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In some democracies, lying under oath is a jail-wor­thy offense. English novelist Jeffery Archer was imprisoned in 2010 for lying in a libel case. More recently, Michael Cohen, American President Donald Trump’s lawyer, was sentenced to three years in prison after he lied to the Senate. In other democ­racies, like Nepal, the offenders tend to get away with it, as Minister for Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation Rabindra Adhikari will be hoping.

Adhikari tried to mislead the parliamentary sub-committee investigating the opaque transac­tions related to the purchase of two aircraft from Airbus. Asked by the sub-committee on why he had sanctioned payment on behalf of the national flag-carrier even though the procurement process was riddled with flaws, the minister replied that he was acting on the advice of Auditor General Tanka Mani Sharma. But Sharma, appearing later before the same sub-committee, said that he had offered Minis­ter Adhikari no such advice. As Adhikari has refused to comment on Sharma’s denial, there are grounds to assume his guilt.

We expect better of a public servant. We also expect accountability. Will the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), of which the sub-committee was a part, now seek punishment for the lying minister? And what will happen to others like the Nepal Airlines Gener­al Manager Sugat Ratna Kansakar and over 25 senior government officials who in this case have been found guilty of violating the Public Procurement Act? Senior PAC leaders have already distanced themselves from the probe, perhaps because investigating it could earn them the ire of their party leaders. There is thus con­siderable doubt that the PAC will act on the recom­mendations of the sub-committee.

The CIAA, the country’s chief anti-graft body, can launch an investigation only after the PAC’s go-ahead. It is vital to get to the root of this mammoth corruption case. The sub-committee concluded that over Rs 4 bil­lion was embezzled during the procurement of the two aircraft, with the involvement of everyone from sitting ministers to the chiefs of the Citizen Investment Trust and the Employees Provident Fund. But with friends in high places, will they be prosecuted?

Prime Minister KP Oli has repeatedly assured his fel­low citizens that no corrupt official will be spared and no one will be allowed to come in the way of his pet national prosperity agenda. He now has a chance to prove just that.

As we bid adieu to 2018, it is worth recalling some notable events of the year. On Feb 15, KP Sharma Oli replaced Sher Bahadur Deu­ba as the country’s prime minister, follow­ing a thumping win for his communist alliance in the three-tier elections in 2017. Expectations were high as Oli, widely hailed for standing up to India during the 2015-16 blockade, came to power with over two-thirds majority in the federal legislature and with his alliance controlling six of the seven provinces. And yet the per­formance of his government has been rather patchy.

Another important event was the formal merger between the two largest communist forces of the coun­try back on May 17. People hoped the merger would make the ruling party stronger still, giving it the power to enact sweeping reforms. But unity between two par­ties that until recently were at loggerheads has proven to be rather tricky: while the merger has been consoli­dated at the top, the grassroots remain bitterly divided. Nor has government functioning improved.

At the end of the year, Nepali Congress, the main opposition, at long last held its Mahasamiti meeting. The shambolic event was the perfect example of a party in disarray. In this year time the government also banned porn, regulated alcohol products and brought a ‘revolutionary’ social security scheme. People are unconvinced any of these measures will have the desired effect. Dr Govinda KC had to sit on yet anoth­er fast-unto-death to get health reforms enacted, and again to no avail. Likewise, the unresolved rape-and-murder of Nirmala Pant is another blot on the govern­ment. Meanwhile, the economy remains wobbly.

However, this was also the year Nepal welcomed over one million tourists by air, for the first time, which augurs well for tourism and Visit Nepal 2020. Sand­eep Lamichhane, the 18-year-old leg-spinner made his long-awaited IPL debut—and impressed everyone. The second half of the year saw two Nepali beau­ties (with ample brains), Shrinkhala Khatiwada and Manita Devkota, shinning on the global stage in Miss World and Miss Universe pageants, respectively. Sub­sequently, Mahesh Maharjan bagged gold at the 10th World Bodybuilding Championship. It was heartening for Nepali youngsters to see home-grown talents hold their own against the best in the world.

