KATHMANDU, May 25: Today marks the 100 days of KP Sharma Oli as the 41st prime minister of the country. Oli assumed office on February 15, 2018 and on March 11, he secured vote of confidence by three-fourth majority.
After becoming the 41st prime minister of the country, Oli said that the government would adopt zero tolerance policy against corruption and prioritize economic prosperity and development. He also said that the government would invite national and foreign investments in productive areas that would help to generate employment in the country.
Political analyst Pusushotom Dahal said that Oli’s government had a good start and it had dedicated time to carry on routine works.
Minister appointments
Oli’s decision to welcome competent new and old faces in his cabinet of ministers was welcomed by the people. Oli was able to steer away from internal pressures when he appointed Yubaraj Khatiwada as finance minister instead of , Lal Babu Pandit initially as Minister of Environment but was later shifted to Ministry of General Administration, Gokarna Bista, Minister of Labor and Employment and Ram Bahadur Thapa, Minister of Home Affairs.
Oli’s India visit
1,000 wasted days
On April 6, Oli went on a three day state visit to India where he along with his counterpart jointly inaugurated the integrated check post, committed to solve the border disputes, increase India’s investment over hydropower project, establish railways and waterways connectivity to benefit Nepal. Laying foundation stone at Arun III was delayed until Modi came to Nepal on May 11.
Modi’s Nepal visit
PM Modi acted like a big brother, without bothering to wait for Nepal’s invite when he visited its neighbor on May 11 with jumbo security personnel. The visit questioned why the Nepali government had stayed silent regarding heavy presence of Indian personnel during Modi’s visit.
However, Oli was successful to lure the Indian government to remove its field office from Biratnagar which was established to allow passage of Nepali vehicles to India after the Koshi flood destroyed regular road.
Successful foreign policy
Former Foreign Minister Mahendra Pandey stated that Oli’s government had succeeded in mending a relationship with India while balancing with China. “India took Oli to be closer to China but this time, both the prime ministers were able to showcase trust with one another.”
During his addresses in the federal parliament, Oli said that the government prioritized friendship with all neighbors and the world based on ‘mutual respect and needs’.
Busting syndicate and gold smugglers nexus
The government was successful to end syndicate in public transport. Likewise, under the leadership of joint secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the government was able to arrest 30 people, including Chudamani Uprety, aka Gorey, involved in 33 kg gold smuggling. A commendable step is that the government didn’t come under pressure after senior Nepal Police officials were involved in the case.
The Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security scrapped a policy of the Malaysian government that forced migrant workers to pay exorbitant fees for various procedures from its authorized agents, Malaysian companies and their sub-agents in Nepal including, MiGRAMS, health checkup syndicate, One-Stop Centers (OSC), foreign landing visa (VLN) and GSG services.
The Ministry has also started an action against manpower companies that loot potential migrants.
Tough against contractors
The government threatened to terminate contracts if contractors were found to delay developmental works. Following the threat of arrest, contractors have seemingly rushed to achieve deliveries on time.
The appointment of Inspector General of Nepal Police and Armed Police force without any clash, which was create a buzz during previous government’s tenure. The case is still going on at Supreme Court.
Ending power outage
The government was able to end power outage from the country after it started to provide continuous supply in industrial areas.
Communist party merger
KP Shrama Oli and his counterpart Pushpa Kamal Dahal were able to merge their parties to form Nepal Communist Party after 52 years. Post-unification, the country yearns to become stable and speed up development efforts.
The criticisms:
- Oli failed to raise 18-month pending issue of demonetized Indian notes with Modi
- Oli failed to demand revision of 1950’s treaty despite being a critic that views it as ‘unfair’
- The government’s silence during Modi’s relatively unexpected visit without initial official invite that led to the cancellation of Oli’s visit to China
- Civic felicitation and Guard of Honor to Modi
- Inability to address price hike in fuel
