Just know only IF the Embassy does away with the practice of hosting useless and non-productive parties, like democracy day and for the visiting so called VIP frineds and dignitaries from Nepal, they can save to the tune of 15,000 dollars yearly. They should already have a saving of about $5,500 from the king's birthday celebration. In all of the Embassy's parties, the people who are invited are the friends, relatives and acquaintances of the Embassy staff and it has very little to do with keeping the Embassy’s aim of promoting the country’s best interest. What is the use of an extravaganza by our Embassies abroad when the country is literally begging for money from the donors. The question is do we really need to have a military attaché posted in our Embassies? If yes, for what reasons? With $300 per capita income, we ought to be changing our focus from the past. The money that comes for the tourism promotion is used at the convenience of the Embassy, not for the purpose that was sent for. In Nepal, no one checks to make sure whether or not the money was used properly. All the auditors who come in are treated as VIPs, so there no berujhu or discrepancy is shown. The political scene in Nepal may have changed but not in the Nepal Embassies. They still govern by the Panchayat time and their mindset is that they are there to serve the king or king’s henchpeople, not the people. In my view, the new focus should be transparency, austerity and accountability to the people while promoting country’s best interests. Only a year ago, a senior Embassy staff at the Washington DC had reportedly told this to a prospective visitor inquiring about the Nepal situation, "Dun’t go to Nepal, shikyurty is porblem, Maoists are killing". You can imagine how they can promote the interest of the country, much less to expect an efficient management from them. Surely they could buy the computers from the money saved from the non hosting of useless dinner and coctail parties. It is a matter of priority. Most reporters do not write anything about the operations of our Embassies abroad because they themselves, having brought up in the same ghus and natabad culture, either do not see anything wrong or simply take advantage of the situation or perhaps simply ignore it. Why blame only a lowly paid lower level employee for the mismanagement at the Embassy? It is the hakims who are responsible for it. If you look at the Embassy staff right from the Ambassador down, and whatever resources they have, hardly anybody puts in enough time for which he or she is appointed for. This is no different from the bureaucracy in Nepal and all our Embassies reflect the workings or non-workings of our bureaucracy in Nepal. Clearly, they have not changed. Be it in an Embassy or a Ministry in Nepal, most people who are somebody holding a post or who has a relative/friend, they do not go through the same route or channel as we common people go through. Just a phone call and the Embassy staff will be up in their toes. It is us the common people who support them, and, in turn, ironically, it is us the common people who are made to suffer. The problem is that we can never expect changes since those people who are in a position to bring about the needed changes go through a different channel than we do and they never experience what we do. A different timeframe and a very different set of rules is applied for different people. I feel the activities of each Embassy should be put under a select committee of the Parliament which should be evaluated every year, based on objectives vs. accomplishments and best use of scarce resources. I am sure such a committee will seek the objective feedback from the community within the jurisdiction of an Embassy. Will they ever learn?