On the whole, it was more misses than hits for Nepal in 2018. Hopefully 2019 will be better, and not just because Lamichhane will once again take the field for the Delhi cricket franchise.

Welcoming a million foreign tourists in a calendar year has long been consid­ered the holy grail of Nepali tourism. Now that mark has been breached. According to Nepal Tourism Board, in the first 11 months of 2018, Nepal welcomed 1,001,930 foreign tourists who came here by air, a 17 percent increase from the same period in 2017. Factor in those entering Nepal via land, and the tourist number shoots up by 23 percent. This is something to be celebrated, partic­ularly after the slump witnessed in the aftermath of the 2015 earthquake.

Even before data for this period were in, the govern­ment had already made public its plan to attract two million tourists by 2020. Many considered it impossi­ble as the country could not get even half that num­ber for so long. But better-than-expected numbers this year could make the skeptics rethink. If not exact­ly two million, it would be quite an achievement to welcome, say, 1.5 million. But are our airports, hotels and transport services prepared for so many visitors? For instance, cumulatively, Nepali hotels can handle around 500,000 guests a year, excluding stay-home options and Airbnb rooms. Can the number of rooms be so drastically ramped up in such a short time?

The same with our air transport facilities. Right now the country has a single international airport. The good news is that the pace of work at both Pokhara and Bhairahawa international airport projects is brisk and on current course both will come into operation by the end of 2020. But even if we can accommodate two million visitors, is it wise to have them all? Phewa Lake, the center of attraction of the tourist city of Pokhara, is shrinking because of building works in the area. What remains of the lake is highly polluted. Meanwhile, Mt Everest is fast turning into a garbage dump. Hoteliers also complain of the increasing influx of ‘lightweight’ backpackers who like to complain but not to spend much cash.

If the goal is to make tourism a strong pillar of the Nepali economy, perhaps the time has come to focus on high-end tourism. The Swotha neighborhood in Patan, for instance, charges upward of $100 a room for an authentic Newari experience, and the rooms there are seldom empty. Perhaps a few of the 100 new ‘tour­ist locations’ in Nepal can be developed for such high-end tourism. Sustainability and profitability need not be mutually exclusive.

Senior communist leader Madhav Kumar Nepal was perhaps the only top leader in his party who was a stickler for time. Now he has com­pany. On Dec 1, the ruling NCP secretariat, the party’s top decision-making body comprising of nine leaders, including Nepal, was to convene at the Prime Minister’s residence at 3 pm. But when Prime Minister KP Oli, who is also the party co-chairman, did not show up till 3:15, the four secretariat members who had been waiting—Nepal, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Jhala Nath Kha­nal and Bamdev Gautam—decided to leave.

Apparently, this was not the first time PM Oli had kept them waiting. They say they ditched the Dec 1 sec­retariat meeting to teach the prime minister a lesson in punctuality. There are various other interpretations of their decision. But if the reason given by the four lead­ers is taken at face value, it underscores the larger ten­dency of senior government officials to disregard time. Even vital state-level functions are routinely delayed as the designated VVIPs fail to show up on time.

The four secretariat members are bang on when they suggest that as the leader of their party and as the executive head of the country, it is imperative that Oli sets the right precedent. If party chairmen and our prime minister and president show up on time, those in lower ranks are bound to be punctual. But what we see right now is just the opposite. The prime minister makes his ministers wait, who in turn make senior bureaucrats do the same, and this self-defeating ten­dency is passed down the line.

But it is not just politicians and government officials who routinely disregard the time of other people. Nepali patients have long grown used to waiting for doctors for hours on end. Our aircraft and buses, both private and public, are also infamously late. Restaurants take forever to deliver food and our trash is seldom col­lected on time. If, like the rebellious NCP quartet, more officials in leadership position insist on doing things on the dot, those working under them might learn to value time as well. Those outside the government are also sure to take notice. As Shrestha has pointed out, better time management is vital for both personal and national prosperity.