Our government has started to campaign for non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council. Is this a good idea? Take the poll that asks: “Should Bhutan lobby to join the UN Security Council?”
During the last session of the Parliament I asked the prime minister to explain what Mckinsey were doing that couldn’t be done by our own civil servants. Subsequently, I ran a poll that asked you “Are civil servants impressed with McKinsey’s work?” Of the 569 who took the poll, 408 (or 72%) replied with a [...]
I’m impressed at the government’s readiness to abide by the law. Bhutan Today (whose website has been woefully inadequate) had recently reported that: The prime minister has ordered the information and communication ministry to pay about Nu 2.3 million in penalty for not following the environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedures in the construction of the [...]
Earlier this year, in “Mining our business”, I’d explained why it would be unlawful for the government to permit L&T, Gammon and HCC to operate stone quarries for the Punatshangchhu hydropower project. I don’t know for sure, but it looks like L&T, Gammon and HCC are now not operating the stone quarries. That is very [...]
The prime minister, in his State of the Nation address, on employment: I am pleased to report to the Hon’ble Members that a total of 320,900 are now employed. This shows that 96.69% of our workforce is employed leaving an unemployment rate of 3.3%, marking a downward movement for the first time in recent years. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
The prime minster, an advocate of cycling and walking to work, referred to a certain setback in his State of the Nation address: I would also like to report that the government has not given up on its dream to make Thimphu a bicycle and pedestrian city despite the initial setback. What is that “initial [...]
Tshering Tobgay is a Member of Parliament representing Sombaykha Constitutency in Haa. He is the Leader of the Opposition Party in the National Assembly of Bhutan.
Is ACC taking too long to start investigating the Gyelpozhing land case?
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