In Bhutan, this is one sentence one hears often: “We are learning from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/now-the-economy-stupid">Nepal’s mistakes.</a>” Considering lack of political accountability and chronic incompetence of the past decades, Nepal indeed sets an example of what not to do. But Nepal has not forcibly evicted one sixth of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-population-to-cross-30-million">its population</a> like Bhutan did in the early 1990s. More than 100,000 <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mindfulness-about-bhutan-s-refugees">refugees </a>were transported across India to Nepal and lived for over 15 years in camps in eastern Nepal. Most have since been resettled in third countries, but there are still about 6,000 elderly refugees who want to return to their <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/searching-for-a-homeland-away-from-home">homeland</a>. This history has strained relations between the two Himalayan nations which share many of the same socio-economic, geopolitical and environmental challenges. Despite the asymmetry in size and population between Bhutan and Nepal, there is <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/missing-out-on-nepal-s-tourism-potential">untapped potentia</a>l for them to learn more from each other and cooperate.&nbsp; Both have abundant <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-new-national-natural-resources-and-fiscal-commission">natural resources</a> and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/pump-water-store-energy">clean energy sources</a>, both are sandwiched between two giant emerging global powers. Nepal and Bhutan also struggle with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/staying-home-to-create-jobs">creating enough jobs at home</a> and prevent <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-editorial/the-migration-myth">mass outmigration</a> of their youth. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-column/nepal-in-the-new-world-order">Nepal in the new world order</a>, Dhirendra Nalbo Bhutan’s defence and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/no-binary-foreign-policy?fb_comment_id=3583384368393672_3586424038089705">foreign policy </a>are handled by New Delhi, and there is a heavy presence of the Indian Army along Bhutan’s border with China, especially along the disputed Doklam region. Nepal is nominally more independent, and has tried to steer equidistant relations with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/india-china-rail-race">India and China</a>. Bhutan generates 2,326MW of electricity from plants built mostly by Indian companies and half this power is exported to India. The government’s Druk Holdings and Investment is looking to harness an additional 15,000MW of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-1st-hydroelectric-plant-is-a-museum-piece">hydroelectric</a> and 5,000MW solar power for which it will need over $25 billion in investments. There seems to be an acceptance among Bhutan’s officials that this is <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-geopolitics-of-nepal-s-politics">the geopolitical reality</a>, and the country has to live with exclusive <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-india-power-play">Indian involvement </a>in its energy planning.&nbsp; Nepal pursued a different path in developing hydropower, with private producers and international investors generating nearly 70% of electricity in the country. But India has gradually asserted itself in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepals-hydropower-goes-international?fbclid=IwAR1bfKP8flv5RQTnYALhmupWQH2hKL_BKiuylbGogpIbCd-dwY1goNvYsUY_aem_ASFlf8dMv3b2J0BWfSJITaR74lDt3yxH9t8Cg-eYZxRLLOS_dVwJwMTXqK7nxD6tfvI&amp;mibextid=Zxz2cZ">Nepal’s hydropower development</a> by sidelining Chinese involvement, and pressuring Nepal not to allow outside investment in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/reservoirs-of-suspicion/hydropower-geopolitics%20,3991">large reservoir projects</a> on its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-revenge-of-the-rivers">rivers</a>. The cascade of three out of four big hydropower plants in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/upper-arun-question-mark">Arun Basin</a> in eastern Nepal are all being built by an Indian state enterprise, more or less along the same model as Indian projects in Bhutan.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025022812024_ac6cf08607ee0873bb4f82e19d0917050c73b7efa8e7c3912525a3cd2efa85f0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_19" data-image-id="2025022812024_ac6cf08607ee0873bb4f82e19d0917050c73b7efa8e7c3912525a3cd2efa85f0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="1439" loading="lazy" alt="Photo: GMC"> </figure>  “We are a 100% hydro energy portfolio with about 2.5GW installed capacity with about another 1.5 GW in the pipeline in the next year or so,” says Ujjwal Deep Dahal, CEO of Druk Holdings and Investment. “While we are a net exporter of energy over a year, winter demands are increasing and we look to invest for additional power and importantly firm power.” Nepal also imports power from India in winter when its rivers are running low and demand is highest, but this is at a more expensive price than it exports during the rest of the year. Ecological and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/agroecology-nepal-s-answer-to-climate-change">climate concerns</a> are prompting Bhutan to diversify from harnessing hydropower to explore pump storage, geothermal and solar power – a model that Nepal could also pursue. