Government should concentrate on actions rather than words

Kathmandu: Normal life has been crippled across the country following the blockade imposed by the agitating Madhesi parties and India but the government seems to be only talking than taking any action. It seems Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and his ministers are more involved in delivering speeches than taking any concrete action.

It is natural that the government cannot resolve all issues overnight but it should focus more on action. People have high hopes for the incumbent government as it was formed on the basis of broad public support, so people are expecting the government to deliver more than just making public speeches. The government has taken various initiatives to make the country self-dependent and resolve the current problems but its actions are not sufficient.

The government’s stance against Indian interference is highly appreciated and the statements of the Prime Minister is really laudable as we are facing the current problems due to failure of our leaders to take a stance against India in the past, but now it is the time for delivering the basics to the public.

As the Madhes problem emerged, it was natural that it would take some time to resolve it but this issue has dragged on and people’s problems are getting worse every passing day. Currently people are facing problems due to shortage of petroleum products and goods. On top of that, another bigger problem has emerged due to the artificial shortage created by entrepreneurs in collusion with the responsible authorities of the state. The shortage could be resolved gradually by bringing goods from other alternative destinations. The government should airlift petroleum products, medicine and other essentials from other possible destinations, which could help normalize the situation and also give some momentum to the national economy. The government should not compromise to spend state treasury to airlift goods for normalizing the lives of the public. As there is no environment for development expenditure, in this context, the government can give momentum to some viable projects.

The government has been mulling to provide energy efficient methods of reducing dependency on petroleum products, promote solar power among others but it has failed to implement its decisions. For example, the government can give subsidy for installing solar panels and exempt tax in electric vehicles, which will help to ease the problem. Similarly, the government talked about airlifting more fuel from other countries but it has not materialized yet. This is a time of crisis and handling it and maintaining normal public life should be the priority. So, it should work on taking every initiative rather than spending time on the discussion of rates and other things. The government should realize the fact that if the situation remains the same for much longer, people will gradually lose their confidence, so urgent action should be taken to make the supply of goods normal as life has gone out of order due to shortage and crisis. The recent report of Nepal Rastra Bank has also indicated that essential supplies should be airlifted to return life to normalcy.

Rather than only attempting to make the talks with the Tarai groups fruitful, the government should start its work of making the law and order situation normal. The agitating groups have started criminal acts, stepping away from the political nature, like attacking ambulances carrying patients and torching vehicles carrying lifesaving medical supplies. The government and main opposition Nepali Congress should make their stance clear on the demands of agitating groups. They should clearly state that those demands which are aimed at empowering people will be met while impractical demands will not be fulfilled. The government should mobilize all security forces for enforcing law and order situation in the country as no group has the right to violate other’s rights while demanding their rights. It is really unfortunate that the government seem helpless in front of agitators as many police have been just observing while the agitators are burning vehicles or attacking people’s properties. They should start development activities in the most neglected places. It should expedite the reconstruction work by mobilizing all security forces which will give movement to national economy.

This is the time for government and ministers to talk less and engage in hectic preparations to smooth the situation but the prime minister and ministers are doing the opposite. They all know that it is worthless to request India to lift the blockade and it is also worthless to request the agitating groups to show humanity and lift the agitation taking into consideration problems faced by people, as these are not going to happen. Rather than just giving unnecessary statements, the government should hold regular media conference at least once in a week to inform people what efforts are ongoing to bring life to normal and when it is going to happen. It will help people to prepare mentally and build resilient capacity. The more the PM and ministers talk in the media without improving the situation, the more they are losing the people’s confidence. Frustration is growing among the people, so they should pay heed. The PM and ministers should come out of the illusion that they will win the hearts of people by making hard nationalistic statements only – the popularity of the Oli government is in a downward spiral.

There are credible reports that senior government officials are involved in black marketeering and creating artificial shortage of goods, so strong action should be taken against them. For example, the chief of NOC was involved in corruption and some senior officials of the Ministry of Supply are not cooperating in its bid to ferry goods from other countries, so action should be taken against them. Black marketeering is rampant in the capital and other parts of the country but the government authorities have failed to take action against them. The government should create one very strong monitoring mechanism and stern action should be taken against those involved in such acts especially when the country is in crisis. Similarly, the government should amend all bureaucratic hurdles and make procurement of goods easy from all possible sources. One very important thing the government could do is declare a humanitarian crisis in the country and seek support from friendly countries for supplying necessary commodities including medicine. The government should mobilize all governmental and non-governmental institutions across the globe and publicize the inhuman blockade imposed by India and its interference in the internal affairs of the country. The government should learn from the incident in the United Kingdom where Modi faced humiliation for his action after Nepali people protested during his visit. In his address to the nation, Prime Minister tried to clarify the issue of blockade by India but it should officially announce humanitarian crisis due to the blockade and appeal to the world community for support in supply of essential goods. The government should state the current scenario the country is facing, like running out of stock of life saving medicine including blood bags which could create chaos in the health sector.

In conclusion, the government should speak less and make immediate short term and long term measures to address the humanitarian crisis. It should realize that the people who supported Oli and his government for its nationalistic stand could soon lose their support if it does not rapidly implement actions to normalize the supply of goods and only keeps on giving speeches.

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