With the changing political scenario and stability in sight, migrant Nepali workers are heading back home with the knowledge and skills they have acquired during their stay in foreign lands.

“Security and business confidence will attract a lot of migrant Nepalis from across the world like me and help generate employment,” said newly opened The Fresh House International owner Bilom Khanal.

A specialty butcher shop, established for the first time in Nepal under the consideration of international Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point — the systematic preventative approach to food safety norms — at Bhatbhateni in Kathmandu with the highest standard of quality and hygiene, The Fresh House International has employed a dozen people and has seen an increasing number of customer base since its opening in December 2011.

If Nepalis, who migrated due to various reasons, start returning with their knowledge and skills, and of course with a little of their savings, more employment could be created in the country, said Khanal, who has invested Rs 5 million in his store that caters to the need of all categories of meat lovers.

Over 1,100 Nepalis leave the country everyday in search of greener pastures due to the lack of job opportunities at home. Though the economy has remained afloat due to the remittance that they have been sending back home, the country could be in trouble anytime if there is a mass return due to an economic crisis like in 2009 which put a stop to all construction work in the Gulf, where a majority of Nepalis are currently working.

The country has received Rs 217.77 billion in remittance in the first eight months of the current fiscal year — according to the central bank — which has largely helped increase consumerism but contributed less in capital formation.

“Remittance is widely spent on daily consumption, followed by loan repayment and household property purchase instead of capital formation, according to the third Nepal Living Standard Survey — of the Central Bureau of Statistics — that revealed some 78.9 per cent of the remittance is used on daily consumption, whereas 7.1 per cent is used to repay loans followed by 4.5 per cent on household property, 3.5 per cent on education and only a minimal 2.4 per cent is used on capital formation.

Lack of employment generation due to the unproductive use of remittance, will, in the long run, definitely hit the economy hard as the country will be deep in the remittance trap.

Both the government and private sector must encourage returnees like Khanal to utilise their capital, skill and knowledge in generating employment back home, which could, in the long run, stop the outflow of migrant workers making the country’s economy self sustainable.

With the success of his first fresh meat store, Khanal — who worked at a fresh meat shop in Dubai for almost one-and-a-half decades — is planning to open another one soon, apart from plans to rear livestock for the backward chain for the regular supply of hygienic meat. “It will create more employment,” he added.

Published on: 11 May 2012 | The Himalayan Times