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/pump-water-store-energy">Pump water, store energy</a>, Dipak Gyawali and Sudhindra Sharma While tensions between India and China affect Bhutan more than Nepal, Kathmandu has failed to adopt a more independent water and energy strategy. Despite being four times larger than Bhutan, Nepal has only 3,3000MW of installed capacity. It has also failed to increase domestic demand by electrifying industries, irrigation, transport and household consumption so surplus energy is not wasted. Nepal’s goal is to generate 28,000MW by 2035 but transmission and distribution infrastructure will have to keep pace. The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-great-game-2nd-half">suspension of the US-supported MCC project </a>may further delay energy trade and distribution. Climate collapse is rapidly <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/himalayan-icecap-melting-faster-than-thought">melting Himalayan glaciers</a>, and it is going to be risky building large expensive hydropower plants in Nepal and Bhutan. Both countries must learn from a glacial lake outburst flood in 2023 that swept away the 1,200MW Teesta III Projectin Sikkim, a $1.7 billion dam. In Nepal, the $800 million <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-monsoon-mess-in-melamchi">Melamchi Water Supply Project </a>for Kathmandu Valley was severely damaged in a flood in 2021. The eastern Himalaya in Nepal, Bhutan, India and southern Tibet are affected more severely by glacial lake expansion, and combined with seismicity post a major threat to energy security in the region. “We cannot predict disasters like these but we can’t also be fatalistic, we need to be pragmatic and strike the right balance,” says Pema Gyamtsho from Bhutan, and director general of Kathmandu-based ICIMOD (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development). “We have to invest in risk assessment before developing mega infrastructure. Where the risk is high, we should opt for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/small-is-still-possible">smaller hydropower and other alternatives like solar and biogas</a>. We should have options rather than putting all our eggs in the same basket.” <h2>GDP, GNH, GMC</h2> Bhutan’s audacious Gelephu Mindfulness City mega-project is a risky gamble on the future&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025022812020_64d59d3ca75b44983167c70ba340afa56b1f88e4b6807605101bed4671abe198.jpg" data-media-id="editor_26" data-image-id="2025022812020_64d59d3ca75b44983167c70ba340afa56b1f88e4b6807605101bed4671abe198" data-rendition-name="original" width="1778" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Small Bhutan dreams big NT"> <figcaption>Rendering of a section of the Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), which is currently under development. Photo: GMC</figcaption> </figure>  On 17 December 2023, Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck announced the setting up of the Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) to be an international hub focused on energy, connectivity and skills for the 21st century.&nbsp; The city will be a 2,500 sq km Special Administrative Region to take advantage of Bhutan’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepal-can-lead-in-zero-carbon">clean energy</a> to power an information technology corridor with AI data centres. It will try to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/turning-nepal-into-singapore">replicate Singapore</a> in a city three times larger, with its own hydropower plants generating 5,000MW.&nbsp; “Gelephu will become a gateway connecting Bhutan to the world and the future,” the King said. “The road we have chosen is a gateway to the world – to markets, capital, new ideas, knowledge, and technology towards our future, and to chart our destiny.”&nbsp; The rapid spread of energy-intensive <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/people-power/nepal-as-an-ai-power-bank">generative AI applications</a> have prompted technology companies to scout for clean energy sources to power their data centres. Some like Amazon and Google are even building their own small nuclear power plants.&nbsp; “Investing in green energy with our hydro potential of over 35,000MW is a priority and the strategy on AI data centres are an important anchor industry,” says Ujjwal Deep Dahal of Druk Holdings and Investment. Bhutan’s Finance Minister Lyonpo Lekey Dorji told visiting editors here earlier this month that energy cooperation under the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) were going nowhere, and a new framework was needed. “Significant connectivity challenges, poor infrastructure, and often tense diplomatic relations lead to limited cross-border trade and movements of goods and people,” Dorji added. “The GMC is envisaged to help not only Bhutan but also the South Asian region, and particularly the neighbouring states of India.”