Government – Page 11 – Tshering Tobgay

Observing the state of the Nation

June 29, 2009Government25 Comments

I made a brief statement on the PM's state of the Nation address today in the National Assembly. What follows is a summary of what I said... Introduction I thank the Honourbale Speaker for allowing me to submit my views on the prime minister’s annual report on the State of the Nation to the Parliament. I congratulate the prime minister and the cabinet for presenting a detailed report on the activities of the government during the last year. I’ve divided these activities into four broad categories: (i) those that were part of the Ninth Five Year Plan; (ii) those…

Corporate salaries – part 2

June 22, 2009Government

So the government cannot dictate the salaries of DHI employees. But what about the other corporations – those that are owned by the government, but are not part of DHI? Can the government set their salaries? Technically, yes. The government can dictate the salaries of these employees. This, in fact, was precisely what our previous governments did. But they always defined them in favour of corporate employees. The logic was simple: these corporations (BBS, Bhutan Post, FCB, BDFC, and others) were considered less attractive than the civil service. Yet they delivered important, sometimes vital, services for the nation. So…

Corporate salaries – part 1

June 22, 2009Economy, Government

Two readers – Samdrups and Sharu – asked me for my views on our government’s recent announcement on corporate salaries. My views are simple. And they are straightforward. Government should not be involved in doing business. Yes, government should regulate businesses. But no, government should not interfere in how businesses are run. So our government’s decision to define the salaries of corporations – business entities, all of them – is wrong. First, consider the Druk Holdings and Investment Limited. DHI was established by His Majesty the King as an autonomous organization in order to promote “…the competitiveness of Bhutan’s…

Reporter’s right

June 20, 2009Government, Media

Article 7.3 of our Constitution guarantees that “A Bhutanese shall have the right to information”. But read what Kuensel has to say about one reporter’s experience with Lyonpo Wangdi Norbu. If what Kuensel reports is even partially true, we should be seriously concerned .After all, this is not the first time that our government has yelled at and intimidated journalists. The DPT promised a “friendly and accessible government” and a “strong and independent media”. We cannot settle for less.

PCS postion

June 19, 2009Government

The results on our last poll, on banning the sale of tobacco products, is in: of 210 voters, 199 (that’s 57%) think that prohibiting the sale of tobacco products is not a good idea; 83 of you (40%) would support the ban; and 8 voters don’t care either way. While those against the ban win by 17 percentage points, the last poll was the closest so far. Thanks everyone for participating. Our new poll is on the civil service. The position classification system continues to spark debate among civil servants, so I’m asking if the system has support. Please…

Being blunt

June 10, 2009Government

The cartoon in the last issue of Bhutan Times showed Lyonpo Nanda Lal Rai announcing: "I'm going to be blunt. He (opposition leader) along with other MPs will get the CDG. But he's creating all this noise to gain political mileage. If people are misinterpreting the Constitution from day one, they're asking for trouble." I take issue with Lyonpo Nanda Lal on four counts. First, I cannot and will not accept the CDG if I continue to believe it to be unconstitutional. My understanding of our obligations to safeguard our Constitution will not allow me do so. In fact…

About the CDG

June 9, 2009Government

Last month, Archibald read "Illegal grants" and commented: "...i've been wondering what the CDG is..." A few other people have also asked me about the CDG. So let's talk about the CDG. Or, better yet, let's see what the National Council has said about the controversial grant. But first, let's recall how the grant was first introduced. It went something like this: On 23 June 2008, during the first session of the Parliament, the National Assembly discussed the budget for the year 2008-2009. The proposed budget made no mention of a CDG. When the National Council debated the proposed…

CDG and future elections

May 22, 2009Democracy, Government

I called on our Chief Election Commissioner yesterday. I called on him to report that the CDG, if implemented as proposed, will compromise the ECB's ability to conduct future elections to the National Assembly in a free and fair manner. The Constitution (Article 24.1) and the Election Act (Chapter 3.34) specifically require the Election Commission of Bhutan to conduct elections "in a free and fair manner." Why would CDG hinder free and fair elections? Through CDG, our government places Nu 10 million at the disposal of the members of the National Assembly. How that money is used in their…

