The emergency meeting of the bankers’ association had an agreement to put a ceiling of 11 per­cent on term deposits and 8 percent on saving deposits. But the damage was clearly inflicted on already weak market sentiments. Mr. Market, which had respected 1,380-1,390 support zone on multiple occasions since the beginning of 2018, showed reluctance to show same respect this time. On February 28, the multi-month trendline support at 1,350 also had a breakout with volume and this was the last straw. Wholesale panic selling ensued on the last hour of the day and the bloodbath contin­ued through this week too.

On March 5, another commercial bank came up with a “structured term deposit” product at 9 percent with minimum monthly deposit of Rs 500 and above. This unfortu­nately indicates that the bloody nose of Mr. Bull is going to need more time to heal.

By Manil Shrestha

In the WHO South-East Asia Region and beyond, more than half the population—women—face what is often egregious discrimination. Discrimination in education and the opportunity to learn to read and write. Discrimination in access to nutrition and the chance to grow healthy and strong. And discrimination in the workplace, where women can be subjected to unwanted advances or have their work undervalued or unpaid.

Gender-based discrimination in these and countless other forms is a persistent problem across the South-East Asia Region and throughout women’s lives. But as much as gender-based prejudice and inequality violates human rights, stymies social and economic development, and crushes the hopes and dreams of millions of young girls and women, it also has a grave impact on public health and wellbeing. 

Examples abound.

The Region-wide practice of early marriage and pregnancy, for instance, is a direct threat to the health of young women and their children, especially in rural areas. Around six million girls aged 15-19 years give birth in our Region every year, while in four of the Region’s countries the adolescent birth rate is more than 50 per 1000 women aged 15-19 years. This provides immense dangers to the health of young women—dangers that can be avoided via rapid social empowerment (including access to contraception) and the implementation of laws against early marriage.  

Gender-based inequities likewise impede women’s access to essential health services, causing a range of adverse outcomes. Start with childbirth: Many deliveries still occur in the home, often in the presence of a birth attendant who is unskilled. This occurs partly as a result of women’s inadequate access to health-related knowledge and a lack of decision-making power, and partly due to ongoing service gaps. Though during the Millennium Development Goal era the Region made world-beating progress in reducing maternal and child mortality, further gains are needed to bring the maternal mortality rate to below 70 per 100 000 births, as per the Sustainable Development Goal target.

Still, there is room for optimism: The Region-wide struggle to end gender-based discrimination and advance women’s empowerment—particularly for rural women and girls—has never been stronger. WHO South-East Asia is proud to champion this cause, reflecting as it does our core values and commitment to human rights, as well as our evidence-based conviction that empowered women create healthier, happier communities that produce transformative change, both locally and globally.

Until full equality is achieved, however, WHO will continue to work with our Member countries to promote and support the health of women and girls. That means continuing to train skilled birth attendants able to provide life-saving services when childbirth becomes complicated. It means continuing to advocate for increased access to contraceptives and the provision of adolescent sexual and reproductive health services. And it means continuing to actively campaign against gender-based violence and harmful practices such as female genital mutilation that can cause life-threatening injuries to young girls and adolescents. 

This International Women’s Day, let us acknowledge that gender-based discrimination exists and is a daily occurrence in each of the South-East Asia Region’s countries. Let us understand that it needn’t be this way, and that gender equality can be rapidly achieved with sincere, society-wide resolve. And let us take full stock of the fact that women’s empowerment is more than a tool to advance social or economic ends—that it is a public health imperative, and one that demands our most strident pursuit.   

By World Health Organization

Weekly Editorial Cartoon

In 2014, an investigative article titled ‘The Law School Scam’ was published in ‘The Atlantic’. The story brought under the radar Flor­ida Coastal located in Jacksonville, Florida in the United States while talking about the disturbing trends in the for-profit world of legal edu­cation. Citing the example of the said college, the article mentioned that law schools admit underqualified students who then take millions of dollars in loans annually to fund their course. Since many students will never be able to repay much of the loans due to a dismal job market, it’s the taxpayers that will be stuck with the tab as law schools them­selves continue to reap enormous profits.

Replace Florida Coastal with Foggy Bottom and you have the premise for Grisham’s ‘The Rooster Bar’. In the novel, Mark Frazier, Todd Lucero and Zola Maal are third-year law students in D.C., enrolled in a bottom-of-the-line, for-profit legal institution, who realize they have been duped. Their school is one of a chain owned by a shady New York hedge-fund operator who also owns a bank that provides student loans.

Each of the three students is drowning in debt as they had all borrowed heavily to attend a law school where graduates rarely pass the bar exam. To slip out of the grasp of the law school scam, and escape their debt while exposing the school and bank and making some money in the process, they skip their last semester at Foggy Bottom and, with new identities, pose as lawyers and get to work.

Grisham’s tale is thoroughly engag­ing and does its bit to expose the workings of for-profit law schools, banks that exploit students, and even addresses unfair US immigra­tion policies. You don’t have to be a fan of John Grisham or have read any of his other works to enjoy The Rooster Bar.