&nbsp; Economists say that if countries in the region could go beyond geopolitical differences and increase trade, each country in South Asia stands to gain from the regional energy trade. While Nepal and Bhutan have export potential for clean energy, Bangladesh can reduce its carbon footprint by buying cleaner fuel from neighbours. “There are significant benefits if you increase investment in transmission across the region, increase connectivity, with more liberal trade,” says Simon Stolp of the World Bank. In the first phase, the GMC will build infrastructure including an international airport, and a regional railway linking Gelephu to Assam with a six-lane highway. Bhutan is one of few carbon negative countries in the world, and officials assure that 60% of the GMC area will retain its forest cover with two protected areas, a national park and a wildlife sanctuary. The Danish architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) has been hired to come up with a sustainable urban plan.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025022812020_f9e04d55bb349a64031f8133b0ad0f38dbe608f00070cb8d62dd2cab22bf1bb3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_30" data-image-id="2025022812020_f9e04d55bb349a64031f8133b0ad0f38dbe608f00070cb8d62dd2cab22bf1bb3" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="590" loading="lazy" alt="Small Bhutan dreams big NT"> </figure>  GMC is also Bhutan’s response to the increasing outmigration of its young people, primarily to Australia — a problem similar to what Nepal faces.&nbsp; Youth unemployment in Bhutan in 2022 was 28.6%, and in 2023, 1.5% of the country’s 800,000 people moved just to Australia to work and study. Bhutan has a total fertility rate of 1.4, which is much below replacement level. These demographic trends have raised questions about Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH) approach to development. It has been hailed as a new age concept by some and ridiculed by others, especially because the regime has never answered for the eviction of one-sixth of its population in the 1990s (box).&nbsp; In that sense, the GMC could be Bhutan’s way of turning the page on GNH. Officials here said privately that Gross National Happiness has been largely misunderstood to be an idealistic dream, but it does not mean de-emphasising economic growth or GDP per capita. In the first 20 years, the Gelephu Special Administrative Region will be a ‘mindfulness city’ under complete autonomy with a legislative, judicial and governance system independent from the rest of Bhutan. After that will be the ‘convergence phase’, when the rest of Bhutan will have caught up with Gelephu in terms of development and socio-economic status. Gelephu was chosen for the mega-project because of the narrow strip of plains in a mostly mountainous country. This will make it easier to build infrastructure, especially the proposed new international airport which will be an alternative to Paro in which only specially trained pilots are allowed to land because of difficult terrain and weather.&nbsp; “GMC represents a new era for growth and opportunity for Bhutan, a bold experiment in &nbsp;governance, sustainability and economic transformation, all the while preserving Bhutanese identity, cultural and spiritual heritage,” explained GMC’s Rabsel Dorji. “We have the unprecedented opportunity to build a Special Administrative Region from the ground up, and for Bhutanese this is a nation-building experience.” Officials say that GMC needed to be a Special Administrative Region in order to speed things up, including decision-making so there would be no <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/bureaucratic-hurdles-in-researching-nepals-bureaucracy">bureaucratic hurdles</a> to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/why-there-is-no-foreign-investment-in-nepal">foreign investments</a>.&nbsp; But will such a separate ‘state’ not create a gap between haves and have nots, much like other parts of the world which have set up Special Economic Zones? Officials here are convinced that since GMC is the brainchild of King Jigme himself, it will succeed without compromising Bhutan's culture. Bhutan lies in the emerging economic corridor between South Asia and Southeast Asia, which has close to half of the world’s population. The idea is that with better connectivity, GMC will be strategically located to attract investors, residents and retirees.