Just shameful

Posted inGovernment, Legislature21 Comments
The government was caught off guard when the National Assembly passed the Tax Revision Bill last Wednesday. The Assembly threw out all but one of the proposed taxes. And before the government realized it, their proposals to raise taxes on petrol, diesel, kerosene and LPG; refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners; meat, fish and eggs; silk fabric, furniture and power chainsaws; and alcohol were emphatically rejected by the National Assembly. The only tax to get through was the "green tax" on new vehicles. But that too suffered a huge setback: the proposed 40% green tax on vehicles (with engines equal…

Subsidizing profits

Posted inGovernment15 Comments
In their story about MPs calling for certain state-owned corporations to be privatized, Kuensel quoted me as saying that the government was giving too much subsidies to the corporations. "As if providing land was not enough, the government is even generous enough to provide them subsidy, which meant extra burden to the government", I supposedly said. The quote is correct. But the context is wrong. I didn't complain about subsidies that corporations receive. In fact, I believe that we must do a better job of ensuring that corporations that provide a public service - BBS, for example - have…

I’m sorry

Posted inMiscellaneous
My blog has been giving me a lot of trouble lately. I haven't been able to access my control panel. So that means that I haven't been able to update posts or approve new comments. I'm sorry if you've had trouble with this site. I'll try to fix the problem as soon as possible. On a happier note, it looks like my recent problems are due to the increasing traffic on my blog.

Wangduephodrang Dzong

Posted inCulture, Monarchy36 Comments
I was in Wangduephodrang on Saturday. I’d gone there to visit the De-Suung training program. After meeting the De-Suups, I stopped by the Wangduephodrang Dzong to see the massive renovation that the dzong was receiving. While returning to Thimphu, I stopped briefly on the other side of Punatsangchhu to take in at the grandeur of the Wangdue Dzong, and, as usual, marveled at the brilliance of Zhadrung Ngawang Namgyel. He had chosen the site personally, on a ridge overlooking the confluence of the Punatsangchhu and Dangchhu rivers, to defend His newly unified Drukyul against intruders from the South. He…

Responsible government?

Posted inEconomy66 Comments
"As the Honourable Members are aware, our balance of payments with India has been worsening and the RMA has been facing a severe scarcity of Indian Rupees..." That was the finance minister's opening line when he introduced the Tax Revision Bill in the National Assembly earlier today. Yes, our balance of payments with India is in bad shape. And we are facing a severe shortage of Indian currency. In other words, we face a rupee crisis. We have a crisis in our hands. And it's no point playing the blame game. We must work together - we must think…

Business on pedestrian day

Posted inEconomy34 Comments
The central secretariat complex outside the Tashichhodzong wore a deserted look on pedestrian day, this afternoon. No doubt, our civil servants were busy in their own offices, working, since they wouldn't be able to attend the otherwise unending number of meetings that plague our government. Norzin Lam, Thimphu's main street, also wore a deserted look this afternoon. I saw students walking home and taxis zipping around, but I saw little else. Shops were empty. And some, like these shops on upper Norzin Lam, were closed for business. There are many things wrong with pedestrian day. And one of the…

Trowa

Posted inGovernment101 Comments
Trowa Theatre in Changjiji sits on government land. The land, measuring 19,432.56 square feet, was leased to a businessman in 2001 to build an entertainment center. In 2006, the government approved the transfer of the lease to another businessman. And increased lease rent from Nu 2 per sft per annum to Nu 42 per sft per annum, which was the amount being charged to other lessees occupying similar property in Thimphu. The businessman taking over the lease did not sign a lease agreement protesting that the new lease rent was too high. He still has not signed a lease…

Real losers

Posted inEconomy, Government28 Comments
Does anyone know why the government insists on permitting only FCB to import vegetables? I don't. The prime minister had explained that only FCB would be provided Indian rupees to import vegetables as FCB would be able to buy in bulk and would not be motivated by profit, which would make prices come down. But vegetable prices have not come down. Instead, they've skyrocketed, because FCB's prices turned out to be much higher. Plus, a lot of their vegetables had turned bad even before they reached Thimphu. As a result, consumers paid higher prices, but received poorer quality, and…

Pep-say

Posted inVillages7 Comments
Thank you for participating in Big Picture -12. It was fun to follow your comments - most of you recognized the picture, but you still spent the time to craft interesting answers. Thank you. My favorite answer comes from "Thinlay", whose keen sense of observation, meticulous research and precise composition bags our prize: bragging rights! Here's the scholar's complete and  completely correct answer: It is a white plastic bottle with narrow neck and closed with modified wooden cap, and tied around the waist to ensure that it does not fall off while walking. The content could be anything from…

Ordering people

Posted inGovernment25 Comments
At the end of the second Pedestrian Day, I reproduce below a comment posted by “Dala”: Can anyone provide a copy of the executive order circulated by PM.I want to see the content of the order because the Police and the RSTA people are not allowing vehicle movement even in remote places forget about towns and cities. I was on the way to Dagana from Dagapela and they stopped my car and said that I cannot go to Dagana. When I asked why I can’t go, their reply was that there is executive order from PM to restrict all…

The ineligible Bhutanese

Posted inEmployment, Government45 Comments
What would you do if you found out that there's this job opening that would pay three times more but would be less demanding than your current job? You'd probably apply for it, right? How could you pass up an opportunity to earn three times your pay for actually doing less work? What would you expect if you found out that that job was in a government project, financed by government funds? You'd expect to get that job, right? And if you don't, you'd expect a more qualified and experienced fellow Bhutanese to get it. That's exactly what happened.…

9th Session

Posted inLegislature28 Comments
The 9th session of the Parliament begins tomorrow with a traditional ceremony, and will continue 11th of July. Here's what we will be discussing... Three bills will be introduced in the National Assembly: Domestic Violence Prevention Bill; Land (Amendment) Bill; and Road Bill. Two bills that were introduced and endorsed by the National Council will be discussed in the National Assembly. They are: National Flag Bill; and Parliamentary Entitlement (Amendment) Bill. The following three bills, which were endorsed by the National Assembly and subsequently discussed in the National Council, will also be discussed to resolve differences, if any, between…

Stop playing games

Posted inDemocracy, Government130 Comments
I like to walk. And I like to bike. So today, on Thimphu’s inaugural Pedestrian Day, I enjoyed the opportunity to bike from my home (in Taba) to my office (in Langjophakha) to the clock tower square to lunch (in Motithang) to the PDP office (Changangkha) to Karma’s Coffee (Hongkong market) to the archery range (near the Indian Embassy) and finally back home. The government has declared that, henceforth, every Tuesday will be Pedestrian Day, at which time most vehicles will not be permitted to enter the core area of Thimphu. Other cities are reportedly already following suit. The…

Auspicious

Posted inMonarchy3 Comments
We, in Bhutan, take auspicious signs seriously. And the more auspicious the sign, the better. Today is Duechen Ngazom, the most important day in the Buddhist calendar. Today, coincidentally, is also Her Majesty the Queens' 22nd birth anniversary. Her Majesty the Queen's first birthday after being crowned the Druk Gyaltshuen falls on the most revered day of the year. How auspicious is that? Very auspicious. And that bodes well, very well, for the tsawasum - our monarchy, our country and our people. Happy birthday, Your Majesty!