If you look at the twitter handle of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli (@kpsharmaoli), the banner picture shows him appar­ently “standing by the truth and being dauntless in the face of power”. Whether or not we agree with such a depiction, Oli does have the opportunity to prove his mettle now. In the past two weeks, he deliv­ered two speeches. The first was in India during his state visit at an event organized by the India Foundation in New Delhi. The second was delivered to the nation from Rara Lake on the day of the Nepali New Year and start of the Rara-Karnali Tourism Year 2075.

 

Both speeches overflowed with good intentions, potentially transformative ideas and new beginnings. PM Oli does deserve some credit for at least pro­jecting an image of himself and his cabinet that is different and is committed to change in the forms of economic devel­opment, good governance and anti-corruption efforts.

 

Glorious past, rosy future

 

Both speeches carried an intrin­sic message: Nepal has a rich and prosperous past. But things slowly fell apart. While it is our good fortune to be born in such a beau­tiful country, it is now mired in a vicious cycle of poverty. But there is no reason why we cannot reverse this situation by utilizing our vast resources and natural beauty. Together, we will change the course of our collective des­tiny and reclaim our history.

 

In India, Oli’s exact words were: “I have a mandate to work for the long-cherished socio-economic transformation of the country. Ours is the dream of a prosper­ous Nepal where people will have a decent living and youths will have decent jobs; where our infra­structure will be better and our vast, untapped resources will be converted into economic bene­fits and wealth. It’s a dream of overcoming the vicious circle of poverty, underdevelopment and social backwardness.”

 

Reading just this much, it seems almost as though Oli is talking about some other country, and as if Nepal’s last 20 years have no meaning or significance. If the language were slightly more refined, the speech would resem­ble that of a first-world leader. At Rara Lake, Oli’s speech was simi­lar: more about history and glory and natural resources and wealth. He tried again to remind us that there are plenty of reasons to be hopeful about the prosperity of this country.

 

However, back in reality and on the ground, our woes remain unchanged and unlikely to change.

 

On the night PM Oli returned to Kathmandu from his India visit, it was around 8:30pm. Inciden­tally, I got stuck in the traffic jam he created as the route from the airport had to be cleared for his entourage. No big deal. After all, these are the kinds of things we have become used to since the days of the monarchy and the Panchayat years.

 

Similarly, immediately after the glorious Rara Lake speech, PM Oli returned to Kathmandu. What Oli left behind was gar­bage littered all over the coun­try’s prized natural possession on whose back—according to him—Nepal is supposed to prosper through tourism.

 

Panchayat-era mentality

 

Of course these are just anec­dotal examples, but they reflect the unwashed remnants of the Panchayat era mentality that if you talk sweet words about prosper­ity, unity and development, you will not be expected to walk the talk. During the Panchayat era, we witnessed royal trips to different parts of the country. Thousands of people used to gather to listen to the rosy speeches of the royal family members. But once they left the venue, the organizers left everything in chaos, forcing the people to clean up afterwards. The purpose of the speeches of those days was to cheer up the public and had literally no practical value or real intent to transform the people’s lives.

 

Looking at the antics of Prime Minister Oli, there is a growing worry that he will continue to cheer up and cheer on Nepal and Nepalis, but do very little to actu­ally make a positive impact on our lives. That is the last thing Nepal and Nepalis need.