Unsustainable spending

The populist policy of generous cash handouts could ultimately bleed the state coffers dry.

The constitution envisions Nepal as a socialism-oriented state committed to the health and wellbeing of all its citizens, especially the old and the infirm who cannot adequately look after themselves. This could entail having a robust public healthcare system that guarantees at least a basic level of quality care. Or promoting a culture where the elderly are more valued and prioritised. But for a relatively poor country like Nepal struggling to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic and caught in a debilitating credit-crunch, a wrong way to go about it, for instance, would be to casually temper with elderly allowances. But successive governments have been doing just that: decreasing the eligibility-age limit and increasing the amount of monthly handouts. This has been happening even though the country’s median age has been steadily inching up. While an average Nepali barely lived to be 35 in 1960, he or she can now be expected to cross 71. So, if anything, the age threshold for such allowances should be increased. Moreover, there is scant evidence that cash handouts bring about any kind of meaningful change in the lives of their recipients.