Democracy For Nepal: Paying For Democracy

Friday, August 04, 2006

Paying For Democracy

Proposed Constitution

Draft 1

President, Rs 100,000 a month,
Vice President, Rs 70,000 a month,
Cabinent Members, Rs 60,000 a month, 20 Ministers, Rs 1,000,000

Total Rs 1,170,000 per month

National Parliament

Lower House, 180 Members, Rs 30,000 a month, Rs 5,400,000
Upper House, 60 Members, Rs 35,000 a month, Rs 2,100,000

Total Rs 7,500,000 per month

Three State Parliaments

Lower Houses, 360 Members, Rs 20,000 a month, Rs 7,200,000
Upper Houses, 120 Members, Rs 25,000 a month, Rs 3,000,000

Total Rs 10,200,000 per month

Three State Executives

Three Governors, Rs 50,000 a month, Rs 150,000
Three Cabinets, 15 each, 45 Total, Rs 40,000 a month, Rs 1,800,000

Total Rs 1,950,000 per month

75 District Chairpersons, Rs 20,000 a month each, Rs 1,500,000
District Level Elected Officials, 20-30 per district, Rs 15,000 each, Rs 375,000

Total Rs 1,875,000 per month

Village Mayors, 4000 Total, at Rs 10,000 each, Rs 40,000,000
Town And City Mayors, 40, at Rs 20-30,000 each, Rs 1,000,000
Wada Chairpersons, 4000 * 9 is 36,000, at Rs 7,000 each, Rs 252,000,000

Total Rs 293,000,000

27 million people. Likely 13 million votes. At Rs. 5 per vote earned by a national party. Rs 65 million per year.

Total Rs 12 million per month

Grant Total 327,695,000 per month.

This looks a little too rosy. This is the expensive scenario. Cost cuttings are needed.

Proposed Constitution

Draft 2

President, Rs 60,000 a month,
Vice President, Rs 50,000 a month,
Cabinent Members, Rs 35,000 a month, 20 Ministers, Rs 700,000

Total Rs 810,000 per month

National Parliament

Lower House, 180 Members, Rs 30,000 a month, Rs 5,400,000
Upper House, 60 Members, Rs 35,000 a month, Rs 2,100,000

Total Rs 7,500,000 per month

Three State Parliaments

Lower Houses, 360 Members, Rs 20,000 a month, Rs 7,200,000
Upper Houses, 120 Members, Rs 25,000 a month, Rs 3,000,000

Total Rs 10,200,000 per month

Three State Executives

Three Governors, Rs 50,000 a month, Rs 150,000
Three Cabinets, 15 each, 45 Total, Rs 40,000 a month, Rs 1,800,000

Total Rs 1,950,000 per month

75 District Chairpersons, Rs 20,000 a month each, Rs 1,500,000
District Level Elected Officials, 20-30 per district, Rs 10,000 each, Rs 250,000

Total Rs 1,750,000 per month

Village Mayors, 4000 Total, at Rs 7,000 each, Rs 28,000,000
Town And City Mayors, 40, at Rs 20,000 each, Rs 800,000
Wada Chairpersons, 4000 * 9 is 36,000, at Rs 4,000 each, Rs 144,000,000

Total Rs 172,800,000

27 million people. Likely 13 million votes. At Rs. 2 per vote earned by a national party. Rs 26 million per year.

Total Rs 2 million per month approx.

Grant Total 197,010,000 per month.

This looks better, but it is still a lot. But we have to remember the federal government does not pay for all. The state and district governments pay also. And we have to compare this expense to the expenses on the monarchy. Democracy is worth the price. We inculcate a culture of full time politicians from the grassroots onwards. This structure will also help us get strongly anti-corruption.

Proposed Constitution

At The Village Level

Village Mayors, 4000 Total, at Rs 7,000 each, Rs 28,000,000
Town And City Mayors, 40, at Rs 20,000 each, Rs 800,000
Wada Chairpersons, 4000 * 9 is 36,000, at Rs 4,000 each, Rs 144,000,000

This is where a big chunk of the expense is coming from, especially at the Wada level. Perhaps we can reduce the costs by envisioning part time Wada chairpersons who get paid Rs 2000 a month, or even Rs 1000 a month.

Wada Chairpersons, 4000 * 9 is 36,000, at Rs 2,000 each, Rs 72,000,000
Grant Total 125,010,000 per month.
Wada Chairpersons, 4000 * 9 is 36,000, at Rs 1,000 each, Rs 36,000,000
Grant Total 89,010,000 per month.

As you can see, the costs go down dramatically when you envision part-timers for Wada chairpersons.

The question is, will and should Nepal pay Rs 89 million a month for democracy? That right there is big reason why the monarchy has to be abolished. It is the money, stupid.

Abolish the monarchy, abolish the army, pay for democracy instead.