&nbsp; Planners here hope this will also replenish Bhutan’s shrinking population and allow just GMC to accommodate up to 2 million people — more than double Bhutan’s current population. Bhutan has the third highest GDP per capita in South Asia after the Maldives and Sri Lanka because of income from hydropower and tourism. It now wants to build on this for future growth with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/putting-nepal-on-the-right-track?fbclid=IwAR2NwzuRGlfxnbjoMcTWRTlRMwXlRuTRA45k-lpnXQoZ1lxl5mBrow9YU08">clean energy and connectivity</a>. &nbsp; Added Rabsel Dorji: “The quality of life in Bhutan is very good but one could say <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/not-rising-nepal">the standard of living</a> could improve. With the GMC, we are trying to mix the two such that people have <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-qatar-job-mirage">high-paying jobs</a> while retaining the Bhutanese way of life.” &nbsp; <h2>The Gelephu connection</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025022812020_df5f1c680b18261d89a005da0e4eaca4877909738ae691285e745b562558116e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_36" data-image-id="2025022812020_df5f1c680b18261d89a005da0e4eaca4877909738ae691285e745b562558116e" data-rendition-name="original" width="946" height="599" loading="lazy" alt="Small Bhutan dreams big NT"> <figcaption>Bhutan Refugee Camp in Beldangi-2 in Jhapa district, Nepal.</figcaption> </figure>  Situated along Bhutan’s southern border with India at a point where the mountains meet the Brahmaputra plains, Gelephu was home to some 40% of the country’s 100,000 Nepali-speaking Lhotsampa people. Many of their family members were forcefully evicted from Bhutan over 30 years ago. Rights activists have opposed the GMC project, especially since many of the refugees still have land titles for property they left behind in Gelephu. People from Nepal were first invited by the Bhutan government to populate the lowlands in the south from the mid-19th century onwards. Over time, Nepali-speaking people accounted for one-sixth of the population of Bhutan, and were relatively better off because of their <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/kathmandu-wards-off-evil-spirits">agrarian lifestyle</a> in the fertile southern plains.&nbsp; ‘However, their growing numbers and the formation of a political party were perceived as a threat to the cultural and political order of Bhutan,’ notes Human Rights Watch in an explainer.&nbsp; The Lhotsampa ('people from the south') were driven across India and dumped in Jhapa and Morang from 1990-92. They lived in refugee camps until they were resettled in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and some European countries between 2007-2016.&nbsp; Now, 6,577 refugees, most of them elderly who want to go back to Bhutan, remain in the camps even after UNHCR and WFP withdrew support in 2016. Back in Gelephu, there is still a township of 15,000 people. One of the families there is that of a Bhutanese sociologist. In a carefully worded reply, he told us in Thimphu: “All of my childhood memories will soon be gone, but perhaps it is for the greater good.”&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mindfulness-about-bhutan-s-refugees">Mindfulness about Bhutan’s refugees</a>, Archana Darji&nbsp;

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Small Bhutan Dreams Big

Samsung Nepal has opened pre-orders for the Galaxy A57 5G and A37 5G. Both phones run Samsung’s One UI 8.5, featuring AI capabilities like voice transcription, Circle to Search, and photo editing. They feature a 50MP triple-camera system, a Super AMOLED display, and six years of OS and security updates.

Galaxy A series

Know your Ministers

‘One early morning, we heard the ambassador’s wife cry out, “Ram, Ram, Ram!” A disaster has befallen Nepal!” She had heard on the radio that a fire had consumed Singha Durbar." This is not about the arson attack on 9 September 2025, but the one on 8 July, 1973. It started in the South Wing of the then single-largest building in all of Nepal. It took two days to bring the blaze under control, requiring the use of explosives to demolish one wing to protect the imposing western facade. As Bhekh Bahadur Thapa recalls in the English translation of his memoir A Life in Public Service: Nepal from Autocracy to Democracy, he was then on leave from the Nepal government serving with the IDRC in Ottawa.&nbsp; He had already served as Nepal’s Finance Secretary at age 25, went on to be Finance Minister and Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank. He was already younger than some of the GenZ ministers in Nepal’s present RSP government. Thapa, now 89, was at the launch of the book in February which was attended by former diplomats and bureaucrats. After speeches by panelists, there was a question from the audience about how Thapa had managed to be the diplomat he was, managing Nepal’s international relations on the world stage.&nbsp; Writer and journalist Akhilesh Upadhyay, who was moderating the panel, responded by going into the section of the book where we see Thapa as an ambassador to the US, playing tennis with White House officials, cultivating a network of contacts to project the identity and welfare of Nepal, and making it possible for a state visit by King Birendra to Ronald Reagan’s America. The book is full of anecdotes that suggest Thapa was a clever and strategic diplomat, always calm and unruffled, easily making friends in high places with his maturity and engaging sense of humour. Thapa’s memoir is heavy on details about Nepal’s administrative history during the years he was active in public service, serving as minister and ambassador under three kings: Mahendra, Birendra and Gyanendra, and alongside five prime ministers.&nbsp; Aside from an insider look on how certain treaties, development deals and research projects in Nepal came into fruition, Thapa goes into great detail about his personal and professional relationships with the kings, ministers, ambassadors, foreign leaders and politicians.