Parked Constitution?

Posted inGovernment, Legislature
On 12 December the prime minister inaugurated the Wangchuck Centennial Park. This is good news and bad news.The good news is that Wangchuck Centennial Park, our country’s second largest, covering 3736 sq km across four dzongkhags, connects the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Park in the west with Bomdeling Wildlife Sanctuary in the east. The entire northern belt of our country is now protected, allowing for even better management of our rich biodiversity. The park will also protect our water systems, essential for hydropower, and provide ecotourism opportunities for our farmers.The bad news is that the park is illegal. According…

Celebrating volunteers

Posted inInternational
I almost didn’t make it. I was so preoccupied writing about Galek’s taekwondo – and watching her practice – that I almost missed this morning’s event to honour two decades of JOCV service in Bhutan.HRH Ashi Sonam Dechen Wangchuck was the guest of honour, and JOCV and JICA had arranged quite a show – from lively dancing, classical music and health checks to photo exhibitions, tea ceremony and bamboo toys, our Japanese volunteer friends had organized a lot of activities in the Clock Tower square. It was fun.I would have felt terrible if I’d missed the event. Not because…

Learning taekwondo

Posted inYouth
Galek, my daughter, attends taekwondo classes twice a week. This is one of the activities organized by her school for their students during the winter holidays. Galek loves it.I accompanied her yesterday. I wanted to see how good she’d become. Instead I got to see how good our boys are.Galek’s coach, Sir Kinley, had called his friends to do a short demonstration for his students. They put on quite a show – performing complicated moves, perfectly choreographed fights, breaking wooden boards and smashing apples blindfolded. Galek and her friends enjoyed the performance. That was the idea. I was enthralled.…

Teaching history

Posted inEducation
My son, Gyamtsho Tshering, 17 years, Class XI, is home for his winter vacations. My wife and I are delighted to have our family together, and have often worried that our son has had to be away from home for most parts of the year.Gyamtsho studies in St Joseph’s School, also known as “North Point”, in Darjeeling, India.Why is he in North Point? Because while he was at Lungtenzampa MSS, the government decided to teach Bhutan history in Dzongkha. His mother had been seriously concerned. “Even as a subject, most students find Dzongkha difficult” she had grumbled, “so how…

Good luck

Posted inYouth
950 university graduates have registered to appear for the Civil Service Common Examinations. Written exams for Technical and Dzongkha graduates begin today. General graduates start theirs on the 23rd. After years of studies, tests and interviews, it is the Common Exams which will determine their immediate futures and, in many cases, their destinies. I wish all of them the BEST OF LUCK!

Tashi Delek!

Posted inMonarchy
Yesterday, Changlimethang Stadium His Majesty the King addressing his people during the Centenary National Day. (Portrait from www.bbs.com.bt) .................................................................... I offer my congratulations to the recipients of the Druk Gyalpo’s National Day medals. His Majesty the King awarded Druk Thuksey to: 1. Dasho Kunzang Wangdi 2. Aum Neten Zam 3. Dasho Pema Wangchuk 4. Dasho Pema Wangchen His Majesty the King awarded the Druk Wangyel to: 1. Lyonchen Jigme Y. Thinley 2. Thrimche Lyonpo Sonam Tobgye My heartiest Tashi Delek! to all of them.

The constitution of our nation

Posted inMonarchy
Today, we celebrate our 101st National Day. Today will also mark the culmination of the year-long celebrations commemorating a century of peace, prosperity and happiness under our beloved monarchs. As we conclude the historic celebrations of 100 years of monarchy, we have many reasons to be deeply thankful: a secure and sovereign homeland, a vibrant culture and religion, a largely pristine environment, free healthcare and education, a unique democracy, and a growing economy. Simply put, we live longer, better and happier lives. And as we enter the next 100 years as a unified nation, we must uphold our two…

Saving industries

Posted inEconomy
I applaud Lyonpo Khandu Wangchuk’s tour to Pasakha to assess the crisis gripping the steel factories. And factory owners welcomed his visit as signs of possible government support for an industry which is seriously affected by the global financial crisis.The government should support the steel industry, but provided it is of strategic importance to our country. That is to say that the industry should be socially, politically or economically too important to our country to allow it to collapse. So if, due to a failure in the steel industry, many jobs for nationals would be lost, or national security…

