In case of failure, the govt could land up simply doling out unemployment benefits to the unemployed for lack of work

The government has just launched a highly-challenging Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP), hoping to ease the huge unemployment problem of the country to some degree. According to the programme, all those who are unemployed will be given work for at least 100 days, and anyone who remains without work for as many days will get 50 per cent of the minimum wage that the government has set for the workers, i.e., Rs. 22,417 annually. There are, of course, certain criteria for being listed as an unemployed person with the government. For instance, a family member who has someone working abroad does not qualify for the government largesse. The success of the programme will largely rest on quality data about the unemployed youths it collects. Employment coordinators at the Employment Service Centre to be set up at each of the 753 local level units will, among other responsibilities, will also collect data of the unemployed youths, update them and provide identity cards to the unemployed people. They will help with finding employment in undertakings of the government, private sector or cooperatives while making recommendations for various kinds of skill-oriented training.

Unemployment is a big problem in Nepal, and efforts have rarely been made to create jobs for the youths at home. The country lacks industry, modern agro farms, and construction of physical infrastructure such as roads and hydropower plants have been sluggish all throughout the decades. And an import-based economy has only allowed small businesses such as shops to flourish. One reason why successive governments have remained indifferent to creating jobs in the country is that migration to India for work has worked as a safety valve. And in more recent times, the youth have been heading for the Gulf countries by the millions to do low-paying menial work while the more lucky ones have landed in South Korea. Hence, the government has never felt any pressure to boost employment opportunities here. So this endeavour by the government to do something to give the youths the work here in the country itself is laudable.

The PMEP, though promising, however, raises a lot of questions about its success. Given the miscarriages of similar programmes in the past, it is natural for experts and the people to have misgivings about the employment programme. We have seen such programmes targeting the youth as “BP with the Poor” of the Nepali Congress and the “Youth Self-Employment Programme”, promoted by the Baburam Bhattarai government, fizzling out in no time for lack of proper planning and commitment. The PMEP seems to rest on the premise that there is already plenty of work in sectors like hydropower, agriculture and other development activities but there is a lack of workers in the country. This, unfortunately, is not the case. So in the end, the government could be simply doling out unemployment benefits to the unemployed people for lack of work opportunities at home. The challenges facing the employment scheme are many, but still, let us give it the benefit of the doubt. If nothing else, the programme should generate a lot of good data on the type of manpower we have, the type of work available in the country and the type of work our youths are willing to do.

Rising cybercrime

Incidents of cybercrime have been on the rise in recent times due to easy access to the Internet and social networking sites even in rural areas. Most of those who have been duped by fraudsters are women and unemployed youth who are out to make quick money. According to the Metropolitan Police Crime Division (MPCD), as many as 926 cases of cybercrime have been reported during the seven months of this fiscal. Even foreign nationals living in Nepal have been found involved in the cybercrime.

Most of the frauds use foreign mobile numbers to lure the victims into depositing cash in their bank accounts on the pretext of sending them parcels and lottery amount. As all social networking sites are open to all, it is impossible for the police to track down the criminals unless the victims themselves identify them. One way to stay safe from such dubious calls or texts is to inform the police immediately after receiving such calls or text messages. People should also avoid entertaining such calls or messages. In case of doubt, one can also consult one’s peers to verify their authenticity.