The end of the year 2076 was dominated by Covid-19. Owing to the sheer number of lives lost to the respiratory illness and infections spreading like wildfire, the last few months have been marked by fear and unease. Countries and cities across the globe are under lockdown, and nobody knows when this is going to end. The usual busy city of Kathmandu and other cities alike were quiet this time around as residents followed the government’s directions to remain indoors. There is tension in the air, and everyone feels at risk. Perhaps, never had the new year been this silent and grim.

While the overall milieu has been uncertain, so has the government’s action all through the year. When the Oli-led government came to power in 2018, it was believed to mark a new political beginning for the country, all set into motion a process leading to stability and prosperity. But over time, the public's faith in the leadership has dwindled, corruption still remains rampant, and attempts have been made to curtail freedom of expression.

Many controversial bills were tabled last year, and the government seemed hell-bent on passing them. A quartet of pending legislation—IT Management Bill, Media Council Bill, Mass Media Bill and Nepal Special Service Bill—all present the greatest danger to a democratic Nepal since the country’s days under a dictatorship. Following these bills, people have started losing faith in the government. Their elected government, whom they trusted to bring the much touted ‘prosperity’ has rather taken advantage of that faith to do as it wishes.

The government’s decisions have mainly benefited a few people in the coterie which often insulates the leadership from others. It is on the back of this blind support from the prime minister that some people in the government have indulged in corruption at all times. Be it when granting public works contracts, procuring equipment or even while settling cases. In fact, Nepal slipped two places to 124 in the Corruption Perception Index made public by Transparency International. These are just a few highlights. Examples abound.

But, on the brighter side, the administration was successful in hosting several high-ranking officials from India, the United States, and China, among others; the most notable one was definitely Chinese President Xi Jinping. Yet, while the visits themselves could be considered diplomatic successes, not much came off them. Albeit at the last moment, the government did manage to organise the South Asian Games too. And Nepal’s performance, despite many constraints, was commendable as well.

Despite its flaws, this is the government we have chosen, and it still has three more years to deliver on its promises. As we embark on a new year, perhaps, the government must introspect and take note of its mistakes. The foremost task must be for the leadership to come out of its complacency and listen to plural voices. The prime minister has time and again displayed a tendency to drown out voices that do not toe its line. This is wrong and it's antithetical to a democratic government’s functioning. Once the government realises this, most problems will be solved. Followed by this change in attitude, the government must try to make its activities as transparent as possible, and invest in emboldening institutions rather than individuals. 

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