REGULAR CABINET MEETING UNDERWAY Kathmandu, 25 Aril: A cabinet meeting in underway at Singha Durbar. The Thursday meeting in regular. Nnnn GOVT. OFFICIALS EXPOSE TIES BETWEEN BUSINESS AND POLITICOS Kathmandu, 25 April: Top bureaucrats today said that the nexus between politicians and businessmen and politicians and corrupt officials is the main reason why government has failed to break the syndicate system in public service sectors, including transportation and infrastructure development. Both parties are serving each other’s interest and shirking their public duty, hence low quality services have been thrust upon people, the bureaucrats said, Ptakash Acharya writes in The Himalayan Times.. While talking to journalists at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, country’s top bureaucrats today appeared in a completely new avatar as they openly criticised political leaders, something hitherto rarely observed; maybe they were emboldened by the fact that the Khil Raj Regmi-led government is made up of former bureaucrats only. “The government so far has passed three decisions to break the syndicate system in public transportation since 1997 and the government has tried many times to eradicate this system, but all efforts have gone down the drain because of the nexus between politicians and businessmen,” said Chief Secretary Leela Mani Paudyal. “Businessmen provide money to politicians during elections, and politicians later oblige them when they come to power. Strong government leadership is the need of the hour,” he added. “The government must come up with alternative ways to eliminate the syndicate system.” Krishna Hari Baskota, Secretary at the OPMCM, said the growing trend of trade unionism and degrading moral values in public post holders are complementing each other at the cost of good governance. “Competent bureaucrats do not want to go to front desk offices, which are meant for direct service delivery to the people. But, there is a group of around 2,000 bureaucrats who always manage to get them posted at attractive/lucrative places,” Baskota said. “We seriously lack good human resource planning, hence there is no ‘right man in the right place culture’ in Nepal’s administration.” Baskota said corruption, frustration among civil servants, frequent transfers of competent officials and lack of discipline were obstacles to good governance. Paudyal said that the government was making attempts to improve the service delivery system. “The bureaucrats have nixed some politicians’ actions in the past but their efforts only will not be enough to establish good governance,” he said. Nnnn INDIA SUPPORT VITAL FOR CA POLL Kathmandu, 25 April:: Unified CPN-Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal today said that his upcoming visit to India would be focusing on garnering necessary support to make the election to the Constituent Assembly a success, The Himalayan Times reports from Nepalgunj.. Unveiling a statue of martyr Setu BK in Nepalgunj, Dahal said, “I will be heading to India in a matter of few days and will seek support for the next CA polls.” Stating that assistance from both India and China is indispensable to hold the CA polls successfully, he said next election cannot be conducted without the assistance from the neighbouring countries. Dahal held that he had learnt a lesson from the erstwhile Constituent Assembly and sought the necessary support from China during his recent visit to the northern neighbour to conduct the polls successfully. Noting that country has lagged behind in terms of development due to political instability, he stressed on the need to zero in on economic development. “Economic development is a must for building a new Nepal. The country is endowed with abundant natural resources. But the people are suffering because of lack of political stability,” he said, adding, “Equal collaboration with both China and India is necessary for the country’s all round development, sustainable peace and new constitution.” Further on future India visit, Dahal said that he would seek Delhi’s support for large hydro projects, development of Lumbini and mid-hill highway, among others. The achievements gained from the past movements had heightened Nepal’s image in the world, he said. However, Dahal expressed displeasure over the parties’ and leaders’ failure to use and manage those achievements to meet people’s aspirations. He called on the people and parties to defend past achievements. On a different note, Dahal expre-ssed confidence that the next election to Constituent Assembly would be held by November-end. He urged the people and parties to extend support for its success as it is interwoven with country’s fate. Nnnn MAOIST CHIEF WILL INSPECT HYDRO POWER PROJECT DURING INDIA VISIT INDICATING NEW DELHI IS INTERESSSTED IN SUCH PROJECTS IN NEPALS Kathmandu, 25 April: The official schedule of UCPN Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ’s much-hyped India visit