Constant political feuding and weak governance has delayed post-quake rebuilding despite an outpouring of aid
By Nita Bhalla and Gopal Sharma
HOKSHE, Nepal, Nov 25 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Farmer Ganesh Prasad Gautam beamed as the young woman behind the desk littered with files called his name out at the rundown government office in the mountains of central Nepal.
After 18 months of living in a shack made of corrugated iron, tarpaulin and bamboo amid the ruins of his earthquake-hit house, he is finally receiving long-promised government funds to start rebuilding his home.
The 54-year-old farmer was one of eight million people affected in April last year when a 7.8-magnitude quake struck the Himalayan nation - leaving 9,000 dead and destroying one million homes as well as schools, businesses roads, and bridges.
"The money is late and it's not enough to build what I had before, but at least the government has given it," Gautam said to nods from fellow villagers gathered at the office in Hokshe village, 64 km (40 miles) east of Kathmandu.
"We've already endured one winter and two monsoons like this - out in the open with no protection from the rain and cold."
But Gautam is one of the lucky ones.
Constant feuding between a myriad of political parties has fuelled political turmoil and weak governance in Nepal, delaying efforts to rebuild the country of 28 million people despite an outpouring of aid, analysts said.
Ongoing political instability in a country which has seen 24 governments in 26 years has stymied reconstruction efforts.
"You are looking at a country that has had three governments since the earthquake - all coalitions and none with a solid majority," said Renaud Meyer, Country Director for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Nepal.
"There is no doubt the political landscape is the biggest barrier for the recovery and reconstruction of Nepal to take place. It requires consistency, it requires determination and the less open it is to spoilers, the better."
POLITICS PREVAILS
Wedged between India and China, Nepal - famed as the birthplace of Buddha and home to Mount Everest - is one of the world's poorest countries.
A decade-long civil war between Maoist rebels and government forces ended in 2006, raising hopes of development in a country where one in four people live on less than $1.90 a day - the World Bank's measure of extreme poverty.
The three main parties - the Nepali Congress (NC), Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist-Centre) and the Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) - have over the years made unlikely bedfellows in fragile coalitions and politicians are seen as selfish and power hungry.
Critics say rather than focus on reconstruction, former Prime Minister Sushil Koirala's NC-led government exploited a wave of national solidarity in the quake's aftermath to finalise Nepal's long overdue constitution.
Even though a new charter was adopted in September 2015, and a new coalition government led by Khadga Prasad Oli's UML party took power, the historic moment was marred by bloodshed in street clashes in the southern Terai region bordering India.
More than 50 people died in the crisis, which forced Oli to resign nine months after taking power as his main coalition partner, the Maoist Centre party, withdrew its support.
The constitutional crisis and political changes resulted a six-month delay in setting up the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) - the key agency overseeing Nepal's recovery.
As a result, families are only now receiving the first installment of a promised 200,000 rupee ($1,880) housing grant.
But for some Nepalis, the funds are too little, too late.