A bigger (and better?) hospital

Posted inHealth
In the fall of 1974 the brand new 60-bed Thimphu Referral Hospital was inaugurated to commemorate the coronation of His Majesty the Fourth King. The hospital has served Thimphu and all of Bhutan faithfully for the last 34 years.Yesterday, Her Majesty the Queen Mother, Ashi Tshering Pem Wangchuck inaugurated the brand new 350-bed Jigme Dorji Wanchuck National Referral Hospital to commemorate the coronation of His Majesty the King and 100 years of monarchy. Our new hospital comes equipped with central heating and cooling, 8 OTs, 64 ICUs, central oxygen supply, 48 cabins, ward cubicles, digital x-ray, telemedicine facilities and…

Good heads make good schools

Posted inEducation
More than 150 educationists attended a three-day seminar this week to examine our education system. Participants agreed on a range of problems frustrating education in our country ranging from inadequate infrastructure to ineffective teaching methodologies.The seminar was an excellent idea. And recommendations were good. But nothing is new. Education workshops and seminars have time and again identified the same problems and agreed on similar strategies to improve education. Why? Because no matter how many times we met, we hardly ever followed through on the important decisions. So the quality of education, let’s face it, remains poor.It wasn’t always so.…

Folks, a festival

Posted inCulture
No less than 350 farmers are participating in the Folk Life Festival in Punakha. The three-day festival, which is organized jointly by Tourism Council and ABTO, was inaugurated yesterday by HRH Dasho Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck.Though the festival was originally planned in 2005, it is said to resemble, in content and style, the hugely successful Smithsonian Folk Life Festival featuring Bhutan in Washington D.C earlier this year.I like the idea. We need to diversify our products for tourists. And we need to expand the tourist “season” to include the sunny winter months. This festival helps in both fronts. Plus it…

Ap Gyengye and Bhutan

Posted inCulture, Religion
Yesterday, His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo and members of the Royal Family took part in the consecration ceremony at the completion of major rehabilitation carried out at Dechenphug. The rehabilitation was commanded by His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the greatest Dharma King in the world.I was barely 5 years old when my mother introduced me to Ap Gyengye in Dechenphug Monastery. Since then I’ve visited Dechenphug several times a year to honour Him and to offer prayers for His support. And during the last four decades I’ve seen increasing numbers of people make the pilgrimage to Dechenphug.Ap Gyengye…

Tower in Trongsa

Posted inCulture
“I’m returning after 48 years!” exclaimed Dr Jagar Dorji, MP.The Ta Dzong, which was constructed more than 350 years ago as a watch tower above Trongsa Dzong, was used a as a make-shift dormitory for students of Chokorling School in 1961. Dr Jagar was among the 13 students who lived in Ta Dzong for a year.We were in attendance when His Majesty the King inaugurated the Ta Dzong as the Tower of Trongsa Museum on 10 December. The conversion of the dzong to a state-of-the-art museum took over three years and Nu 120 million. That’s a lot of money,…

Local Government elections – update

Posted inDemocracy
His Majesty the King commanded that Local Government elections shall be conducted after the ECB completes the delimitation process and after the relevant acts under which elections are to be held have been revised in accordance with the Constitution.His Majesty the King commanded that Local Government elections conducted under Acts that had been repealed and which are contrary to the provisions of the Constitution would lake legitimacy even as an interim measure. And that the cost of conducting elections again after a few months would cause financial burden to the exchequer and enormous inconvenience to the general public and…

Running against corruption

Posted inMiscellaneous
As I left for Trongsa this morning, I drove by runners participating in World Anticorruption Day. The turnout was impressive – hundreds of people, young and old, women and children, businesswomen and men, and bureaucrats and politicians had turned out to show their resolve to fight corruption.Today's run was important, and it was especially significant that some politicians participated. I didn’t run. So instead, I’m writing.Shortly after the first parliamentary session ended, the ACC organized a presentation for MPs. Our Honourable MPs rose, one after the other, denouncing corruption, vowing to fight it, and promising full, unconditional support for…