Unemployment: Who steals working opportunities?

I visited the newly-opened Rising Mall located at Durbar Marg, Kathmandu, on the Christmas Day 2013 to buy a pair of jeans and a bearing rope. Both of them were made in China and exported to Nepal. In fact, strolling about those stores gave me the false impression of being in China.

As a Chinese citizen surrounded by ‘Made in China’ products in a foreign country, I felt proud. But If I put myself in the shoes of Nepali people, I would feel sorry. It is well known that the manufacturing industry can function as a pillar creating working opportunities - so rare in Nepal where the unemployment rate reaches almost 50 percent.

In an exclusive interview with the senior leader of Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) Baburam Bhattarai in May 2013, the former Prime Minister who had just left his post told me, “The most serious issue facing the country right now is the problem of unemployment and the migration of our youths.”

As a foreign journalist who is attracted by the comfortable climate and the rich culture in Nepal, I have been trying to figure out why.

A Nepalese businessman once told me that he has a friend operating one of the biggest companies dealing with solar power solutions in Nepal. This company sells many products such as LED bulbs, charge controllers, inverters, batteries and solar modules. Almost all the products are made in China, although all the designs are finished in Nepal. The reason behind this is evident. If he builds a factory to manufacture products in Nepal, he has to hire many locals who are influenced by labor unions controlled by political parties. Banda, forced donation, load shedding, etc. all are troublemakers. But if he manufactures the desired products in China, everything can proceed smoothly according to his plans.

This is a good example showing how selfish political parties are hurting the manufacturing industry in Nepal and killing the dreams of young people unable to make a living in their motherland.

(This article was published by the 6th edition of APD newspaper in 2014)