Happy world?...

20th August 1987. It was getting dark. I’d reached my university in Pittsburgh earlier that day. I fought to control my jetlag and hide my culture shock. I was tired and hungry.

So I made my way to a MacDonald’s and timidly requested for the set meal that offered a cheese burger, fries and coke. The lady taking my order tried to protest. But I respectfully insisted that that’s what I’d have…I was too nervous and shy to construct a full meal by ordering a la carte.

I understood what the fuss was about as soon as my food arrived. It came in a paper castle. And dinner included a toy. I’d ordered a Happy Meal!

31st January 2009. We’re at Paro Airport. I’m going to Thailand on a short holiday with my family. My children are excited. I’m excited too – it’s been almost two years since traveling out.

I can hear my daughter and her cousin plan their holiday. They are quite thorough. They’ve already decided what they will have for dinner tonight: Happy Meal! And they even know what toy they want – Kung Fu Panda.

Globalisation is real. The world is, as Friedman famously puts it, flat. Even for us, mountain folks. So, like Po, the bungling panda, we’d better learn to negotiate our new terrain – our happiness will depend on it.

Stayin’ online...

It happened again. Druknet was down this morning. It was down yesterday too. And I was frustrated – I couldn’t check my emails, or update this blog, or confirm my Druk Air reservations.

But many others must have been even more frustrated. The sudden loss of connectivity with the rest of the world would have prevented them from attending to much more important and urgent work.

We should expect, and demand, higher quality of services. So I called Druknet. And I learned that their internet service was interrupted while they were upgrading their system. Apparently, while installing an advanced back-up power supply unit, an electrical leakage caused their system to short circuit…a small glitch really.

But I also learned that Druknet has improved the reliability of their services considerably since the two major interruptions last year. In January, the fiber optic connection to London was disrupted when submarine cables in the Mediterranean were destroyed by ships anchoring off Alexandria. And in August, landslides above Takti knocked down a power pylon damaging the fiber optic cables it carried.

Since then, Druknet has improved the existing link to London and established a new fiber optic link to Hong Kong. To backup the fiber optic network, it has installed a high capacity microwave radio connection between Phuentsholing and Thimphu. And it continues to use the Satellite Earth Station link to British Telecom, and a VSAT link to Telesat in Hawaii.

Druknet has done a lot of good work. But that’s not good enough. To make full use of the wonders of ICT, we must have quicker and more dependable internet connections. For that, we, customers, must demand for better services. Otherwise, expect more glitches.

A continuing saga...

“A week after the National Assembly approved the civil servant pay hike, the cabinet has revised the scarcity allowance system for teachers and doctors…” ran Kuensel’s main story yesterday (read article).

The cabinet’s decision will bring a little relief to a few civil servants. But it will be a source of growing anxiety to many more. The message, after all, is that the pay revision can still be negotiated; that it is not final.

As a matter of fact, the pay revision has been finalized. It has been debated in parliament. And it has been approved by the National Assembly. Any modifications made to it now will amount to overriding the National Assembly’s resolutions. And that would be illegal.

So if the approved pay revision package must, for whatever reason, be modified, do it during parliament’s next session. And, if needed, propose to apply the modifications retroactively.

Otherwise we risk ignoring the democratic process. And undermining the authority of the legislature.

Doing business isn’t easy anywhere...

But it’s getting even harder in Bhutan!

In “Really hard business” (read blog entry) I had grumbled that doing business in our country was really hard – the World Bank had ranked Bhutan 119th of the 178 countries it had evaluated on ease of doing business in 2008.

Guess what? Doing business in Bhutan has become even harder!

Doing Business 2009 report now ranks Bhutan 124th out of 181 countries that were investigated (see ranking). And in South Asia, Bhutan, ranked 7 of 8, fares better than only one country, war torn Afghanistan (see ranking).

So what, you may say, our economy has grown rapidly. True, we have enjoyed unprecedented growth – the size of our economy has more or less doubled every 5 years since 1980, and per capita GDP, at US$ 1900, is the highest in our region.

That our economy has grown fast is good news indeed. But the far more important question to ask is: how did it grow fast?

Our economic growth has been fueled by loans, foreign aid and hydropower; not by productivity; and not by the private sector. The private sector has not been able to drive economic growth because it is weak. And it is weak because it so hard to do business in Bhutan.

Meanwhile, our vision of strengthening the private sector and making it the “engine” of growth remains just that – a distant vision. And, in spite of the impressive numbers, our economy is actually very weak, which manifests quite clearly in rising inequalities, youth unemployment and widespread poverty.

So what should we do? Make it easier to do business in Bhutan. Make it easier for our people to realize their full entrepreneurial potential. Make it easier for businessmen and women to contribute to the economy. Review rules and regulations. And make them business friendly.

Only then can we expect Doing Business to declare better results for Bhutan.

That said, Doing Business report is, at best, only a test that provides indicators to the state of our domestic business environment. But we should take these indicators seriously. After all, potential investors all over the world take them very seriously.

