Prof Dr Yubraj Sangroula

Looking at the past manifestoes of political parties, focus on poverty reduction and economic and social integration seems to be only a political gimmick to win votes. These manifestoes seem unrealistic and are made without enough homework. This election is no different from those held in the past. After the election, we can expect the same old talks by political parties on the restructuring of the state and its policies. The political parties’ commitment toward big projects like hydro power, roadways and transport are still  to be proven. However, I am optimistic that these big projects will begin after the election - if not for the nation and the people,  they will do it for personal benefit. As a professor, I would say that if the same situation of manipulating students into dirty politics of shutting universities down for months continues, a lot of colleges and universities will be forced to close for good.

 

 

Jagadish Rathi

Chairman, Tax and Revenue Committee, Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI)

 

 

We have faced more than a decade of conflict and several years of political instability. Therefore, this election brings hope for the economy. We are expecting concrete implementation of economic plans rather than speeches from political leaders. We are facing the worst power crisis ever and there has to be some short term plan to mitigate it. The long heard blathers of producing 10,000-20,000 MW of electricity has to be stopped and transmission lines must be installed instead. There is a lot to expect and demand for the economy after elections.

Despite being an agriculture-based country, Nepal has failed to capitalize on agricultural products as it has not kept up with modern agro technologies to meet the supply deficit. Infrastructural barriers like poor road and transportation systems have also hindered the smooth functioning of business. We have not been able to cash on our tourism industry due to some obvious political reasons. Our tourism is based on pilgrimage sites like Lumbini, Janakpur, Muktinath and many others which we have not been able to build on. But we must look beyond to newer possibilities. In collaboration with the Nepal Tourism Board, we have a big opportunity to making the country an educational hub, and in order to meet this demand, construction of the next international airport in Nijgad must be resumed. All of these infrastructures have to be built and we have to realize that remittance cannot be a long term solution for the economy.