Abolish The Monarchy, Abolish The Army

In The News

High-level Commission summons Katawal, Rana NepalNews
Sign ceasefire, human rights code of conduct before CA polls: RJP chief Thapa
Eight children killed from armed conflict during ceasefire: Report
Industrialist shot at in Birgunj A group of armed assailants in motorcycles shot Agrawal near Ghadigharwa Pokhari of the district, while on a morning walk at around 6.30 in the morning...... The paper was left by Indian criminal Chotelal Sahani's group. The group had carried out similar attacks against other industrialists of the district before.
Nepal not to rush for entering into HIPC, MDRI: Finance Minister Dr Mahat Mahat has said that Nepal would expedite reform measures for the betterment of the national economy rather than rushing to enter into the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI)....... HIPC was launched by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a comprehensive approach to debt reduction in highly indebted poor countries and MDRI was launched in 2006 as an important supplemental initiative for debt relief and progress towards the millennium development goals based on a G8 initiative in 2005....... Nepal currently has over Rs 234 billion outstanding foreign debt while domestic stands at Rs 84 billion as of July 16..... a total of 40 countries, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa, are now determined eligible to receive debt relief under the HIPC initiative. .... countries who have entered the HIPC initiative have registered disappointing economic growth, adding, “As Nepal holds tremendous potential to achieve a double digit growth in the changed context, entering into HIPC would be a deterring factor.” ....... “After entering the HIPC, foreign aid flow is likely to be stopped in Nepal’s potentially competitive areas such as hydropower and electricity”
Try guilty army men in civil Court: Rights body
Probe commission grills CoAS Thapa; ‘We only followed state orders

Tourist arrivals by air up by over seven percent: NTB
The country’s future is dark - By Kunda Dixit Nepal’s electricity demand is increasing at 60 MW a year ..... The coming winter and winters till 2013 will see power cuts lasting 8-10 hours a day even if new projects are undertaken right away. Still, at the Ministry of Water Resources and the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) it is difficult to detect a sense of urgency. ...... there will be a 150MW shortfall during peak hours in the dry season. .... Loss from the grid due to pilferage and technical reasons is 24 percent, one of the highest in the world. Reducing this by half would be equivalent to installing a new 60MW powerplant. A campaign to get consumers to switch from incandescent to compact fluorescent lamps could reduce nationwide energy demand by another 40MW........ Implementing seasonal tariffs for industries would earn NEA Rs 2 billion a year selling flood energy that would otherwise be wasted and time-of-day pricing would reduce peak demand by another 20MW. Even on the generation side, the situation needn’t be so precarious. A dozen determined private Nepali investors are already adding about 30MW a year with local financing...... The project that can come onstream earliest is the 309 MW Upper Tama Kosi .... wants to increase Upper Tama Kosi to 450 MW and export monsoon power to India. ..... so there is no repetition of the Khimti debacle in the early 1990s when a government that wanted to show its investor-friendliness gave away too many concessions, including dollar denomination and an escalation clause on high tariffs........ If the final decision on Upper Tama Kosi is taken at the end of this year and construction starts in 2007 it will still take five more years to come on line. “We have to be fast,” says Gyanendra Lal Pradhan of BPC. “If we start today we may be able to stop load shedding in seven years. If we don’t, we’ll have power cuts till 2016.” ....... A 220 kVa transmission line from Khimti to Dhalkebar is nearly complete and when extended to the border will allow export of flood energy to India and import of electricity from the southern neighbour in winter when India has a surplus and Nepal has a shortage......
Demanding For Election Date - By Keshab Poudel demands like announcement of the date for the elections of Constituent Assembly, interim constitution, formation of interim government and dissolution of present House of Representatives and actions against the security personnel involved in oppression of People’s Movement II ...... their major demand calling for the announcement of the date for the election of CA is a common demand of people of all walks of life...... some regressive elements are hatching conspiracy against the elections of Constituent Assembly ...... “Members of House of Representatives and some leaders of seven parties alliance are, knowingly or unknowingly, working to encourage regressive forces. If the date for the elections is announced, all of us will go to the village to campaign for democratic republic.” ...... Leaders of mainstream parties want to prolong present transition period without announcing the date for elections. ...... Some vested interests in power at present are interested to have an interim constitution without popular representation as long as possible...... K.P. Sharma Oli. “We cannot hold the free and fair elections as long as the management of the arms and ammunition of the Maoists.” ...... In his recent meeting with prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala, US ambassador to Nepal James F. Moriarty reportedly stressed the need to stop the rebels from joining the government until they laid down arms. The Himalayan Times reported that Moriarty told Koirala that “ Washington was very very concerned about what could happen in Nepal at a time when the government has been struggling to deal with the rebels sternly.” ...... Once the election is held, many of the confusions, worries and tensions of the common people will have a just and democratic redress ..... A truly popular government backed by a fresh opinion of the people would subside frustration and pessimism which is rampant at present. ....... If the genius is available to draft an interim constitution within 15 days, it would not be impossible to find out a team of elections commissioners who cold hold the elections within next four months. .......

Dishanirdesh

Keith Bloomfield, Shekhar Koirala Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

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