Donation drive makes the upcoming CA polls a real ordeal for Nepal’s business fraternity

With hardly one week remaining for scheduled November 19, election for Constituent Assembly (CA) to be held, the number of Nepal’s businessmen and corporate tycoons switching off their mobile phones, changing their old contact numbers or escaping communication has tremendously increased.

Even though Nepal’s political parties are going through tough schedules to woo their voters, this season has been a real ordeal for Nepal’s business fraternity. “I have only switched on my mobile phone just today, for few hours,” one of the past presidents of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) - Nepal’s apex business body- told Xinhua.

He, however, is not only the one who has been putting his phone off for last one month so as to avoid frequent requests for donations from political parties and hosts of candidates contesting for the November19 CA polls.

The situation of FNCCI past president gives a quick picture of what rest of the business community in Nepal might be going through on the eve of election when the political parties are lavishly spending for their election campaigns and even for buying their votes.

Donation collections and extortion drives launched by political parties are not a new phenomenon in Nepal where most of the big and small parties record bulky revenue every year even though they have no source of income on their own. The only question left is how are the parties collecting donations this time to fund their election campaigns and manage other necessary logistics?

“Unlike during the last CA election, the calls for donation this time are relatively humble. Then, the parties used to launch forceful extortion drive while they are meekly pleading for donations this time,” an executive committee member of Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) told Xinhua seeking anonymity.

No matter how much are the donation requests milder, the businessmen however say they cannot afford saying no. “Saying no to their requests for donations means inviting ill-fate which might range from violence at our industries, facing disturbances to work and even suffering harm to personal health and wealth,” a Terai-based industrialist who runs four industries employing more than 500 individuals said.

This really is pathetic. The parties that have filled their recently released election manifestos with colorful promises to ensure the economic developments of the country are fueling their election campaigns with the hard-earned money from the private sector. Every industries- big or small, banks and financial institutions, academic centers including schools and colleges, service centers like restaurants and hotels and even hospitals have already received letters and frequent calls from political parties-- both from institutional and personal level.

According to businessmen, they are offering (and are compelled to offer) from Rs 25,000 to Rs 1 million based on the size of their industries to individual candidates and political parties. “Though we are receiving soft-toned donation proposals this time, we are receiving them from such a large number of parties and candidates that we even have not heard of so far,” said a Marwadi businessman who operates number of industries across the country. He said he had provided donations worth around Rs 600,000 last time which now has already gone up to Rs 1.5 million.

Around 1,600 candidates are contesting for the upcoming polls while 120 political parties have been registered for the election race. Businessmen said unlike during 2008 election of the first CA, they are paying donations to all small and big parties.

“I am paying donations to the central level of almost all political parties,” a Marwadi businessman who is also affiliated with FNCCI said adding he is also forced to pay the amount to the local candidates from four different places (Birgunj, Bhairahawa, Biratnagar and Dang) where he has set up his industries.

Meanwhile, National Business Initiative (NBI) had announced to set up a ´basket fund´ to streamline ´donation´ process during this CA election. In a bid to maintain transparency, the think tank institute had also urged businesspeople to make donation through banking channel.

“Though we could not set up the basket fund due to the limited time, we have been successful in implementing the donation through banking channel while offering the money to the central level of any political parties,” Surendra Bir Malakar, NBI Secretary told Xinhua. He however admitted that collection of donation from the individual candidates have gone rampant and through informal channel.

Experts and economists attribute the giving and taking of donation both as a forceful act and also the exchange of interests between the givers and takers. “It is true, some are compelled to give donations to prevent further loss or vandals while others are offering donations happily in hope of returns once the party or candidate comes to the power,” Nepal’s economist Bishwombhar Pyakurel told Xinhua.

(This article was released by Xinhua on November 7, 2013.)