Inflating prices...

The effects of inflation on the prices of essentials …

Today, at Kuensel Phodrang...

Foreign trips...

Returning home

The prime minister, in his State of the Nation address, reporting to the Parliament on foreign relations:

My trips to India, Japan and Italy this year were also very useful in deepening our relations with these countries.

I agree. But, the prime minister understated his international travel account. The following, in fact, is a record of his trips outside Bhutan during the 2009-2010 fiscal year:

1. July 2009: Goodwill trip to India
2. August 2009: Fukuoka, Japan to deliver address on GNH
3. November 2009: Itaipu, Brazil to deliver address on GNH
4. February 2010: Delhi, India to attend Sustainable Development Summit
5. February 2010: Mumbai, India to attend World HRD Congress
6. April 2010: Kathmandu, Nepal to attend 13^th day ritual of the Late G.P Koirala
7. April 2010: Kochi City, Japan to deliver address on GNH
8. June 2010: Trento, Italy to deliver a talk on GNH at the Festival of Economics

Photo credit: BBS

Monsters!...

tashi's monster

You would have noticed that avatars of monsters now accompany your usernames. The monster IDs are automatically generated. And they are unique to you (as long as you use the same email address.)

I’ve unleashed the monsters because none of you were using avatars. I hope you like them. But I hope you eventually create your own avatars!

When it comes to usernames, however, it’s a completely different story…

Early followers of this blog will remember that on the original site, readers could post comments anonymously. You can still do that. But, whereas you didn’t even need to use a username in the original site, now, as you know, you cannot post a comment without a username.

There are two reasons for this: One, to allow you to create a unique identity, so that other readers can follow your comments easily. And two, to build a sense of community among our regular readers.

We have met our goal. We have a rich community of usernames. Many of you now apparently use your real names like Kinga, Ugen, Tashi, Tshering, Pema, Dorji, Drugda, Penjore, Tenzing, Thinley, Lobxang and Zekom.

And some of you even use your complete names: Dorji Phuntsho T, Sonam Tobgay, Dago Tshering, Abi Narayan and Tashi P. Ganzin are examples. While others, like Tchoden, Samdrups and SonamG, prefer to abbreviate your names.

Many of you have adopted interesting usernames. Here are a few, chosen at random from recent comments:

Usernames that give clues to where their authors hail from: Shingkhar, Tangba, Dungsamkota, Haap, Sombey, Phuentsholing.

Usernames that describe their authors: Wise Old Man, True Dukpa, Guardian, Critic, Observer, Keen Observer, Citizen Man, Seer, Pazab.

Usernames that call for specific values: Thadamtse, Truth, Ethics

Usernames that for action: Practicing GNH, Yes We Can

Usernames that communicate emotions: Amused, Fuse, Bull Chakpa, Hopeless, Yalama, Guluphulu, Twister

Usernames that describe their professions: Tashel Laglenpa, The Writer, Expert, Confused Civil Servant

And, of course, usernames that are used by the truly anonymous: Unknown, Anonymous, Guest

Implementing the Constitution...

For the people ...

Several people have asked me for an English translation of the expression of gratitude that I had offered to His Majesty the King during the inaugural ceremony of the fifth session of the Parliament. A busy schedule, arising from the fifth session, distracted me from translating the statement.

But yesterday, after posting the entry about the signing of our Constitution, I suddenly decided that the translation had to be done immediately. Here it is …

Expression of Appreciation to His Majesty the King

Introduction. It’s been hardly two years since the introduction of democracy in our country. Democratic Constitutional Monarchy has started off well, and as such, our country has received considerable international appreciation and acclaim for a successful transition to democracy.

But more importantly, our people are already enjoying the benefits of the new system of government.

We have been able to achieve a great deal of development within such a short span of time, because of the blessings of the Triple Gem; the support of our guardian deities; the prayers of our clergy; the good fortune of our people; and because of the wisdom, foresight and guidance of His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo.

Most importantly, it is because of the noble deeds and exceptional accomplishments of His Majesty the King, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.

To most people, democracy means that the complete powers of governance are in the hands of the people. And, that is correct. But in order to administer these powers on behalf of the people, our Constitution accredits a range of institutions. These are, for example, the National Council and the National Assembly, the ruling party and the opposition, the Lhengye Zhungtsho and civil servants, the judiciary, and the Constitutional Offices. The respective powers, roles and responsibilities of these institutions are enshrined in the Constitution.

But of all these institutions, that of the Druk Gyapo is, by far, the most important. According to Article 2 Section 1 of the Constitution, “His Majesty the Druk Gyalpo is the Head of State and the symbol of unity of the Kingdom and of the people of Bhutan.”

All of us are fully aware of His Majesty the King’s noble deeds, actions and achievements. So on behalf of the opposition party, I would like to express our heartfelt gratitude by recalling a few of His Majesty’s accomplishments during the past two years. I thank the Honourable Speaker for allowing me to do so.

