NEWS

WIRES

OTHER

Response to "Monarchy is The Long-Term Fate of Independent Nepal'

Letter to the Editor

Monarchy is The Long-Term Fate of Independent Nepal

Without exception, every Nepalese citizen and every 'foreigner' I've spoken with has agreed that the institution of the monarchy should have been left in place, but as an individual without government decision authority. The loss of the national identity of Nepal is occurring everyday with ill-conceived ideas and actions. What we see is a lack of three skills: critical thinking, which leads to quality strategic planning, which supports long term future decision assessments.

As an example, the decision to remove all statues relating to rule under the kings does nothing but leave a multitude of bases which will be both defaced and loaded with 'flash in the pan' statues of people. But too many decisions are being made this way. Had the government, for example, worked with the business community and law enforcement to devise a holistic plan to support the desired decrease in crime in the Kathmandu Valley, the city would not have been subject to many days of protests by workers and students when the government announced its new closure times for all bars, restaurants, and discos, etc.

Instead a plan that everyone agreed to and followed could have been developed and implemented in a timely fashion had the three thinking skills been used. A second example was the immediate implementation of the new liquor laws. There is NO national identity card which would ensure that those buying alcohol ARE 18, there was no notice to smaller shopkeepers who are now rebuilding 3 meter by 5 meter storefronts, and certainly not enough government infrastructure to manage the thousands of license applications that need to be processed. And after all this IS done, there is no taxation board that is transparent so the public can assure that the taxes collected are then used and not 'misplaced'.

The opportunity for Nepal to become the socially conscience state of equality as promised by most parties during the campaign will only come to pass once thinking skills are in place to critically evaluate all options before decisions are made.

Regards,
Meg