I have already expressed my concerns that the prime minister’s office may be influencing the media. But what has recently been happening is worse: one newspaper, Bhutan Today, has started carrying every press release that comes out of the prime minister’s office as their own story, word for word, but with their own byline.

Compare the following stories:

• “Bigger responsibility for NSB, better data for nation” by the Cabinet; and “Statistics and GNH Statistics” by Bhutan Today
• “SAARC summit: preparations in full swing” by the Cabinet; and “450 Delegates to Attend SAARC Summit” by Bhutan Today
• “100% FDI to build five-star hotels in Bhutan” by the Cabinet; and “100% FDI for Luxury Hotels” by Bhutan Today
• “It’s Ethics, Stupid” by the Cabinet; and “It’s Ethics, Stupid” by Bhutan Today
• “Tourism Reforms” by the Cabinet; and “Tourism Reforms” by Bhutan Today
• “Two-way dialogue is important, says PM” by the Cabinet; and “Dialogue Important: says PM” by Bhutan Today

My concern is no longer that the prime minister’s office may be influencing a newspaper. I’m now concerned that they could be controlling Bhutan Today.

There’s something dangerous going on. And I’m writing to BICMA about it.

Still unsure

More than decade has already passed since the start of Bhutan’s accession process to the WTO. And many of our current ministers have been involved throughout the process. So I find it strange that, after all these years, one of them, the prime minister, is “still unsure” about joining the WTO.

What do you think? Should we join or not? Or are you also “still unsure”?

Take our poll that asks, “Should Bhutan join the WTO?”

Caricature by Bhutan Observer

McKinsey and Company is charging the government 9.1 million dollars in consulting fees. Add to that travel, living, per diem and other expenses, and the final tab, by some estimates, could exceed 14 million dollars! That’s a lot of money.

So it’s amazing that we must feel a sense of relief every time their proposals get shot down. Their first proposal to go was about increasing annual tourist arrivals to 250,000. Then it was tourist tariff liberalization. Now their proposal to mandate all hotels catering to tourists to upgrade to at least a 3 Star category is already coming under attack.

True, McKinsey are only consultants. Their job is to recommend. And it’s up to the government whether or not to accept those recommendations.

But who are these consultants? It turns out that McKinsey’s first consultant for tourism was Namrita Khandelwal, who worked with the TCB for six months. I googled “Namrita Khandelwal”, and the only relevant results I got were Ms Khandelwal’s own entries on Facebook and Linkedln.

Namrita Khandelwal, it turns out, is barely 28 years old. She got a bachelors degree in economics in 2001, completed her MBA in 2003, and studied for an MPA from 2006 to 2008.

So Ms Khandelwal graduated in 2008. And by the next year, in 2009, she was in Bhutan, at the TCB, as a McKinsey consultant, recommending policy.

Now I have nothing against Ms Khandelwal. But I’m left wondering why McKinsey would have allowed a recent college graduate to represent them in Bhutan. And, more importantly, left wondering how our government could have accepted Namrita Khandelwal.

Meanwhile, a big majority of the people (57%) who took our poll think that the prime minister should be held accountable for trying to liberalize the tourist tariff. 26% held TCB accountable. And only 17% blamed McKinsey.

I agree with the results of our poll. No matter what, if any, consultations led to the big shift in tourism policy, ultimately it was the cabinet, particularly the prime minister, who approved the tariff liberalization. And who signed the executive order to that effect.

But what about TCB? Well, they are civil servants. And, as professionals, they will advise the government. But, they cannot force their decisions on the government. On the other hand, they, as civil servants, will defend and justify the decisions of their political masters.

And McKinsey? They may be a huge multinational company. And the world’s most famous consultants. But they are just that, consultants.

Dirty business

Two weeks ago, I accidentally telephoned Passang Dorji, the chief reporter at The Journalist. I’d meant to call someone else. But somehow, I dialed Passang’s number instead. So we made use of the unforeseen opportunity to catch up.

I asked how he was doing. And how their new company, The Journalist, was faring. He replied that the times were difficult; and that they weren’t making enough money; but that, with support from friends and relatives, they were pulling through.

Passang also confided in me. He told me that they were working on a scoop – a story about members of parliament and ministers buying excavators; and about them leasing the equipment to the Punatshangchu Hydropower Authority.

He asked me for my opinion. I told him that our laws forbid members of parliament from engaging in commercial activities. And I told him that, as far as I knew, no law prevented family members, including spouses, of parliamentarians from doing business. But I encouraged him to work on his “scoop”, especially to investigate for political corruption and conflicts of interest in the Punatshangchu case.

Then I told him that it might interest him to know that my wife also owns two excavators; that both of them were bought on loan; that one of them was working for a Bhutanese contractor involved in the Punatshangchu project; and that the other was lying idle.

I suggested that he should talk to my wife. I advised him that he might want to ask to see the business income tax returns that she would soon have to file.  And I informed him that my wife and daughter were accompanying me to my constituency in a few days.

