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

Private sector in post-conflict state buildingSome clear advantages of a body like NBI that give it a real chance ofsucceeding are, to mention a few, facts such as it is not a direct partyto the conflict, it can mobilise resources in support of peace-buildinginitiatives, and that it has a comprehensive networking capacity andpresence throughout the country. It has the potential to play a vital rolein this post-conflict period by creating employment opportunities tothe victims of conflict and taking business to the conflict-affected anddisadvantaged areas where feasible. Although the impact of NBI is stillto be felt in the post-conflict scenario, its approach and willingness tobecome proactively involved in a strategic manner certainly is a positivestep towards sustainable peace.Another positive move that has come out of the business community inthe recent years is the reaching of an understanding between the FNCCIand Confederation of Nepalese Industries to work together to advancethe common agenda of the private sector. They have agreed to cooperatewith each other on issues such as the Terai agitation, irregular electricitysupply, industrial labour disputes and the government decision to cancelpassports of the several businesspersons defaulting bank loan repayment.In a joint statement, they clarified the need for the two parties to uniteby stating “the two institutions have decided to become united becauseunless major problems of industrial sector are not resolved, the economywill be affected and, ultimately, the private sector will collapse”. 4I have argued elsewhere (Sharma 2007) that one of the areas where thebusiness community could make an immediate impact is, for example,in providing the would-be migrants with some essential vocational andskill-upgrading training before they migrate to a foreign land, therebyfacilitating in the further increase of remittance coming into the country.They could also initiate mechanisms where the skill and accumulatedwealth of the returnee workers could be used for further income generatingactivities by providing business counselling, further upgrading of skills andso on. That way, they would be facilitating the investment of their skillsand resources, which in turn could create more job opportunities andstrengthen the economy.These are just a couple of examples where the private sector could play aninstrumental role in shaping the post-conflict economy of a ‘New Nepal’.There are various other sectors they could work on, such as education,health, manufacturing, service or microfinance, and create livelihood4www.nepalnews.com accessed on March 1, 2007.60