Each of us here in Nepal complain how we are headed for certain failure or doom or crash. I feel we are very close to success provided we make a strong stand for rule of law in this country. (re-read the previous sentence 2 more times to realize the importance of this)
Here are 4 opportunities I see that unlocks prosperity into Nepal, and how they can be turned into reality, and what is the main barrier. I hope you lead yourself to removing this main barrier, I call ‘absence of rule of law‘.
Opportunity 1: The Himalayas are the water reservoirs for more than 1.3 Billion (1,300,000,000) people on Earth. Even the next conflict will be on Water. We better harness our liquid gold fully. Water is the next gold.
Action taken till now:The Government is trying to attract the Foreign investors by begging its neighbors or other countries directly. And it is trying to make every-one inside Nepal happy and rich immediately while asking for direct foreign investment (which it mistakes as foreign aid).
Take this Action instead: Stop begging. Start enforcing the rule of law. Let the Entrepreneurs figure out ways. Just be a good Watchdog (literally).
Opportunity 2: Lumbini is the birthplace of Buddha who possibly with the right branding, 1 Billion (1000,000,000) Buddhists in the world would love to visit. Janakpur is the birthplace of Sita revered by Hindus, and one of the must visit places for another 1 Billion (1000,000,000) Hindus. Add Pashupati Nath and 2 the 4″dham” holy pilgrimage sites and more…, and you have a complete prosperity package for Nepalis.
Action taken till now: We recruit passionless bureaucrats and disliked politicians market Lumbini’s importance in the world. You beg others to help you. Hiring yet another Foreign consultant to make grand plans won’t help. We are all for the idea but short on execution.
Take this Action instead:- The magic is in how we execute our plans. How about recruiting internationally acclaimed Nepali citizens or even our foreign Nepal lover friends as our goodwill ambassadors to this job? Just focus on establishing a rule of law so that responsible citizens and entrepreneurs figure out how to get a billion Buddhists here at least in our lifetime. Believe us, we can.
Opportunity 3: More than 2 million Nepalis are outside Nepal earning at least twice a Nepali earns in Nepal. (5 Billion dollars a year?)
Action taken till now: We use our remittance bringing brothers and sisters as milking cows but treat them like shit. Our government workers treat them like third class citizens, steal their luggage at airports, con them in taxis, and loot them in guest houses and don’t give loans to their families for all the work they have done to bring the country out of poverty.(Full article on how we treat remittance workers here)
Take this Action instead: Make remittance workers feel secure, i.e ensure rule of law. Give dignity back to Nepali citizens. Encourage banks to lend to their families, their earnings in the Arab or Malaysia is THE collateral!
Also when Nepalis return back to Nepal with skills, help them come back and start something. Help Nepal lovers, like NRN and foreigners back by easing their stay here if they create opportunities in Nepal. You are the rule of law. Here is how you can help in detail.
Opportunity 4: 75% of Nepalis are under 35 and at a resourceful, healthy age to work smart and hard. Most Nepalis are at the least bilingual in languages spoken by millions if not billions of people around the world.
Action taken till now: Successive governments are putting money into formal education. Concentrating on education is good but it is of not much use if we don’t link education directly to opportunities, which increases our prosperity.
Take this Action instead: Lets switch formal education to customized education. Lets teach children ‘Critical thinking’. Make them learn ‘community leadership’ or ‘entrepreneurship’ or being the ‘first follower’ (building support network)? Make ‘moral studies’ a practical subject. Learn languages like Chinese! Let us all remember that our ability to survive and thrive depends on how well we work with our two giant neighbors. Lets push all our energy on this. Hold teachers, parents, education sector accountable by enforcing the rule of law! If you are learning for a clue, maybe Nepal can learn from Finland on how to improve our education system.
Take away to Nepali rulers: Dear ruler, stop trying to make everyone in Nepal happy immediately, all the time and at the same time. You simply can’t. But your duty is to take the country forward (And we know, it takes time and in steps). To take it forward, the simplest step is to uphold the rule of law.
Take a vision (any vision) and follow through it. People may grumble now, but they will thank you later. We, people are the sheep, Be a watchdog to lead us to salvation. Don’t be a selfish wolf you are now. There won’t be sheep left if you stay so. You will starve yourself if other wolves won’t have destroyed you by then.
Want my tip?
Establish rule of law in Nepal !
Take away to Nepali citizens: Lets push actively (on the streets, if need be) for our government to set up a system of “rule of law”. Nepali citizens are more than capable to handle the rest. Will we citizens force our rulers to set up a system of ‘rule of law’ ?
We are inches from success (and prosperity)!
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would love to know where you disagree also. improves my knowledge 🙂
i agree with you on most of the points.
Hydo potential – with climate change and global warming lets be careful of what this potential entials in the decades to come along with the social and environmental implications about grand hydro projects. Micro hydor project may be the way forward. Rule of law – get hold of the hydro mafia and put them behind bars.
Lumbini – while Buddha was born here he was enlightened in Bodh Gaya India. Lets practise what he preached rather trying to see how we can economically benefit from an accident of birth.
Remittance – the pros and cons need to be weighed. The cost in terms of social values, loss of productive youth to foreign employment, seperated families and its social costs and implications. Generate employment in the country instead.
Rule of law: a) 14 to 18,000 people dead and missing and no one is accountable b) amassed fortunes by leaders, businessmen, police and bureaucrats disproportionate to their source of income c) over 600 SSads at the tax payers expense do we need them d) impunity and no justice e) whimsical Nepal bundhs and destruction of public property ……… i could go on. Challenge this ……….. one way or the other. Do not expect change from this bunch of leaders. They all need to be held accountable.
Great ideas Ujwal dai! Yes, we do need to stop complaining and suggest possible ways to attain success. Not only suggest but also execute. Biruwa Ventures http://www.biruwa.net/ is already executing on an idea to build an app targeted for Buddhists around the world promoting Lumbini. In 2010, about 100,000 tourists and pilgrims visited Lumbini, that’s less than 1/10th of 1 percent of the Buddhists around the world. Lumbini should be able to draw more than one million pilgrims every year from countries like Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and China. Note that all these countries have a rising middle class that is going to travel more and more. It is not a goal we cannot reach. I am certain many Buddhists around the world do not know of Lumbini – let’s change that!
To really reach the goal of one million pilgrims/tourists to Lumbini – we first need the infrastructure:
1) Reduce load-shedding
2) Build more hotels in the area to absorb capacity
3) Build roads linking all the historical and archeological sites
4) Finish the regional airport at Bhairahawa
5) Develop other tourists attractions in the region
Nepali entrepreneurs, the opportunity is there – the question is whether we will capitalize on it or some Indian or Chinese entrepreneur will!!!