The Role of Nepotism and Cronyism in Nepal’s Corruption Problem
Introduction Personal connections often outweigh merit for many in Nepal, thereby creating a vicious circle of nepotism that hinders progress. The saying goes, "it's not what you know, it's who you know", and that seems unfortunately true here. Nepotism- giving one's friends or family favors regarding contracts, jobs, or promotions-and cronyism, giving favor to close friends or associates, especially in politics, have penetrated every field of Nepalese life, business to politics. This sets up a situation whereby character and merit may be put beneath loyalty to friends and family. The strongly generalized culture of nepotism promotes corruption and, in the process, resource misallocation increases the gap between the rich and the less privileged . When equal competition and accountability have been minimized by the concentration of public resources in the hands of a few, then outright disillusionment occurs among citizens of the country. It is essential to com...