Passang Dorji didn’t contact me. Nor did he contact my wife. And this is what The Journalist had written:

The opposition leader, Tshering Tobgay, also confessed to having two excavators in this wife’s name and that one was already deployed at the PHPA site. He could not be contacted for further details. He was in Haa and was unreachable through cell phone.

Yes, the excavators are in my wife’s name. And I cannot deny that they belong to our family. But to insinuate that I had tried to avoid detection; that I was made to confess; that my wife was just a front; and that I was actually doing the work is irresponsible.

So I telephoned Passang Dorji again. He confirmed that he didn’t know about my wife’s excavators before I volunteered that information. He claimed that he didn’t write the article. And he admitted that the part about the opposition leader could be misleading.

I’m not making excuses. I’m just setting the record straight.

My wife’s company is called GT Hiring. She owns two excavators, each worth about 47 lakhs, that she bought in September 209.  She owes the Bhutan National Bank about 90 lakhs. One machine works for Ringdol Construction, a local contractor. And the other is idle.

I encourage The Journalist to meet my wife. She will convince them that GT Hiring is her business; that she’s not fronting; and that her husband is forbidden from interfering in her company’s matters. But that said, it does not mean that I bear no accountability. I will accept full responsibility for my wife’s business, if what she does is illegal. Or if it interferes, in anyway, with my work as a parliamentarian and the opposition leader.

The Journalist promised to investigate the excavator stories in detail. I encourage them to do so. We must not allow MPs to use their influence to get into business. We must take conflicts of interest seriously. And we must not allow political corruption to breed.

Rhododendron

Almost everyone answered “Big picture – 8” correctly. Yes, the picture was part of an emerging rhododendron flower. And as Linda Wangmo suggested, I took the picture on my recent visit to Sombaykha Dungkhag in Haa.

But Jigme Tshewang answered first. So Jigme wins the prize. Please contact me to claim the 2008 golden coronation badge.

The area between Tergo-la (at about 3,800 m) and Taashi Thang (at about 1,800 m) is almost one continuous rhododendron forest. The forest is old. And it is pristine. Aum Rebecca Pradhan, a leading naturalist, estimates the forest to have about 35 species of rhododendron.

Rhododendron trees mostly bloom towards the end of March through early May. So, when I walked through the forest, in February, only those trees at the lower altitudes were flowering. And most of them were the gigantic Rhododendron Grande. But a few others, like Rhododenron falconeri, Rhododendron barbatum and Rhododendron Arboreum were also flowering.

I took a few pictures – of rhododendron buds, flowers, trees and forests – during my last trip. And, for those of you interested in rhododendron, I’ve posted them in the Gallery. The photo in the “Big picture” featured a Rhododendron Arboreum, known nationally as the Etho Meto.

I plan to go back, during a weekend, when most of the rhododendron forest is in bloom. Would the upcoming field visit interest any of you? In lieu of an invitation, I’m featuring the rhododendron in our banner.

“A country like Bhutan would be happy to be adopted by Tata,” a press release from the government’s media cell quoted the prime minister as saying. Writing about that in his blog and opening up another debate the opposition leader took a dig at the media too.

“And to make certain that Ratan Tata did not miss the Government’s invitation for adoption, all our major newspapers – Kuensel and Bhutan Today and Bhutan Observer and Bhutan Times and Business Bhutan – carried the PM’s tempting offer, word for word,” he wrote.

I did, indeed, take a dig. But, it was not aimed at the media. Instead, it was directed at the prime minister’s office, and, in particular, the ability of an influential press officer to control the media.

The Scapegoat

The Tourism Council of Bhutan, it seems, has been made the scapegoat for spearheading the Government’s policy to liberalize tourist tariffs. Several of the people who attended last Wednesday’s meeting with the PM blamed TCB for not having consulted the stakeholders sufficiently, and for not having briefed our head of government properly.

But was it really mainly TCB’s fault? Or were they, in fact, merely trying their best, as civil servants, to obey the Executive Order, signed by the PM, of their political masters of the day? And was it McKinsey who, in reality, sold the idea, directly to the PM, without consulting enough stakeholders in the tourism sector?

Our poll asks who should be held accountable for trying to liberalize tourist tariffs.

Now our polls are not scientific, and their results may not necessarily represent popular opinion. Still, and particularly on this issue, legislators, the Government and the RCSC would do well to reflect on the results.

The Constitution grants every Bhutanese citizen with the fundamental right to “…freedom of speech, opinion and expression.” And yet, the Civil Service Bill, which the National Assembly passed last year, requires civil servants to “Refrain from publically expressing adverse opinion against the Royal Government.”

The Civil Service Bill will be discussed in the National Council during its next session, sometime in May this year. So if you feel strongly about this issue and if you want to protect the “freedom of speech, opinion ad expression” of civil servants, talk about it to senior civil servants. And tell them to discuss the matter with the Royal Civil Service Commission.

But, more importantly, talk to your representatives in the National Council. And tell the how you feel. Telephone them. Write to them. Meet them.

On my part, I will request the Human Rights Committee to review if the Civil Service Bill undermines the fundamental rights of civil servants.