Traditional Day of Offering…for th...

Today, the 1st day of the 12th month, is celebrated as buelwa phuewi nyim – the traditional day of offering. The tradition of people making offerings to the Dratshang on this day seems to have been popularized as an expression of love, devotion and loyalty to Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal.

Today is also celebrated as chunipai losar – a new year. Families and entire communities, especially in Eastern Bhutan, feast and enjoy traditional sports together for several days to welcome the new agricultural season. At the end of these non-stop festivities farmers begin the hard work of preparing their fields for the new farming cycle.

So let’s celebrate. Then get down to hard work. And there’s plenty of that in the new democratic Bhutan where offerings – of services and fulfilled promises – must be made to the people, not by them. Our King and our Constitution demand nothing less.

Chunipai losar-gi tashidelek!

Celebrating India...

India became an independent country on 15 August 1947. But the British monarch, King George VI, continued as India’s head of state till the country was declared a republic. That historic declaration came into effect on 26 January 1950 when India adopted its constitution and became the world’s largest democracy.

As India celebrates its 60th Republic Day, I offer my tashi delek to all the people of India, especially those residing in Bhutan, and thank them for their warm friendship and unwavering support to our king, our country and our people.

I join President Pratibha Patil in wishing Indians everywhere: “Itney Unchey Utho ki Jitna Utha Gagan hai!”

Pema’s left foot...

Today I met Pema Tshering. He was born with cerebral palsy and congenital deformities in his spinal column. As a result both his arms are useless. And he has only limited use of his legs. He is 28 years old.

I first met Pema, in Mongar, over four years ago, during an audience granted to him by Her Majesty the Queen Mother Ashi Tshering Pem Wangchuck. He was lively, bright and funny. And he was confident – he eagerly accepted Her Majesty’s offer to train him at the Institute of Zorig Chusum in Thimphu.

Pema can’t walk. But he uses his feet, especially his left foot, to do everything. He picked up line drawing very quickly, so I suggested that he learn to paint. I’d thought that he could make a living selling simple artwork and postcards.

I was wrong…he was capable of much more than simple craft. He chose to learn the more physically challenging patra, traditional woodcarving, and is excelling at it. His carvings of dragons, the eight lucky signs and thuenpa pinzhi are as good as any of his classmates. And he has already sold many of his creations.

Pema has one more year of training before he graduates as a certified patra carver. After that he plans to open his own workshop. Become self sufficient. And support his grandparents. He says that he has been “fortunate”, and attributes his good luck to Her Majesty.

Look out for Pema: artist, entrepreneur, and an inspiration to us, “normal” people.

Calling young artists...

Asha Karma and his volunteers at VAST are offering a ten-day basic art course for students. The classes start tomorrow. But, so far, only five students have registered. And they need at least ten to make the classes viable.

The art course is a good idea. Most children enjoy working with their hands. They love to create: to draw, to paint and to build. But good instruction on art and craft is not easy to find.

The VAST course is packed with good instruction and healthy fun. Children will enjoy a range of activities from basic drawing, sketching and charcoal to collage, watercolor and still life. They’ll also get to do outdoor activities like rock climbing and cultural visits.

This is exactly the type of activity that our students say they want during their winter holidays. So if you have children, please consider enrolling them for the course. Otherwise tell your relatives and friends about this wonderful opportunity.

To register your child, or to sponsor a student, you can contact a VAST volunteer at 327248 or mail@vast-bhutan.org.

Education for all...

Consider this: Education will get Nu 9,489.130 million for capital investments during the 10th plan. That is almost Nu 9.5 billion to develop the general education system. That works out to almost 13% of the 10th plan’s entire capital budget. That also works out to more than Nu 60,000 for each of the 157,112 students currently in the education system.

I’m happy that the government is investing heavily in education. Education has been drawing a lot of flak lately – standards are perceived to be falling, schools deteriorating, and school enrolment increasing at the expense of quality. So I’m glad that we are set to change our ways. After all, “the future of our country lies in the hands of our youth”.

Now consider this: The Dratshang, our central monk body, will get Nu 23.041 million for capital investments during the 10th plan to improve its education system. That works out to roughly Nu 7,680 for each of the 3000-odd students currently in the monk body. The money is just enough to build the one monastic school, in Mongar, during the 10th plan. And it looks like no other capital work – school repair and expansion, teacher training, curriculum development or the establishment of libraries – is planned for the next five years.

Monastic education has received little attention in the past. And the next five years threatens to be no different. We should reconsider. There are many more students in our monastic schools than we think. And literally all of them come from the poorest of the poor families.

We should also be concerned. If religious schools are sidelined, their students can easily feel left out and become disaffected radicals. This has happened throughout the world, regardless of religion. Let’s learn from their mistakes. Let us develop our monastic schools along with our general schools.

Quality education is important. And it is equally important for young monks. The future of our country lies in their hands too.

First fire...

This forest fire, above YHS and Tandin Nye, was the Thimphu’s first this winter. Thankfully, it was put out quickly.