An Issue that troubles NGOs in Nepal

International Non Profit Organizations, specially those well meaning ones from India are facing troubles because Indian government is restricting carrying of materials or money to India for relief and rehabilitation purposes. Technically taking money or materials to another country are supposed to pay customs duty to the government. Considering that the operations in Nepal need high amount of money, taking hard cash, which in any case is restricted, is a bad way to follow. Further it can call for legal action. Transferring money to an account in Nepal without the permission of Reserve Bank of India can be construed as money laundering! As the initial special permissions for taking more cash and materials with easy permissions without paying Customs Duty is coming to a close, NGOs are beginning to feel the pinch. 

As for Nepal, all NGOs from India or any other country, shall be treated as International NGOs. The International NGOs are required to be registered with the Social Welfare Council. Read Rules here.  Section 20 under the rules are very important for INGOs. 

There are four important steps:

a) Register with the Social Welfare Council (SWC) which is under the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare. (There is a need to coordinate with this Council on the part of INGOs, and support them where necessary so that all INGOs are registered properly.)

b) INGOs must open an account at any authorized Commercial Bank one single central account into which it can receive all its foreign funds, and it can open sub-accounts to use the money if required. Once in every four months, the INGO must submit a report of receipts to the SWC. 

c) If an INGO is supporting an NGO, such NGO also must be registered with the SWC. That NGO must have different accounts for different projects. The selected NGO is preferred to be a Nepali NGO.

d) Every year, at the end of financial year, the agency must inform the Auditor General in approved format of the closing of accounts, and the Auditor General shall appoint auditors to audit the accounts.

At this moment, the most important thing is for INGOs to register with the SWC, start a central bank account, and if needed sub-accounts linked to the central bank account for spending purposes. Donor money from any country should be directly sent to the account in Nepal. Do not route the money through India, as the money is not meant to be used in India. Any money sent from India needs the approval of the Government of India. (Latest heard is that Indian Government is asking NGOs to put the money in the Prime Minister's Relief Fund to showcase works in Nepal as activities of the Indian Government, and contribution of the people of India.)

In Kathmandu Valley

On 6th morning I traveled to Kolkata and then took the afternoon Air India flight to Kathmandu. The flight had been delayed officially by about 50 mts as we were rescheduled to travel at 2.30. The boarding started at 2.15 pm only, and when boarding was completed, we saw power was coming on and off in the plane. At around 2.50 we were informed that the flight would be further delayed due to some electrical snag and the engineers were trying to fix it. By 3.30 we left Kolkata and landed in Tribhuvan airport, Kathmandu, Nepal at about 4.45 pm. Then I had the cab arranged by the Hotel Park Village. The evening was event less, until my companion for the training, Mr. Pradeep Bharwad arrived. We discussed about the WASH Cluster Simulation Exercise that is due on 8th and 9th Oct, as we chatted about preparation for the exercise. 

The weather has been cool and good, and the accommodation moderate, although I feel it is a bit costly for the amount we are paying. But the food is good and delicious. Internet is freely available only in the lobby, but the staying rooms are far from there, which makes it difficult for anyone to have access to it regularly. 

All prepared for the WASH Simulation Exercise. Hope everything goes well as this is a national level exercise with participation of several department heads, INGOs and UN organizations.

The Failing Nation

I spent nearly eight days in the government-less country of Nepal. I reached there on 29 Jan evening and was there till the 6th Feb. Since the internet was too slow it was not possible to write my feelings and experiences immediately. One thing is sure about this country: the country is in disarray. There is no elected government. There is a group of oligarchy belonging to the elite of various political parties trying to discover a constitution that would keep the people segregated. I heard of proposals to divide that mountainous country from between 6 to 65 different divisions based on caste, religion, language, and you think of anything....based on that. I stayed for few days in Thamel - the place where all action is, in Kathmandu. The entire city has three major crisis: (a) Huge power shortage. We had nearly 20 hours of power cuts on many days. (b) There is no diesel or petrol for vehicles. Cars and trucks were standing in unending beeline to collect diesel or petrol from the gas stations. I was told that the gas stations were rationing out to private car owners : roughly about 5 liters at a time! (c) There is shortage of cooking gas across the nation. Newspapers were reporting of people blocking trucks carrying gas cylinders and taking away! (One good thing was, the people paid the driver, and returned empty cylinders.) Sincerity of the poor and simple people of the hills always outshines the filthy  politics of the nation.

The country as a whole needs to take a big leap forward. It needs to improve its infrastructure. Roads are crumbling. Population is growing in cities and towns. No rules seem to be enforced in building construction in this country that is highly vulnerable to earthquakes. The problem doesn't end there. When I visited some villages away from the bustling Kathmandu, I saw the people are drunk in the morning, tired of living, smoking out their lungs with cigarettes continuously. There is a real need on the part of world nations to step in and guide this country that has just got rid of its monarchy and is trying to set up its own democracy. All eyes are on the Middle East. But this beautiful naturally rich nation has not received its due attention.