English - Support to Participatory Constitution Building in Nepal ...

Chapter3Private sector in post-conflictstate buildingSagar Raj Sharma 11. IntroductionThe purpose of this chapter is to initiate a debate on the role of privatesector in conflict transformation and post-conflict state building. Theuncertain state of affairs in the current-day Nepal, and the shakyeconomy of the country raise some obvious questions. What went wrongin the ‘experiment’ with development in the last several decades? Andwhat role can the business community play in resurrecting this fragilecountry? There exists a plethora of literature and evidence to suggestthat development in Nepal so far has failed miserably. This has happenedbecause of many diverse factors, including centralisation in Kathmandu ofboth the government and the private structures, widespread corruptionand abuse of authority by bureaucrats and politicians, over-dependenceon foreign aid, failure of donors to ensure the proper use of their fundsand effective coordination of their activities and the exclusion of largesections of the population from a role in devising policy and programmedevelopment, to name a few.This paper argues that instead of continuing to rely heavily on foreignaid, Nepal should now focus on the constructive roles private sectoractors can play in transforming this country and mitigating possibilities offuture conflicts. In countries like Nepal that are undergoing the process oftransition from armed conflict to peace building, the failure of economicprogrammes a tangible promise of employment, trade, direct investmentand the promotion of local enterprise can have a major stabilising effect.But in order for that to materialise, however, an established rule of lawand good governance and the personal security are crucial. I would like toargue, nevertheless, that a pro-active role by the business community isthe only effective countermeasure to bring about such an environment.Stabilisation depends largely on the role private sector plays and theopportunities it creates. Hence, waiting for stabilisation as a pre-conditionfor private sector entry is in itself a self-defeating proposition.1Coordinator, graduate programme at the HNRSC of Kathmandu University; sagar@ku.edu.np47