One: land. In accordance with Article 2 Section 16 (b) (The Druk Gyalpo, in exercise of His Royal Prerogatives, may grant … land kidu and other kidus), His Majesty the King has, during the last two years, traveled throughout our country to grant audiences to people living in our remotest gewogs and villages, and to personally experience their living conditions and greatest difficulties. Read the rest of this entry »

Day of destiny...

Profound

On this day, two years ago, His Majesty the King, by warrant under His hand and seal, sanctioned the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan.

To commemorate the historic event I visited the Tashichhodzong earlier today. In its Kunrey – the sacred chamber where the Constitution was signed and officially took effect – I offered butter lamps and prayers, and reflected on how we, parliamentarians, have served or failed our Constitution so far.

State of the Nation...

Reporting to Parliament

The projected order of business for the Fifth Session of the First Parliament for Bhutan had, among many others, the following two entries:

Thursday, July 1:

Presentation of the Annual Report on the State of the Nation, including Legislative Plans and the Annual Plans and Priorities of the Government, to the Druk Gyalpo and to the Joint Sitting of the Parliament.

Monday, July 12:

Deliberation on the presentation of the Annual Report on the State of the Nation including Legislative Plans and the Annual Plans and Priorities of the Government by the Prime Minister

As we all know, the prime minister delivered his State of the Nation address, as scheduled, on 1^st July. But for reasons still unknown, we didn’t get to discuss the prime minister’s State of the Nation report. We didn’t discuss it, as scheduled, on 12^th July. Nor did we discuss it at another time.

It wasn’t like that last year. The State of the Nation report was discussed, albeit briefly, in the National Assembly immediately after the prime minister delivered it to the joint sitting of Parliament.

I hope it won’t be like that next year.

The State of the Nation address is important. It is the prime minister’s report to the Druk Gyalpo, the Parliament and the nation at large, on the social, economic, financial and political condition of our nation. It gives the prime minister the opportunity to highlight the government’s successes over the previous year. And it allows him to outline the government’s legislative plans, policy agenda and national priorities for the next year.

Naturally, the prime minister would expect us, parliamentarians, to consider his annual report carefully. And to spend as much time as needed discussing it to offer valuable feedback.

But more importantly, our people would expect us, their representatives, to consider and discuss the prime minister’s State of the Nation report thoroughly so that they can rest assured that the Parliament is doing its job.

Photo credit: National Assembly

Pride or disgrace?...

How has it fared?

The Parliament met in a joint sitting yesterday to conclude its fifth session. And just like that, the first Parliament of Bhutan has already completed half of its 10 regular sessions.

So I’ve been thinking about the past five sessions, and researching how we, your members of parliament, have bought you pride or disgrace during the course of our work. I may write about it, but sometime later.

In the meantime, I invite you to share your thoughts on how we have fared so far. Which were our best moments? Which were our worst? And which made you laugh?

I’ve featured the Parliament building in the banner to remind you to give us, parliamentarians, your insights.

Polling McKinsey...

During question hour today, I asked the prime minister to explain what work McKinsey were doing that couldn’t be done by our own civil servants. And in my leader to the question, I’d reported that the civil servants I’d spoken with had confided that they were not impressed with the work that McKinsey had done so far.

Naturally, the prime minister saw it differently. He claimed that every civil servant he’d talked to had been impressed with McKinsey’s work and had lavished praise on the world’s leading consultancy firm.

Perhaps.

But still, let’s conduct a poll – we haven’t had one in quite a while. Today’s poll asks,  “Are civil servants impressed with McKinsey’s work?”

Favouring foreigners over locals...

The National Assembly passed the Financial Services Bill last week. I voted against it. I did so because the Bill seems to favour foreign investors over our own people and companies.

Section 50, on restrictions on ownership of financial institution and investments by financial institutions, reads:

No person shall hold more than the following percentage of interest in shares of a financial institution:

(a) in case of an individual, 10 percent,

(b) in the case of a company not being a financial institution, 20 percent

(c) in the case of a company being a financial institution, as per the limit provided under section 53 below, and

(d) in case of a foreign financial institution, as per the RMA regulations in line with the foreign direct investment policy

According to Section 53:

No financial institution can have ownership in another financial institution exceeding 5 percent of the other financial institutions’ paid up capital.

And RMA regulations currently allow foreign financial institutions to own 51 percent of a financial institution’s paid up capital.

So, here’s what I took exception to:

Our people cannot own more than 10%, and our companies cannot own more than 20% of a financial institution. But a foreign company can own 51%.

Our financial institutions cannot own more than 5% of another financial institution. But a foreign financial institution can own 51%.

The Bill favours foreign companies over our own companies. And how did the government respond when they realized this bias? They protected government owned companies by inserting a new subsection under Section 50, one that reads:

(e)   in the case of Ministry of Finance, RGoB, 75%.