Fixing the Faultlines in Post-earthquake Nepal

East Asia Forum

30 May 2015

Pradumna B. Rana

After the 25 April 2015 earthquake, and the massive aftershock on 12 May, Nepal is entering the second phase of its recovery and reconstruction. Losses are still being tallied, so it is not yet possible to detail a complete list of the required long-term policies and strategies. But if the country’s governance were to improve and appropriate policies were adopted, a stronger and more picturesque Nepal could emerge from the crisis.

This is a very tall order given the government’s poor track record of mismanagement, lack of coordination and failure to deliver basic services.

So far, the government has established a National Reconstruction Fund to which it has allocated US$200 million. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has pledged another US$300 million and other donors will surely follow suit. The ADB has also established an earthquake response team that will work with other partners to assess losses and estimate the long-term investment needs. After the assessment finishes, Japan will convene a donor group meeting.

… Pradumna B. Rana is Associate Professor and Coordinator of the International Political Economy Programme in the Centre for Multilateralism Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He was previously a senior director at the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

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