has finally been fixed, Mahesh Acharya writes in The Kathmandu Post from New Delhi, Mahesh Acharya writes in The Kathmandu Post from New Delhi... According to sources close to the Indian government, Dahal will land in New Delhi on Saturday evening. Before returning to Kathmandu on Tuesday, Dahal is scheduled to hold crucial meetings with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other senior leaders. The last day of the trip on Tuesday is set to be the most significant one as he will be meeting PM Singh and External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid separately. The same day, Khurshid will host a luncheon in Dahal’s honour, sources said. Though details of the meetings are yet to be finalised, sources said Dahal will be holding a slew of deliberations with senior leaders from the ruling Congress, opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, Janata Dal (United) and Left parties. It was not immediately clear if he will be meeting Chief of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Sonia Gandhi. Dahal is also scheduled to go to either Himachal Pradesh to see a hydel project or a Maruti plant close to New Delhi. ‘A Positive Shift’ Dahal who arrives here on his third visit after joining the peace process, went through many ups and downs in his relationship with New Delhi. Hence, it is no surprise that this visit has been looked upon with great interest in India. Indian leaders and experts who closely follow Nepal issues said Dahal’s visit marks the ‘realisation of the mistakes in the past made by both New Delhi and Dahal’. “The visit shows that India and Prachanda both have now understood the ground reality,” Dahal’s close friend and the Principal General Secretary of the Janata Dal (U), KC Tyagi, said. He said India ‘could not pay the costs of not engaging Dahal’ while formulating its Nepal policy as ‘he is the central figure of Nepali politics.’ Chairman of the Nepal Democracy Solidarity Committee and General Secretary of the ruling Nationalist Congress Party, DP Tripathi, said Dahal’s visit will help take Indo-Nepal relations to a new height. Former Indian ambassador to Nepal Shiv Shankar Mukherjee said such visits will sort out ‘misgivings and misconceptions.’ “Rumours, conspiracy theories, populist rhetoric muddied the water. The only way to clear the water is to have discussions,” he said, when asked to analyse the Dahal-Delhi relationship. Another old Nepal hand and retired Maj Gen of the Indian Army, Ashok Mehta, termed Dahal’s visit as ‘New Delhi’s recognition of the transformation of the Maoists in Nepal.’ “It also shows the importance India is now attaching to Dahal and his transformed party,” he added. nnnn ELECTON COMMISSION BLAMED BY SHITAULA FOR DELAY IN ANNOUNCING POLL DATE Kathmandu, 25 April:- Nepali Congress (NC) General Secretary Krishana Prasad Sitaula has claimed that democracy will come to an end if the Constituent Assembly (CA) election could not be conducted by mid-November, The Kathmandu Post writes.. Saying that holding CA election within November is the last chance of redemption for the political parties, former home minister Sitaula said that failure to stage CA election s by November would erode public faith from the political parties, Chief Justice and Election Commission. "The democracy which has been derailed after the dissolution of the CA can only be brought to the right track by election," said Situala speaking at an interaction programme in Reporters Club in Kathmandu today. "We have to hold the CA election by November at any cost," he added. He was of the opinion that the speculations regarding the election were largely due to the failure of the EC in carrying out its activities effectively. The NC leader said that the election in November will be guaranteed only if the task of updating the voter-roll was completed by Ashad 15. Furthermore, he made it clear that no discussion has been held within the party regarding forming alliance or partnering with any other political parties in the upcoming CA election and that the statements given by some of the senior party leaders over the issue was purely personal. "Discussion has not been held regarding forging an alliance. However, NC will lead the democratic forces in the election," said Sitaula. NC President Sushil Koirala, on Tuesday, had opined that his party could work in partnership with CPN-UML at some of the constituencies in the upcoming CA election . Nnnn MEDIA GOOGLE “It was the four forces that failed the CA. All-party consensus is, therefore, necessary to resolve current problems. “Government repressed us in 1995 and we fought a 10-year insurgency. Fighting a guerilla war when the king and party was not easy. Yet we fought the war. Now it’s a weak government and there are many contradictions within the four forces. If they tried to use force against us, they will face a very bad situation.” (Suresh Ale Magar , CPN Maoist, The Himalayan Times, 25 April) nnnn