Government – Page 2 – Tshering Tobgay

Just shameful

June 30, 2012Government, 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

June 28, 2012Government15 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…

Trowa

June 18, 2012Government101 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

June 17, 2012Economy, 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…

Ordering people

June 13, 2012Government25 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

June 11, 2012Employment, 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.…

Stop playing games

June 5, 2012Democracy, 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…

What we really need

June 2, 2012Government11 Comments

Our country is going through an unprecedented economic crisis. So why is the government establishing a “Secretariat for the new economy”for the United Nations? Instead, what we need is an office – a war room – dedicated to planning and directing the recovery of our economy. And why is the prime minister preparing to “make a statement promoting the vision for a new economic system” for the world? What we really need – desperately – is a head of government who is genuinely and fully committed to understanding, planning and directing the recovery of our economy.

Too good

May 31, 2012Economy, Government32 Comments

Yesterday’s economic forum was scripted and implemented to perfection. The forum, which was organised by GNHC and supported by the UNDP, was called “Macroeconomic Challenges, Opportunities and Policy Options for Bhutna” and held at the National Convention Centre. The forum was attended by the prime minister, cabinet ministers, senior civil servants and The forum was NOT attended by the governor of the Royal Monetary Authority and his two deputies. The CEOs of the financial institutions could not attend as they were summoned, by the RMA governor, for a separate meeting. The experts at the forum included Professor Joeseph Stiglitz…

The plague

May 17, 2012Government16 Comments

Kuensel featured this advertisement yesterday. Read it, and see what's wrong. I, like the friend who showed me this notification, found it funny that RITH would invite bids to produce the plague. But we all know that what RITH really wants is a plaque to commemorate the inauguration of the institute. Funny. And no harm done. But look at the notification again. Look at it closely. To be awarded the work, one must be a registered license holder and pay Nu 200 for a set of bidding documents. The bidding documents will be sold from 17th May to 31st…

But nat!

May 15, 2012Government40 Comments

At school, we, like all children, all over the world, loved playing pranks. Our arsenal boasted an impressive range of innovative pranks. But the simplest and the most popular of them by far was the very versatile but nat! prank. This is how it was administered: We’d go up to a fellow student and excitedly declare, “I found your wallet!” And then, very slowly, add, “But nat!” Or we’d tell him, “Our math test is postponed … but nat!” Or, “She says she likes you too … but nat!” The but nat! was meant to negate whatever news had…

Insurance claims

April 18, 2012Government23 Comments

It's been seven whole months since the 18th September earthquake. But many of the earthquake victims, including all the victims in my constituency, have still not receive their insurance claims in spite of the Home Minister's assurances during the eighth session of the Parliament. So I felt compelled to send this letter yesterday.

Essential stuff

April 13, 2012Government27 Comments

Article 14 Section 7 of the Constitution requires that, “A minimum foreign currency reserve that is adequate to meet the cost of not less than one year’s essential import must be maintained.” But what constitutes essential import? Salt, shoes, sicnidizole – surely they are “essential”. But what about construction material, like, say, CGI? And raw material for industries? Are they essential? And how about arms and ammunition? I think they are essential, very essential. It’s important to have a proper definition of what, in our context, constitutes essential import. It’s important because that definition will determine the “minimum foreign…

Thank you

April 4, 2012Economy, Government23 Comments

A couple of late meetings prevented me from watching TV last night. So I watched BBS TV’s rebroadcast this morning. In particular, I watched Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba, the officiating prime minister, and Lyonpo Wangdi Norbu, the finance minister, talk about the current economic situation. I thank the government for going on national TV to explain the ongoing currency situation to the public at large. The two ministers are our most experienced financial experts. The two of them have served as finance ministers for a combined total of 14 years, and as finance secretaries for more than 10 years. So…

GNH and Bhutan

March 30, 2012Government54 Comments

Here's an insightful cartoon from Bhutan Observer. The message is loud and clear. There's no need to elaborate. But one dangerous element is missing in the murky background: the rupee crunch and the growing economic crisis, about which the prime minister has not yet uttered a word.