About the constitution

May 12, 2009Government, Legislature

Kuensel is correct for being concerned that the 12 “dzongdags’ transfer flouts BCSR rule”. The newspaper is also correct for being concerned that RCSC rules may have been broken. And correct for pointing out that our government is “not above the law.” But, as serious as Kuensel’s concerns already are, we should be even more seriously concerned. Why? Because our cabinet’s offense is not limited to breaking BCSR and RCSC rules. Instead, our cabinet may have knowingly broken the provisions of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan. Article 2, Section 19(q) of our constitution states that “The Druk…

Early warning

April 30, 2009Government

Early yesterday morning, the health assistant in Lunana was woken up by loud rumbling sounds from the Gotu-chu. At 3:30 AM he found that the river, a tributary of the Pho- chu, had swollen to thrice its size and dispatched a wireless message to the Early Warning Station in Wanduephodrang warning them of a possible flood downstream along the Pho-chu and Punasang-chu.The rumblings that the health assistant had heard spread panic in Punakha and beyond. And by mid-day, the entire nation was consumed by fear of the impending dangers in Punakha and Wangduephodrang. His Majesty the King was immediately…

Left out

April 18, 2009Government

The 5th annual meeting of the Dzongkhag Tshogdu and Gewog Tshogde Chairpersons will end today. These meetings are important as, once every year, the gups of all 205 gewogs get together to discuss issues relating to local government. And this year’s meeting is especially important as this is the first such meeting since the introduction of parliamentary democracy.But the opposition party was excluded from this meeting.I’d hoped to meet our local government leaders to solicit their opinions and advice on the opposition party’s work. And to seek their views on the amendments to the Local Government Act that are…

Improving public services

April 7, 2009Economy, Government

Many businessmen and women would have been delighted to hear our government’s assurances to start the one-stop service centre during BCCI’s annual general meeting last Friday. And they would have been pleased to know that our government is already acting on these assurances. Because, yesterday, according to BBS, our prime minister met with government secretaries to consider ways of reducing the administrative burden.Our government’s assurances and their immediate follow up came as especially good news to Dragyel Tenzin Dorjee. You see, Dragyel spent a year, running from pillar to post, to get permission to establish the Bhutan Institute of…

Unresolved audit issue

April 2, 2009Government

It’s quite common to hear government officials complain: “I’m willing to help but, if I do, Audit will fix me up.” This refrain is not an excuse to avoid work. Instead, this shows how nervous most officials get when dealing with the RAA.This is unfortunate. This is unfortunate because all public servants actually accept and support the need to enhance responsibility and accountability in the government, especially when it comes to matters concerning use of public money.Yet most officials are wary of the RAA. And it’s not because they fear getting caught doing something wrong. More often, it’s because…

Educating doctors

March 27, 2009Education, Government

On 23rd March, the Ministry of Education announced rules on the recently approved medical scholarship grants (see the rules). The rules clarified how the government will implement the grants. But we should be concerned at least on two counts.One, on the impact on current private students. According to the rules private students currently studying in universities recognized jointly by RCSC, MOH and MOE in the SAARC region, Thailand and Cuba are eligible to apply for the scholarship. Of them 15 will be awarded the medical grant.Obviously, every private medical student by now expects the grant. And convincing them that…

Opposing the oppostion

March 19, 2009Education, Government, Media

My last entry made Di demand that the opposition leader oppose the government’s decision directly and firmly. This is what she said: “dear OL, are u not going to say anything to oppose this directly to the cabinet? this is wrong wrong wrong. this goes against every morals, values and ethics we have ever been taught. this is showing us that the people who are incapable and the least deserving get the best in life. It is a mockery to everything we have been taught is right. Do u not have duties and rights, as the opposition leader, to…