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Q. What is your happiest memory?

A. Every moment in life has been memorable, among which establishing the House of Fashion is the happiest memory that I’d cherish for life.

Q. Which living person do you most admire the most, and why?

A. It’s always been my mother since she’s taught us to become better persons and gives us strength to believe in ourselves.

Q. What would be your fancy dress costume of choice?

A. Going as a fast food item is sure to turn some heads.

Q. What is your guiltiest pleasure?

A. Letting myself daydream. It especially feels like a guilty pleasure if I have a lot of things on my to-do list.

Q. How would you describe yourself in a sentence?

A. An ambitious and driven person.

Q. What has been the greatest challenge for taking House of Fashion forward?

A. Trying and establishing something innovative in country like Nepal, where people have average incomes but high expectations.  

First Nepal-German business forum

The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Kathmandu, in cooperation with the Nepal-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NGCCI) and the Investment Board Nepal, organized the First Nepal Ger­man Business Forum on Oct 2. Held under the theme of ‘Building Bridges: Nepal-Ger­man Business Relations,’ the forum allowed German firms to explore the Nepali market and benefit from new dynamics character­ized by political stability, energy security, and efforts of Nepali government to improve investment climate. Altogether 28 repre­sentatives from 20 German companies and organizations met their Nepali counterparts and exchanged contacts and knowledge.

Coca-Cola celebrates mothers this festive season  

Continuing with the fourth edition of “Mann Kholau Coke Sanga”, a localized form of “Share a Coke”, Coca-Cola has come up with a unique way to celebrate the festivals of Dashain and Tihar with its customers this season. Coca-Cola has launched its new Dashain Campaign with the theme ‘My mom makes my Dashain spe­cial’. This campaign con­veys the message that our mothers work selflessly and tirelessly to make our Dashain and Tihar special, to pour every bit of happi­ness into our festive season, a statement issued by the company said. The spe­cial ingredient of Dashain is always our mother, and her love.

Acknowledging the vital role mothers play in the festive season, Coke has launched labels which encompasses six different endearing forms of the way we call our mother, i.e Aama, Mai, Muwa, Mamu, Mummy, and Ma. These labels are inserted in the place of regular labels.  

The handling of the rape charge against the speaker of the federal house Krishna Bahadur Mahara has been appalling. First, the woman, the supposed rape victim, reportedly called the police emergency number ‘100’ to report the rape on the evening of September 29. She subsequently texted several high-ranking government officials informing them of the same. In addition, she gave a video interview to an online news portal where she details physical abuse she suffered at the hands of Mahara and shows his text messages, including one asking her to ‘forget about yesterday’ (referring to the night of the alleged rape.)

Apparently, fearful of filing a case against someone as powerful as Mahara, the police did not collect vital evidence from the woman’s residence immediately. They did so only a day later, after the Nepal Communist Party had asked Mahara to resign from his post of the speaker and an MP. This smacks of the subservience of the Nepali Police to their current political masters. The police, which is yet to recover from the Nirmala Panta-fiasco, blundered once again, but so did other supposedly responsible state organs.

One online news portal interviewed the concerned woman, blurring her face to hide her identity. But the blurring technique was so clumsy, her full face was clearly visible a number of times. Another online portal published her phone number. The Nepali media, and especially the headline-chasing online media, seems unaware of even basic norms of journalism.

The NCP, to its credit, asked Mahara to step down. But, curiously, a day later, the woman withdrew her accusation against Mahara. If her intent was to defame the speaker, she deserves to be punished. If she recanted because she was threatened, that too is a jail-worthy offense. The public also deserves to know if there was some kind of out-of-court settlement between the two parties. In any case, now that it has been established that Mahara, the holder of one of the country’s highest offices, had actually gone to the woman’s residence that night, drunk, that alone makes him unfit to hold any public office in the future.

People these days have so little faith in the state mechanism that even if the truth were reveled tomorrow, few may believe it. Yet that does not absolve the NCP, which voters have overwhelmingly trusted to run the country, of a moral responsibility of getting to the bottom of the incident and making the findings public. Relieving Mahara of his twin responsibilities is only a partial, temporary solution. More important is for people to believe that justice has been done, whoever may be culpable.

(UPDATED INTERVIEW)
To prepare for the likely Nepal visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping, many Chinese security teams have visited Kathmandu to take stock of the security measures here. Our security bodies are making their own plans. APEX’s Kamal Dev Bhattarai talked to Retired Deputy Inspector General of Police Hemant Malla, who was himself closely involved in preparing security plans for many visiting foreign dignitaries, on whether the current preparations are enough. And are there specific threats to Xi while he is in Nepal?

How do you evaluate the security preparations for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s planned Nepal visit?

