By Shashi P.B.B. Malla
Reading the lines – and between the lines – of daily newspapers’ production and the overwhelming social media feed, it does seem that we are on the road to damnation.
According to various political experts and commentators, the Balendra Shah government has made a grand mess of things.
However, what we should not at all forget is that the current government inherited most of the mess.
The so-called main political parties and above all their leaders had left the country beyond any hope or aspirations.
Their nepotism and endemic corruption had made the country reeling.
Above all, the main institutions of government had become non-functional.
The interim government of Sushila Karki did not start the work of reconstruction and rejuvenation. This was left to a later government.
The level of the people’s frustration was reflected in the election turnout and the overwhelming mandate granted.
The landslide victory of the Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP) did give it a massive mandate for change.
It also allowed them permission to seek accountability from the parties that ruled the country since 1990, and also the retribution.
There is no question that the party leaders who were principally responsible for the pathetic state of the country cannot go scot free.
The present government must find ways and means to bring them to justice.
As regards the weakness of the present government – including personal foibles, who among us are without scars? We should not be the first to throw stones at our elected representatives.
The government is confronted with colossal problems not of their making and must find quick solutions in multiple sectors.
As responsible citizens, we must give the government an honest opportunity to take the country out of the terrible swamp created by Oli, Deuba, Dahal, etc., etc. and not always seek the fly in the ointment.
We Nepalese do have the tendency to expect too much, too soon – and that too at the personal level.
What the government can do responsibly is to identify the major problems facing the country and constitute task forces led by experts in their fields. The country and the people at large should be informed on a regular basis by no less than the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The writer can be reached at: shashimalla125@gmail.com
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