&nbsp; As a reader, one is struck by the level of detail around the events that unfolded in Nepal over the years during Thapa’s tenure. Was Thapa recording a journal over the years of the events and the conversations that transpired, or were they committed to his phenomenal memory? Either way, the reader gets a glimpse of Nepal’s recent history from the early days of the Panchayat, through the People’s Movement and the democracy period, the Maoist insurgency, Royal Palace massacre of 2001, and Gyanendra’s coup of 2005.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041204048_125dc8ae300a1e33124f394abe724d42727f83e067b0201d2008b58d60c459a4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2026041204048_125dc8ae300a1e33124f394abe724d42727f83e067b0201d2008b58d60c459a4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1584" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="How to win friends and influence nations NT"> </figure>  Not enough is said about the political parties of the time whose presence led to the way Nepal’s multiparty democracy came to be shaped. The book keeps its focus on the administration and the key figures around it, mostly those in the Panchayat era. Towards the second half of the book, we do start to hear about political parties, but not in great depth. Another figure whose presence in the book is conspicuously less prominent is that of his wife, Rita Thapa — the person who seems to have rescued him every time financial quandary or family care became a challenge. Yet, we do not see her as a full person. Perhaps because of the personal tragedies in his life, the children are also barely mentioned.&nbsp; The book is therefore less personal and more technical. Throughout, we learn about Thapa’s thinking as he navigated the world of diplomacy to win him the trust of those who mattered. There are tips here for a new generation of Nepali officials and diplomats about how much commitment and focus is needed to be good at one’s job and serve the national interest. This book adds to tomes that have been written on Nepal’s fragile relationship with India. ‘India has always wished for Nepal to remain dependent on it,’ writes Thapa, who served as Nepal’s ambassador to India and later in the Eminent Persons Group &nbsp;on Indo-Nepal relations that has been allowed to languish. The book has several insights into the Indo-Nepal trysts with diplomacy and agency.&nbsp; China’s role is also recorded, viewed through conversations during a visit to Beijing, but all that was before Nepal’s neighbour to the north emerged as a world economic and military power. The book also has such sudden instances of quirkiness and humour. For instance, we see a young Thapa in America explaining to a government official why he would like to return to Nepal instead of settling down in the US. “Because, Nepal is beautiful,” he said. The text is immaculate and does not read much like a translation, credit for which clearly goes to the team that put the edition together: translator Prawin Adhikari, &nbsp;Anagha Neelakanthan and Bhekh Thapa’s daughter, Manjushree. As Nepal enters a new era of governance and diplomacy, A Life in Public Service: Nepal from Autocracy to Democracy should be essential reading for students of political science, economics and foreign affairs who can gain a fresh perspective on the country’s trajectory.&nbsp; There are dozens of forgotten state secrets recorded in the book, but the reader must also remember this is a story told from one person’s perspective and there may be others.&nbsp; So, what really made Thapa the diplomat he was? I met him in 2004 at the Kantipur TV studio when he was serving as king Gyanendra’s foreign minister. He was there for a studio interview, and I was just done with my English newscast.&nbsp; He surprised me at the door: “Pratibha! I’ve been reading your articles in The Kathmandu Post. You must keep writing.” I thanked him, glad to have been noticed for my work by a stranger. That was perhaps one of the things that set Thapa apart — he excelled at staying close to those in power, while also noticing those who were not.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260412040412_213e706136a038ec9f5e2b8c6d7f7c1e9ceed9479e22fe2884872ad7bd20955f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260412040412_213e706136a038ec9f5e2b8c6d7f7c1e9ceed9479e22fe2884872ad7bd20955f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Book details"> </figure>

How to win friends and influence nations

Prime Minister Balendra Shah on Wednesday broke tradition and met with 17 foreign envoys collectively, a move that was a notable departure from how his predecessors operated.&nbsp;
Shah had already set himself apart by talking less, listening more, and delegating to trusted friends. But by meeting all ambassadors at one go in the presence of the Foreign Ministry, he signalled a paradigm shift in how he wants Nepal to be seen: no longer just balancing India and China, but as a country confident about its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-editorial/tripolar-contestation-over-nepal">strategic importance and place in the world</a>.