There are two aspects to security preparations. The first involves providing training and guidance to security personnel who will be deployed during the visit, which include how to provide ground security and handle possible unpleasant situations. The second involves identifying and assessing likely security threats. Currently, preparations are focused on these two areas.  

Are these preparations adequate in your view?

When we talk about security preparations, only the preparations of Nepal Police are being highlighted. Some political issues related to China, like the one related to Tibetan refugees, are beyond the jurisdiction of the police. The National Investigation Department (NID) is mandated to handle those issues. In my observation, the NID is not effective enough to handle those issues. The intelligence agency cannot fulfill its responsibility based on its current strength. Their respective strength may vary, but the Nepal Army (NA), the Nepal Police, the Armed Police Force and the NDI should act in a coordinated way to gather and analyze information. This would make the security arrangement more effective. The army is also involved in overall process as it takes the responsibility of providing security in core areas of visit. I feel that all security agencies are not functioning on an equal footing.

What are the possible areas of threat to Chinese President XI during his Nepal visit?

One major concern for China has always been the activities of Tibetan community in Nepal, labelled anti-China activities. The Tibetans could demonstrate during Xi’s visit. Earlier, there were extreme causes of self-immolation by Tibetan refugees in Kathmandu. There are chances of protestors going to the same extreme, thereby raising Chinese concern.

Another less discussed issue is related to the Uighur Muslims. They are connected to the Al-Qaeda and Taliban through the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP). This TIP in turn is connected to Jaish-e-Mohammed and Indian Mujahideen, both of which are operating on Indian soil. The concern is that several people connected with Jaish-e-Mohammed and Indian Mujahideen have been detained in Nepal as well. They have used Nepal as a shelter to communicate with their people and to infiltrate terrorists inside India. We have detained several of them and handed them over to India. So this could be another security threat.

Are there specialized groups in our security agencies for such high-level visits?

The army has a specialized team dedicated to providing personal security to VIPs. This team provides security to the president and the prime minister. Other agencies also deploy their members. The problem with other security agencies is lack of specialized or devoted group for such highest level visits. Given our growing engagement in internal forums, the number of such high-level visits will further increase in the days to come, which highlights the need for a separate permanent and specialized team. For example, India has the Special Protection Group (SPG) which provides proximate security to its President, Prime Minister and other VIPs. Time has come to prepare a dedicated and specialized manpower within Nepal Police and Armed Police Force.

Has there been no effort to prepare such specialized forces in Nepal?

In Nepal Police, a separate unit was established for such security issues. But what we need is a specialized and permanent unit. Frequent transfers do not help. We have to think long-term.
 

How do you assess the recent visits of Chinese security officials?

It is a normal practice for security teams from respective countries to visit host countries prior to high-level visits. For example, many security officials from China have come to Nepal ahead of Xi’s planned visit. Some believe that foreign security agencies can work in Nepal without consulting us, which is not true. Home Ministry ensures such coordination. In case of high-level visits, the joint security team discusses the movements of VIP, routes of travel, and other security aspects. A team consisting of the Nepal Army, the Nepal Police, the National Investigation Department and the people of the respective embassy work in a coordinated way.
 

Can the visiting delegation also bring their own weapons for self-protection?

There were unnecessary rumors during the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Nepal. Ex-officials of security agencies also made unnecessary noises. When our president or prime minister goes abroad, they can take security forces and weapons with them. It is not true that only foreign dignitaries bring weapons. But you need to take prior approval. There is a tradition of declaring the types and amount of weapons at custom points. When the visit is over, all weapons should be taken back informing the same custom points.  

Regarding this visit, the rule of engagement is not clear. For example, if something happens during the VIP visit, who will be the first responder? Their team or our security agency? The two governments should be clear over the security. Due to unclear rules of engagement, there have been problems abroad, but luckily, not here. But clarity is always desirable. If something happens to the VIP, who is responsible? What will we do? We have to resolve these issues.
 

Highest-level foreign dignitaries like Narendra Modi also bring their own transport vehicles. Why?

I had been deployed at the airport during the visit of Hilary Clinton. They too had come with all the vehicles necessary for motorcade. For the security of the VIP, they modify the vehicles. The VIP vehicles are modified based on individual threat perception. The exact type of a vehicle a visiting VIP personal needs may not be available in Nepal. But, again, this is a normal practice.
 

When it comes to VIP security, the intelligence agencies always have an important role. How do you assess the capability of our intelligence agency?

There is no government support for our intelligence agency. Right intelligence is crucial in this day and age. And information is the currency of that intelligence. Yet there has been little government investment in this sector. There is a mindset that information comes without investment, and that information is easy to collect. That is no longer the case.
 

