The recent Gen Z protests, initially orchestrated against the government ban on social media, bad governance and corruption, forced a government change—and it ultimately escalated into horrific violence. Triggered by the death of innocent young lives, the protests the next day saw unfathomable destruction of public and private property across the country. Initial assessment assumes a loss of around 4-5 percent of GDP during the protests. The unruly attacks on industries and business houses severely eroded private-sector confidence. Such a loss of confidence and looming fear could have a long-term impact on Nepal’s economy.

The Gen Z protests alone cannot be held responsible for our weakling economy. In fact, it was not in good shape even before the September protests. The FDI was at around 0.5 percent of the GDP—the lowest in the region except Afghanistan—growth was hovering at 4-5 percent, and industry contribution to GDP was already plummeting (around 12 percent). Other sectors such as energy, agriculture and manufacturing were also not shining. Sluggish growth in these sectors was primarily an offshoot of deep-seated systemic corruption, favouritism, red tape and unaccountability. They were deeply embedded in the system, and it had decayed the entire bureaucratic and political institutions. A heinous concoction between the political party leadership, middlemen and compradors consequently destroyed the values and principles of democracy and socialism.

In fact, the political leadership promoted crony capitalism over the period for their own benefit. But crony capitalism took a heavy toll on the common citizens. For instance, people couldn’t access public services on time, and their cost was too high; all lucrative projects were captured by cronies, and they were either wearily delayed or their costs filthily spiked as part of the deal with political leadership. The private sector was ruthlessly ripped off, and they continuously struggled to survive, whereas the political leadership and their kin got fat. All combined, citizens suffered while the entire system was failing.

Therefore, the anger was smouldering, and the Gen Z protests saw it rolled down onto the streets. The protests fundamentally challenged the belief system, built around the political leadership and demanded redefining the way of doing things, whether in political parties or in bureaucracy. In fact, the protests provided an opportunity to move away from the discredited leadership, which destroyed the system and plundered the nation by promoting crony capitalism.

By flipping the coin, we can see promising faces within and outside the political parties. The new faces know what citizens want, and they can deliver on their promises. Those in the parties should dare to flip the coin and get the baton into their hands. Only then can the dawn of a new era of hope begin. The educated youths, who have emerged during the Gen Z protests, need to orient themselves as future leaders and move away from petty interests. It’s high time Nepal cleaned its politics and bureaucracy, which has been messed up by years of corrupt practices.

For now, a lot can be learned from the new faces in the government. Everyone feels confident to vouch for their honesty and integrity. They can act as trailblazers for good governance by establishing best practices. Some of them have already taken initiatives. For instance, the finance minister has started the automation of goods valuation at customs in Koshi Province. It is going to reduce time and cost at customs. The government has also set up a hotline to discourage corruption at public offices. But more efforts are required to clean the decayed system. Sweeping reforms within the bureaucracy are required to fast-track decisions and provide prompt service at public offices. We need to encourage investors and increase investments across all sectors. Public expenditure needs to grow and align wisely with projects of high economic value.

Ethical value and integrity of the current government can at least usher in some major tasks which can have a long-term impact. Although this government’s primary task is to conduct the parliamentary polls within the deadline, it can start some key reforms for the next government to own and implement accordingly.

Already low, private sector investment is bound to plummet as the protests target their business and lives. We have at least Rs800 billion of lendable money sitting idle in our banking system, though the interest rate is historically low. The private sector doesn’t seem to be too enthusiastic about loans. It portends a grim situation for investment in the near future. It rather risks a huge capital flight. In this difficult situation, a robust and healthy partnership between the government and the private sector is needed to boost the private sector’s confidence and improve the investment climate.

The Public Service Commission is a fulcrum for bureaucratic reforms. The traditional examination system and curricula can’t address the expertise required in modern times. The Commission also needs to find ways to onboard the Nepali citizens who have lived abroad and have acquired excellence in different sectors. This can help reverse the “brain drain” and bring back the best brains for the country’s growth. This government can at least assign such a task to a team of experts for this purpose.

As its key mandate, this government has demonstrated a lot in good governance. Bureaucratic accountability has remarkably improved, and the people have begun obtaining government services without any hassles. Accountability has improved, and it has further improved the government’s performance. Such good practices need to be built into a system and take it forward accordingly.

For instance, Deng Xiaoping (1978–1997) transformed China’s economy by changing Mao’s perception of wealth. He deeply believed that wealth needs to be created to transform a country’s economy and encouraged people to be wealthy. He had a famous quote: “It is glorious to get rich.” This shift in narrative paved the way for China’s economic transformation, ultimately creating a $20 trillion economy. Therefore, an entire narrative towards wealth and wealth creation needs to change to bring back the investments.

Nepal needs a vision paper for at least another 30-40 years—a major shift from the periodic plans, prepared by the National Planning Commission. The Plan needs to prioritise Nepal’s growth triggers along with an action plan for materialising the projects, so far identified in the vision paper. This government can at least form such a committee and assign the task immediately. The next government can have a ready-to-go reference for transforming Nepal’s economy. All these are low-hanging fruit for this government, and immediate action will lead to economic transformation.