Submit your Article

Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba’s appointment as the new prime minister may be a cause of celebration for many after Oli’s rather forgettable term in office. But the country is not out of the woods yet. For it is far from certain that Deuba will be able to garner a majority in the Lower House within 30 days of his appointment, as he is constitutionally required to do.  

If he cannot, Nepal will automatically head into elections within the next six months, and the country is not ready for them yet. Despite some respite in infection numbers, Covid-19 continues to maintain its grip on the country, and the detection of the new delta variant only adds to the uncertainty. Thankfully, vaccines are starting to come, from all over the world and, at the current rate, it may not be long before the majority of the population is vaccinated. Yet it would still be premature to believe the virus will be sufficiently under control to allow safe elections in such a short time.

Elections are also costly. The next parliamentary elections, whenever they take place, are expected to cost the exchequer around Rs 100 billion. As things stand, the priority is corona-control and most of the state’s resources have to be spent on the same. Also, without taming the virus, there will be no elections. The Election Commission—which has just postponed the November polls Oli declared—also needs time to prepare. So the country may have to wait for at least a year for the parliamentary polls.

Holding elections in November 2022, as mandated by the constitution, will be the optimal path. A year and a half will be enough for the commission to prepare and the country will meanwhile train its focus on the pandemic. This means, ideally, the new government under Deuba should take the country to the polls. But that will entail at least a section of the CPN-UML, the biggest parliamentary party, backing his premiership—an unlikely prospect. Yet there appears to be no safer way out from the current political and constitutional quagmire. 

After spending nearly double the estimated time and money, the 456MW Upper Tamakoshi hydropower project, Nepal’s biggest so far, is finally complete. The electricity it generates will be more than enough to meet the country’s wet season demand, and it will significantly reduce power imports from India in the dry season. Perhaps the best part of the project is that it was financed entirely by domestic investors.

Inaugurating it on July 6, Prime Minister KP Oli said Upper Tamakoshi had given the country greater confidence to undertake projects of national importance by utilizing its own human and financial resources. That is certainly so. Yet the project also offers some cautionary lessons. Its developers seem to have overlooked future hikes in the exchange rate for dollars—used to pay foreign suppliers and consultants—when coming up with the estimate of Rs 35 billion. If interest on the revised additional cost is to be factored in, the eventual bill would come to Rs 85 million.

By contrast, the delay in completing the project was less under their control. Supplies were hindered for many months after the 2015 earthquakes and the subsequent border blockade. Frequent floods and landslides also slowed down the project. Then came Covid-19 and the lockdowns. But, yes, more thought could have gone into choosing the contractors. For instance, the Indian contractor that was initially chosen did not have the expertise to carry out a key task. The developers had to appoint another contractor when 95 percent of the work had already been done. Domestic investors will feel confident, just as the prime minister said, only when their investment yields timely and expected returns.

The completion of Upper Tamakoshi is a huge milestone towards Nepal’s energy sufficiency. Soon, the country may discontinue importing electricity, and instead, export some, all-year-round. We hope Upper Tamakoshi is the final nail in the coffin of the dreaded load-shedding, and cheaper and more reliable electricity will spur economic growth. If we could also learn from its construction and better manage our future projects, the country will be well on its way to achieving its much-vaunted hydropower potential.

The CPN-UML Standing Committee’s June 30 decision to revive the party’s central committee that existed before the 16 May 2018 merger with CPN (Maoist Center) is a welcome step. ApEx has always advocated for intra-party cohesion in Nepal’s main democratic forces, and if the two factions of the UML could someone reunite, it would be wonderful news. Nepali polity is best served by having two or three strong political forces that fight along ideological lines; purely personal ambition-driven politics has done much to corrupt Nepali politics over the years. 

Yet the June 30 decision may not be enough to interest disgruntled senior UML leaders like Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhala Nath Khala who are not ready to trust Prime Minister and UML Chairman KP Oli easily again. They think this is just another ploy of PM Oli to prolong his tenure. If the Supreme Court rules in Oli’s favor again, they think he will not think twice about ditching them again. 

Hence the onus is on Oli to prove he is ready to accommodate the concerns of the rival faction. Chief among these is their old gripe that Oli seldom consults them on important matters, for instance in his decision to bring in a faction of the JSPN into the federal government or in his appointment in vital constitutional organs. They would also like to see Oli share more power with them, both in the party as well as in the government. 

Again, going into the next elections, ideally, Nepal should have no more than three or four main political actors who are vigorously competing for votes. Having such strong actors will help consolidate the main agendas and prevent the country from slipping back into the kind of dirty horse-trading that characterized the post-1990 national politics. In fact, the new constitution has specific provisions to protect against such an outcome. But constitutional provisions are only as good as those implementing them. We hope the prime minister has this time acted in good faith and he is serious about consolidating his party and thereby the national polity. 

As we near the business end of the Euro Cup and Copa America football tournaments, it is worth taking stock of our own men’s national team. As our interview this week with the most decorated Nepali footballer Biraj Maharjan, who has just retired from international football, suggests, there is room for optimism.

Only this May, Nepal won the Three Nations Cup it hosted. Then, to add to the excitement, Kuwait’s Abdullah Al Mutairi, a pro-licensed FIFA coach, was appointed the national team’s head coach. The team exceeded expectations at the recent World Cup qualifiers, even beating Chinese Taipei 2-0, which in turn helped Nepal make it to the next round of Asian Cup qualifiers.

One of the big disadvantages of Nepali players when playing stronger international opponents over the years has been their poor fitness. They didn’t eat the right diet, nor was their physical training up to international standards. Thankfully, things are changing. The national team as well as all top-tier Nepali clubs these days have trained dieticians and physical-training experts in their ranks to boost player fitness. Learning from the fitness regimens of international football stars, the Nepali players themselves have realized the importance of cardio and weight training. We can thus expect the team to only get fitter with time.

The new FIFA-certified coach will also enhance the tactical side of the national side’s game. As the players have themselves said, the start this year of the Nepal Super League, a franchise-based club tournament, will enhance their professionalism and make them more used to playing against quality international players. Such tournaments with corporate sponsors will also make them financially independent, allowing them to completely focus on football.

At last, the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA), the country’s football governing body, seems to have realized the importance of having a long-term vision. As discussed above, its new focus is on the seemingly small things that will collectively make a big difference a decade down the road. But it has to keep at it. Hopefully, in a generation, Nepalis will get to see their national team compete at the highest levels abroad, in Asia if not in the world.