Do you think the Chinese President has more reasons to be wary about visiting Nepal than a leader of some other country?

I do not think so. Since the Panchayat days, we have had countless high-level visits from China, including of their president and prime minister. And we have never had any problem. In my opinion, the Chinese are concerned about the Tibetan issue. Besides the old problem of possible protests by the Tibetan community, now there is also the issue of finding the right successor to the Dalai Lama. This could also contribute to protests here.

Are there any chances of pro­tests in Kathmandu in support of the anti-government protests in Hong Kong?

I see such a chance. In my anal­ysis, there are possibilities of pro­tests from two quarters. First, some supporters of the Hong Kong pro­tests could launch a small symbolic protest here. Second, some tourists from Hong Kong who are visiting Nepal could also protest. Security forces should keep a close eye on this aspect of security.

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Q. What is your favorite travel destination?

      A. Sandakphu in Ilam.

Q. What is your favorite cuisine?

A. The food my mother cooks for me.

Q. What is your hidden talent?

A. Even I have not discovered it yet.

Q. If you could go back in time, what would tell your younger self?

A. Spend as much time as you can with your father.

Q. Which is your favorite movie?

A. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge.

Q. What role would you like to play?

A. Roles that improve my acting skills.

Q. If you could wish for one thing and one thing only, what would it be?

A. To do one project with Saugat Malla.

Q. What is your favorite childhood memory?

A. When my father came home in the evenings.

Q. Do you have any celebrity crushes at the moment?

A. Anna Sharma.

Q. Would you date a fan?

A. Yes!

Our constitution does not allow us to adopt the Chinese model. The Chinese obviously have an open economy but their political sys­tem is closed. Nepal cannot emu­late that. So, if the Oli government wants to copy the Chinese model, it can copy only their economic policies. And not all Chinese eco­nomic policies can be copied. For example, China allows factory or firm owners to almost exploit their workers, and labor unions there are very weak.

It has been four years since the promulgation of the new consti­tution. How do you see the evo­lution of Nepal’s economic policy in this time?

An unpublished World Bank study says that after the earthquake and the Indian blockade, Nepal’s pover­ty increased significantly, almost by eight percent, but then it was soon reversed. The economy bounced back well. We have more than six percent year-on-year growth for three consecutive years; we have unprecedented peace, and we held the elections peacefully with the participation of almost all parties. The parties outside the mainstream are not strong.

What we lack right now are: a) For­eign Direct Investment, b) exports, and c) jobs. The government has been unable to inspire people and get businesses to invest.

The constitution states that the country is socialism-oriented. And you also pointed to healthy growth rates of late. But has the level of inequality in the society gone down as well?

We have not measured inequality lately. Even Nepal’s first budget in 1951 had the twin goals of growth and reduction in inequality. Our policy has since consistently been to reduce inequality irrespective of which system we follow. However, the problem, historically, has been: how do we measure inequality? Three years ago, if you had asked me this question, I would have probably said inequality is grow­ing as the stock market at the time was growing, and the rate of return on capital was higher than GDP growth. Right now, the stock mar­ket is plummeting, and the interest rate is high, so the rate of return on capital is mixed.

If you are a rich person today, you put your money in a bank and get 10 percent on it. But the income of ordinary people is growing by only six percent, the GDP growth rate. Given about four percent infla­tion rate, inequality may not be increasing. But we need precise economic data to clearly see what is going on.

Earlier you talked about Foreign Direct Investment. Why do we need FDI at all?

FDI is not only about monetary investment; it also brings with it transfer of technology and manage­ment. There is high rate of return for initial investment as we do not have much of it. We do not have money to build roads and industries, which at this stage of development obviously have a very high rate of economic return. That is why we need invest­ment from abroad.

We do not have enough money to realize our potential in hydropower and tourism, both of which require high investment. We may also want to improve our industries, most of which use old technologies and machinery. When FDI comes, bet­ter—hopefully state-of-art—technol­ogy comes along. In that case, our products will also be competitive.

What are the major reasons behind the paucity of FDI in Nepal?

Our FDI-related regulations are not investor-friendly. Unless a com­pany has special arrangements with the government, it can hire a maxi­mum of three people or five percent of its total workforce from abroad, which is very small.

Although the government denies it, some firms complain that it takes a long time to repatriate their prof­its. Many also complain that taxa­tion is cumbersome. The new For­eign Investment and Technology Transfer Act (FITTA) is still without regulation. And investors hate the new investment threshold of Rs 50 million. If I had the power, I would reduce the threshold to $1.

This year, the government came up with new FDI regulations, and there have already between two investment summits. But they don’t seem to have borne fruit, have they?

