By Our Reporter

When governments forget their citizens and chase projects that enrich only a few, misrule becomes the norm. Nepal today reflects that pattern. Decisions are driven not by public need but by the appetite of politicians, contractors, and traders. Ordinary families struggle to survive, yet the state wastes billions on projects that neither solve problems nor ease lives.

The failure is not just in policy but in intent. Leaders who treat state coffers as their own, and bureaucrats who act only to please them, have created a system that rewards loyalty and corruption, not service. This explains why the same issues repeat year after year, leaving citizens to ask: is the government serving us or exploiting us?

To begin with, vehicle plates that were once simple and cheap suddenly became a multi-billion project. Embossed plates were introduced without preparation, without machines to read them, and without public demand. Worse, they were printed only in English, sidelining the national script. This was less about modernizing transport and more about securing commissions through imports. Citizens see it clearly: leaders copied foreign models to justify contracts, not because Nepal needed them. It is surprising to see that major parties and big leaders have not spoken a single word against embossed plates while various associations and common people have raised the issue. The embossed plates, they accuse, are nothing but a way of stealing money from the common people by charging more than required price. This is due to the government’s awarding of the contract to the Bangladesh based

Similarly, sugarcane farmers have waited twelve years for fair payment. Every government pledged support, but none forced sugar mills to clear dues. Farmers, many already in debt, took to the streets while mill owners and their political protectors looked the other way. A government that can easily allocate billions for luxury vehicles for ministers somehow pleads poverty when farmers demand subsidies. The truth is stark: the state protects businessmen with political ties, while those who grow food are left abandoned.

Meanwhile, few examples capture government negligence better than the fertilizer crisis. Nepal requires about 1.3 million tons each year, yet imports fall far short. Farmers line up for days, only to return empty-handed, while news spreads of fertilizer rotting in warehouses due to mismanagement. The excuse is always the same, a lack of budget. Yet the same leaders sign off on foreign junkets and prestige projects without hesitation. Fertilizer is not a luxury, it is the lifeline of agriculture. To neglect it is to push farmers toward despair and to increase food insecurity nationwide.

The deeper problem is structural. Politicians chase contracts because they fund elections and secure loyalty. Bureaucrats go along because promotions and postings depend on pleasing ministers. Middlemen and contractors thrive because there is no fear of punishment. Parliament, which should be a watchdog, is itself packed with business interests. Donor agencies add another layer, pushing half-baked projects that look good on paper but collapse in practice.

The result is a cycle of negligence. Farmers return to protest every year. Roads crack within months of construction. Public anger builds, but leaders calculate that outrage will fade before the next election. In this environment, nothing changes, except that the gap between citizens and rulers keeps widening.

To sum up, embossed plates, sugarcane dues and fertilizer shortages are not isolated blunders. They are proof of a governance model built on greed. Each reflects the same disease: leaders prioritizing personal profit over public service. Until politics is cleaned of business interests and accountability is enforced, such stories will repeat. Nepal’s people deserve a government that invests in their future, not one that wastes their trust and their taxes.