The literal meaning of Kawadi in Nepali stands for trash or a waste material. Remember, earlier, Kawadi dealers (the scavengers, the garbage collectors and dealers) were eye-sore to our KMC mayor? Now, he has injected Kawadi scientist into his team. By the way, the phrase is not my invention or innovation; I pick it up from the garbage can of the very person who designated himself as Kawadi scientist. Did not he earlier invented a big loud cannon to scare away monkeys? And isn’t he the one who, now, claims there is no rocket science to scare off monkeys?
In management parlance, there are two categories of people - monkeys and donkeys. Monkeys are those creatures, who love to hop from one branch to the other till they end up at the top while donkeys toil hard, down below on the ground, carrying the weight of its master. Donkeys have little time and interest to watch the events unfolding a the top of the trees. By the way, this reminds me of a Chinese saying: When a monkey climbs a tree; he does not become majestic, only displays ass to the public down below. This is akin to Turkish saying: When a clown enters a palace; he does not become a king, instead, he turns the whole palace into a circus.
Yes, the country is in a kind of circus. We are into a circus situation, when every scientists are reduced to kawadis and kawadis are elevated to scientists. There must be something grossly mistaken with the system. Are we into a chicken-egg situation? Did Lucifer appointed Fusifer or the Fusifer appointed Lucifer? We are into a puzzle, something akin to Nepali saying - bandar ko haat ma nariwal (translated, coconut in the hands of a monkey). The monkey has no idea of the hard round fruit, instead, assuming it to be a ball, content playing rather than eating. That is the true meaning of the phrase.
Coming back to Kawadi scientists, I had a brief argument with him asking how he going to mobilize Rs20 crore working capital (that is his projection) to run ATF by selling his memoir priced Rs750 ( I suppose). He just stubbornly insisted he will raise that money selling books. A true leader will spend better time managing the unit rather than performing “antics” in the streets. He did had a friction in Pokhara when a passerby commented, “you have not been elected to sell books on the streets.”
An insight into managing ATF requires understanding its history rather historical baggage. Why the Russians decided to establish ATF next to Birgung Sugar Factory (BSF)? Why BSF was located there, instead of originally proposed site Rautahat district? Back in 1980s, a manager from ATF insisted this scribe, the Russians even dictated to produce Russian style sickle, instead of Nepali style used in the rural areas. He should also ask why a unique method of privatization of ATF - a cooperative model, including employee ownership, I suppose, failed to work there. I suppose, dancing in the streets, with a beer bottle in hand, will not help to revive ATF. There are no point suggesting stubborn s insisting to revive dead industries like Gorkhakali Rubber Plant and Hetauda Textile Industry. I suppose the economic policy of the government is to kill live industries and revive dead ones.
Naming a ministry as the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation is one thing making it truly function requires a different innovative approach. Let us hope, we don’t resort to selling another memoir to finance 1% of the national budget for innovation.