It is too early to say that the sum­mits have been a failure. There has been some wonderful proposals in the investment board and they are doing some follow-up. I am hopeful Nijgad Airport will be built as there were six or seven proposals, and a Swiss company has been shortlisted as well. But I am worried about the lack of delivery of this government, which also undercuts its credibility.

You also expect foreign workers regulations to be relaxed. Many IT companies suffer from these regulations. The threshold of Rs 50 million came out of nowhere and this will affect investment in SMEs. FDIs and New technologies and new ways of doing things that come along with them can actu­ally help domestic SMEs. Sup­pose a Starbucks opens in Chit­wan or Pokhara; other locals then learn how to run a good café.

You also talked about the impact of local syndicates. How do they hamper FDI?

Take the cement industry. The existing cement factories are unhap­py with the arrival of foreign invest­ment in this industry. I think two big cement investment proposals have already been turned back. I talk to hotel owners. Many five-star hotel owners think there should be no FDI in hotels. But when you bring FDI in five-star hotels and cement factories, they will also come up with new technologies and also look for other businesses and custom­ers to tie up with. We also need to market our country as a liberal, welcoming place.

If you could do only three things to attract more FDI, what would they be?

First, come up with good and lib­eral foreign investment regulations for FITTA and other acts that would welcome all foreign investors. Sec­ond, I would sell these regulations in target countries. Sometimes, we make really good regulations but fail to sell them. Our embassies in places like China, India, Bangladesh, and Thailand are not interacting with local entrepreneurs. Finally, there are some areas we should do better in, irrespective of our FDI focus. For example, anti-competitive behav­ior and syndicates that affect both local and foreign businesses should be curbed

Attend art festival  In Kathmandu

The Himalayan Art Festival by E-Arts Nepal, an online art gallery, takes place from 29 September to 3 October at the Nepal Art Council. The gallery promotes contemporary Nepali art in the global market. This year’s festival will orient different sectors in the aesthetic value of art, create a Nepali art platform for local collectors/buyers, and aim to make it an annual festive event. The vibrant festival will see musical performances, art talks, panel discussions, kids’ art education programs, a ceramic-firing workshop, and will showcase a wide range of artists. Call 9841211297 for more details.

Go to a music fest In Lalitpur

Do you want to party all weekend? Then this music festival is just for you! Spark Music Festival Nepal 2019 is happening in Lele, Lalitpur from 11 am on September 21 to 12 pm on September 29. This yearly festival aims to be Nepal’s premier electronic festival, inspired by Tomorrowland, one of the dreamiest global festivals. Amid breath-taking nature, surrounded by forests and beautiful jungle and topped with a panoramic view of the mystical snow-capped mountains, this open-air electronic festival will feature around 50 national and international artists offering different depths of electronic dance music. This proceeds from this not-for-profit event will benefit the local community in Lele, Lalitpur. Entry ticket costs Rs 1,500, which you can buy from eSewa. Call 9860862220 for more details.

Bar the recent Bidya Bhandari-Sher Bahadur Deuba verbal war, the problem is not that people don’t understand the spoken words of senior Nepali Congress leaders. It is that most Nepalis don’t trust these old leaders. The Oli government exhibits a clear authoritarian bent. The economy is wobbly, and the welfare state the left government promised out of reach. There have also been some dubious foreign policy decisions. Yet the main opposition’s criticism of the ruling parties rings hollow. For the opposition’s voice to be so completely ignored both by the government and the people is an unhealthy development for a democracy.

There seems to be no easy fix. The Nepal Communist Party (NCP) got an overwhelming majority in free and fair elections, and will run the federal government at least for another three years. In this time, Nepal’s democratic freedoms could be further curtailed. Yes, besides the Congress and Madhesi outfits outside the government, there is also a free press and a vocal civil society that have been repeatedly pointing out the government’s mistakes. But while PM Oli assures his countrymen he listens to his critics, his government has pretty much gone its own way.

Again, the forces outside the parliament can do only so much. It is primarily up to the opposition parties to hold the government to account. After the recent lovefest between the ruling NCP and the CPC, its Chinese counterpart, Congress leaders accused the NCP of trying to impose a totalitarian system. “Its leaders promise to adhere to the ‘socialist-oriented’ constitution, but they have no clue what socialism is,” senior Congress leader Ram Chandra Poudel complained. But that is rich coming from a representative of a party that has completely abandoned its socialist roots.

Moreover, rather than individual Congress leaders making random comments about the authoritarian streak of the federal government, their criticism will be more credible if they all spoke with one voice, and conveyed the same message consistently. They cannot regain their lost credibility overnight. But by firmly standing up for democratic norms and values, and holding the reckless government to account, they will at least make a start in this uphill journey, and keep the country away from a draconian path.