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Opportunity lost


The opportunity to work and garner experience working in these international companies would have definitely helped not only groom the young job seekers but also help instill a fair, transparent and ethical corporate culture in Nepal.  

The closure of famous international chains Pizza Hut, KFC and Cream Bell is a testimony that no foreign influence can bring about a change in our country – worse or better. Since the time I started understanding how foreign factors can affect Nepal’s economy I fail every time to put the puzzles together. The first incident that I remember vividly is that of Sonia Gandhi not being allowed to visit Pashupatinath temple back in the 80s. I heard my parents speak about how India was furious and had stopped all basic commodities from entering Nepal by imposing a blockade. Now that I know more about the socio, geo and political equation shared between Nepal and India I still fail to comprehend why we haven’t got our act together? Somehow, we always excel at blaming external factors; be it Hritik Roshan commenting casually on Nepal which caused uproar and damage worth millions or the corrupted government’s incapability to tap on Nepal’s hydro power. What I have noticed is that we are good at chasing investors away from the country or being unable to manage what little investment is already here!
The bottom line is we haven’t learned our lessons. At the end of the day, what matters is food on the table and a roof for shelter. The closure of these famous restaurants may cause a huge loss to investors and victory to the Maoist unions but the simple fact is that we have 118 youths unemployed. The 118 employees’ mostly young and educated workforce, some who were supporting their families and some who were earning a decent pocket money may or never have the opportunity to work for an international company. The reason I stress on the international name is because believe it or not Nepali workforce can learn and benefit a great deal from these international chains where every unit functions in a systematic manner which can never be found in a private company here in Nepal. The opportunity to work and garner experience working in these international companies would have definitely helped not only groom the young job seekers but also help instill a fair, transparent and ethical corporate culture in Nepal.  
Well, what has been done cannot be undone. The 118 employees may or never get a chance to work for such reputable companies again and just the thought should teach us a good lesson here. These three restaurants were providing employment to 118 staff which is not a small number in any means. The same companies that provide jobs and security to the Nepali workforce and contribute to the national GDP have been forced to shut down. The foreign direct investment (FDI) in Nepal is already 30 per cent less compared to the last fiscal year 2067/2068 and the ‘Investment Year 2012’ is a mockery at the helm of the Maoist led government. 
The Baburam led government which celebrates its first anniversary in office today has failed to support the initiative of ‘Investment Year 2012.’ It has miserably failed to sustain the flow of FDIs and has now successfully put Nepal in a global map where investors already weary will definitely think more than twice to invest in a country where government gives a damn about its own economy.
I will quote Bill Clinton here who famously dropped this single line “it’s the economy, stupid,” during his Presidential campaign back in 1992. So should we learn from the recent closure of all three international restaurant chains? It is time we did.  

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