Can UCPN-Maoist create entrepreneurs to boost production?

After exploiting a generation of youth for over a decade, the ruling UCPN-Maoist' has – during its seventh national assembly in Hetauda on February 2-6 – claimed that it will form a ‘production brigade’ to boost production and entrepreneurship in the country.

The announcement has – if not only for public consumption and fool its cadres like the party’s earlier series of announcements – once again made the private sector suspicious on its intention regarding open market policy and role of private sector against state sponsored production brigade and crony capitalism.

“We believe that the state’s role is to bring a conducive policy to promote private sector that can boost production,” says Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) president Suraj Vaidya.

“Rather than creating confusing parallel structures, the government must create investment-friendly environment to encourage private sector, he said, adding that the private sector can generate more employment and encourage entrepreneurship compared to the government. “It will naturally encourage youths to become entrepreneurs instead of migrating to foreign lands for employment.”

In democracy, political parties announce policies claiming that they will implement these policies, if they will be elected and given the chance by the people. But in the autocratic regime, there will neither be election nor will the government responsible to the country and people, rather it keeps strengthening party in some way or other misusing public resources.

The UCPN-Maoist – that is currently leading the government – announcement of creating ‘production brigade’, is thus a clear indication that it is not serious on developing the country by industrialisation and increase in production, rather wants state and party’s control on public resources to misuse like the autocratic regime.

Neither can the UCPN-Maoist – a cadre-based party –force its politically indoctrinated cadre work, instead of living on easy money from donation, which they are used to since last one decade.

Liberal economic policy offers people more chance to create business and anyone can tap the potential unlike in the state-sponsored and controlled regime – though, the UCPN-Maoist fought for a class less society for a decade claiming over 30,000 lives – that creates a privileged class, where only few chosen ones will get opportunity.

Likewise, it will also be difficult for the cadres to accept the 360 degree turn in the ideologies in their leaders after a decade-long schooling of closing the industries to bargain for political gain.

Changing the militant cadres used to close industries into entrepreneurs is possible only in the open market economy, where there is competitive environment.

In the last eight years, the UCPN-Maoist twice got the chance to lead government, one headed by Puspakamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and the other is incumbent government led by Dr Baburam Bhattarai, who was the finance minister in Prachanda government. But both the governments failed to walk the talk, also because they never wanted development of the country. The Prachanda government witnessed a growth rate of 3.90 per cent from earlier government led by Nepali congress leader Girija Prasad Koirala, when the country posted the highest growth rate of 5.80 per cent.

Likewise, the country had witnessed the growth rate of 4.56 per cent in the last fiscal year. But it is not a coincidence as after the incumbent government took over, the economy has showed sign of falling down – to the lowest after Constituent Assembly (CA) elections – because of the UCPN-Maoist’s more confusing and visionless policies.

Likewise, UCPN-Maoist supremo Prachanda’s political dossier that claimed to form a ‘production brigade’ states that the country’s main task is to complete and institutionalise the capitalist people’s revolution, which they have been resisting since last one decade.

Though, in papers they seem more convincing in claiming that the political revolution cannot really be completed without an economic revolution, their action does not match their words as they are creating crony capitalism to control the state.

The growth rate

2006-07 — 2.75 per cent

2007-08 — 5.80 per cent

2008-09 — 3.90 per cent — Maoist government

2009-10 — 4.26 per cent

2010-11 — 3.81 per cent

2011-12 — 4.56 per cent

2012-13 — 3.8 per cent * — Maoist government

(* Figure for 2012-13 IMF projection.)