The parties must educate the people on whether or not the MCC is in the best interest of the nation
The coalition partners of the Sher Bahadur Deuba-led government appear to be ready to table the US-funded MCC (Millennium Challenge Corporation) compact in the federal parliament before February 28, the deadline set by the MCC Office in Washington to ratify it. Although the CPN-Maoist Centre, a major coalition partner, is undecided whether to endorse the pact, the CPN-Unified Socialist led by Madhav Kumar Nepal, which held its standing committee meeting on Saturday, took a middle path and decided to allow the MCC deal to be tabled in the parliament. But it said the deal could not be passed as it is unless some of the clauses were amended. The coalition partners seem to be ready to table and discuss the issue in the parliament after street protests turned violent across the country, and major international powers, mainly the USA and China, got polarised over it. China issued a strong statement a week ago after the US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Donald Lu called on Nepal's leaders on February 10 either to accept the deal or face the consequences. Lu's "coercive tactic" was termed undiplomatic by people from various walks of life. In a bid to control the damage, the U.S Embassy in Kathmandu issued a press statement on Saturday, which stated "Whether Nepali leaders ratify MCC is a decision for Nepal to make, as a sovereign democratic nation, and Nepal's decision alone."
It is not clear whether the deal will pass through the federal parliament as the CPN-US and CPN-Maoist Centre are still against the $500 million U.S. grant, which aims to build high voltage transmission lines, mainly to export energy to India, and repair major highways for better connectivity.
Both the parties have said that it cannot be passed as it is without making corrections on some issues, which, they claim, go against national interest and are detrimental to the country's sovereignty. Both of them – CPN- US and CPN-MC – appear to let the government table the deal in the parliament only to save the coalition.
However, if they do not support the passage of the MCC deal through the parliament, PM Deuba will be compelled to break up the coalition, leading to the fall of his administration.
Speaker Agni Sapkota's role is crucial. He has been saying that the MCC deal cannot be passed amidst the protests by the main opposition, CPN-UML, which has been obstructing the House demanding that the 14 lawmakers who were expelled by the party long ago not be allowed to take part in the parliamentary proceedings. The UML has also kept its cards close to its chest over the deal it had tabled for parliamentary consideration some two years ago.
However, then Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara and sitting Speaker Sapkota had refused to forward the deal to the full House of the parliament for discussion, mainly because of the CPN-MC's opposition. As the deal has stirred a lot of controversy and polarised the nation and people for and against it, the lawmakers need to discuss it thoroughly to dispel any fear or suspicion over it. It is also the responsibility of the political parties to educate the people on whether or not the MCC is in the best interest of the nation.
Whatever the outcome, the parliament should be allowed to discuss it and reach a conclusion.
Pick up garbage
Garbage has been accumulating in the streets of Kathmandu as the municipality has not been able to collect solid waste generated in the city since last week. Waste management is a recurring problem in the capital, and, coincidentally, it surfaces every time the political parties at the centre don't see eye to eye on certain issues. One might, therefore, question if the uncollected garbage has anything to do with the controversy surrounding the parliamentary ratification of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact that has the communist parties pitted against the Nepali Congress.
However, the demands of the locals of Madkhu-Tinpiple road section, on the way to the Sisdole landfill site in Nuwakot, look genuine. Some years back, an agreement had been inked between the locals and Kathmandu metropolis for blacktopping the road as it sees the passage of heavy vehicles daily. But confusion over who should construct the road - the federal government or the municipality - has stalled it for years. Thus, the concerned authorities must act quickly to sort out the problem. Don't give the locals an excuse to protest by not implementing the deals signed with them.
A version of this article appears in the print on February 21, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