In just two weeks, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/rsp-dos-and-don-ts">RSP has sprung into action </a>on multiple fronts to implement its ambitious 100-point, 100-days action plan. It has taken short-term measures to mitigate the impact of the Gulf war, as well as medium- and long- term measures to streamline the bureaucracy. A few high-profile figures have been made examples of to drive the message home.
Earlier this week, the government recalled six politically appointed ambassadors, the most notable being long-serving Shankar Sharma from New Delhi. The Kathmandu District Court issued arrest warrants against former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his former foreign minister wife Arzu Rana on charges of money laundering and corruption.
Each ministry has been trying to clean up the accumulated rot from the past three decades: regulatory overhaul of microfinance, education, health and service delivery.&nbsp;
These actions widely disseminated campaign-style on YouTube and TikTok have made most Nepalis hopeful that the party they installed in power means business.
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BACKLASH
But such attempts to overhaul a long-entrenched political culture were bound to face backlash. In their impatience and enthusiasm to get things done, some of Prime Minister Shah’s ministers have over-reached.
It was common knowledge that government-paid advertising in the mainstream press was kickback-driven, but the PMO’s directive that official notices be published or broadcast only on state-run media has been denounced — especially as the media industry struggles to stay afloat.
More serious are some recent appointments by ministers of relatives and figures closely associated with the RSP to key positions. This has rankled because this party built its political plank on ending nepotism and graft.&nbsp;
News that Home Minister Sudan Gurung allegedly had not paid rent on leased land, which illegally encroached on the lake in Pokhara did not help. &nbsp;
Prime Minister Shah himself has come under scrutiny for appointing a kitchen cabinet full of male buddies from his time as Kathmandu mayor. To douse criticism he brought in as adviser investigative journalist Deepa Dahal, who has exposed corruption in high places of the previous coalitions.&nbsp;
Shah’s appointment of another political adviser Asim Shah to the head Constitution Amendment Task Force, is also seen as problematic. He is a filmmaker and former lawmaker, but does not have a background in constitutional law.&nbsp;
Even more controversial is the Cabinet’s decision to appoint RSP Chair Rabi Lamichhane’s legal counsel, Narayan Kandel, as Attorney General. Kandel used to be a UK permanent resident, and does not have as much experience practicing law in Nepal.&nbsp;
Kandel’s appointment drew flak and raised eyebrows, and with the pending legal cases against Lamichhane this appointment represents a flagrant conflict of interest.
Health Minister Nisha Mehta was also accused of favouritism after reappointing Junu Shrestha, wife of Labour Minister Dipak Kumar Shah, as member of the Health Insurance Board which had earlier suspended her. The Labour Minister’s rambling rant at the Board’s meeting on Tuesday has not helped the RSP’s image.&nbsp;
(UPDATE: On Thursday, Prime Minister Shah sacked the Labour Minister after the RSP found him in breach of the party's code of conduct and discipline. He served 14 days in the Cabinet, one of the shortest tenures for a minister in Nepal )
It is hard to know what <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/ball-in-balen-s-court">Balendra Shah is thinking</a>, and how Rabi Lamichhane is going to justify some of these moves. After all, making politics, governance, and bureaucracy a meritocracy has been the core tenet of the RSP, and it risks alienating its mainly youth base if these missteps persist.
But at least for now, most RSP supporters seem to be giving the party the benefit of doubt.

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