Tshering Tobgay

Asking questions

May 25, 2011Democracy19 Comments

About a month ago, I posted the question on Facebook that asked: “What should the National Assembly discuss during the coming session?” A whopping 1366 of my “friends” voted on the 73 answers they generated themselves. This morning the situation looked like this: The top five answers, as you can see, are the Tobacco Act, corruption, disaster management, jobs and sports. But there are many other suggestions. They include citizenship, social security national security, agriculture, irrigation; health, music, alcohol, FDI, BCSR, PCS and DSA. One enlightened friend suggested that we discuss “How to liberate people from suffering”. And another…

Saving McKinsey

May 23, 2011Government23 Comments

McKinsey is costing the government US$ 9.1 million. That works out to about Nu 432 million. That’s a lot of money. The government knows it. And that’s probably why the government makes it a point to tell us that the McKinsey project will bring about “savings” in excess of the US$ 9.1 million being charged by them. About two years ago, when McKinsey’s “accelerating Bhutan’s socio-economic development” project was first announced, we were told that, “The savings the government makes through this project will more than make up for the consultancy cost.” A year later, amid increasing public concern…

3-on-3

May 23, 2011Sports2 Comments

Ghandians, Dudly Bros, Usuals, Jachung, Jaguars, Local Z, Pvt Schools and Blue Formers – these are jazzy names of the 3-on-3 basketball teams that will play their quarterfinal matches today. The matches, which will begin at 5:00 PM, will be played on the rather attractive make-shift half-court that has been constructed bang in the middle of the clock tower square. The semifinals will be held tomorrow. And the finals on Wednesday. The Bhutan Basketball Federation, which organized the tournament, is keeping a close eye on all the games – they’ll be recruiting a national team from the participants. Two…

Family ties

May 21, 2011Monarchy8 Comments

"Throughout my reign I will never rule you as a King. I will protect you as a parent, care for you as a brother and serve you as a son …” so pledged His Majesty the King during the coronation two and a half years ago. His Majesty the King has kept his promise. His Majesty has traveled the length and breadth of our country and personally granted land kidu to tens of thousands of farmers. He has walked – sometimes for days on end, in the sun, rain and in the snow – to meet our remotest villagers,…

Where’s equity?

May 18, 2011Education9 Comments

First, the good news: the government has granted autonomy to the Royal University of Bhutan. This means that the university can now concentrate on improving standards without the usual encumbrances of the bureaucracy. 4icu.org, a tertiary education search engine, places our university at a lowly 7,418 of the 10,000 universities they rank. Hopefully, their ranking is not accurate. Hopefully, the RUB will correct it to more accurately reflect their real ranking. And hopefully, RUB will improve on their real ranking. Naturally, a lot more is now possible – and expected – from our university. There's a lot of work…

Control tobacco control

May 16, 2011Justice19 Comments

The International Tobacco Control Bhutan Report has recently established that the majority of the Bhutanese support tobacco control. According to the report, 95% of us disapprove of tobacco consumption due to religious reasons. And 97% of us support strict tobacco control. The report seems to have given the government a renewed sense of confidence in the Tobacco Control Act. And a smug health minister was recently quoted as declaring that “… the members of parliament will think twice to amend the Tobacco Control Act now.” But the ITC Bhutan Report has not revealed anything new. We already know that,…

Zhabdrung’s gifts

May 12, 2011Culture6 Comments

Here’s a story from Sombaykha to commemorate Zhabdrung Kuchoe: Topche was a nyagay – a strongman. About two hundred years ago, he left his village, Nakhikha in Sombaykha, to serve in Zhabdrung Jigme Drakpa’s court. In addition to being famous for his great physical strength, Boed Topche, as he was known, was also an exceptional swordsman. Legend has it that he would fight nonstop against the Zhabdrung’s enemies. And that at the end of each day, he would have to soak his hand in a bowl of hot water to dislodge the sword from his bloodied hand. At the…

Viva la Shoe Vival!

May 11, 2011Economy4 Comments

I like business startups. These places have an air of excitement about them. They show confidence, enthusiasm and courage. And they give off infectious optimism. But I like new businesses for another reason: they are critical for our economy. They create employment. They help reduce poverty and distribute income. And they contribute to improving and strengthening our economic conditions. That’s why I try not to miss invitations to visit business startups or attend their opening ceremonies. And over the years I’ve had the opportunity to visit a wide range of new businesses ventures from restaurants and bakeries to workshops…

Is Thimphu fine?

May 10, 2011Youth19 Comments

My son is fine. But I'm concerned that Thimphu is not. Today, from Bhutan Today:

Life in Ngangla

May 7, 2011Education7 Comments

Four special guests are in Thimphu. They are Sonam Zangmo, Sangay Dorji, Thinely Wangmo and Sangay Wangchuk. The guests, all of whom are more or less 12 years old, are in Class VI in Kagtong Community Primary School in Ngangla gewog, Zhemgang. Kagtong is a village in lower Kheng. The village does not have electricity and is not connected by motor road. The nearest road-head to Kagtong is in Panbang, from where it takes a day to reach the remote village. 25 students from Kagtong CPS recently took part in a two-week photography course. During the training they recorded…

Royal Kasho on LG elections

May 4, 2011Democracy19 Comments

The Prime Minister, on behalf of the National Council, National Assembly and two political parties, has brought before me the issue of the candidates disqualified from participating in Local Government elections. The 90 disqualified candidates have also jointly submitted an appeal on the same issue. The members of the National Council have submitted their concerns on the relaxation of the one-year mitsi requirement for candidates in Local Government elections. As King, it is my duty at all times, to examine not just the issue at hand, but to also contemplate the long term effect of any decision on the…

Informing people

May 3, 2011Media6 Comments

Today’s banner features 75-year old Jabari Dan Rai who hails from Dumtoe, a remote gewog in Samtse. By seven every morning, this remarkably healthy septuagenarian arrives at the Lungtenampa bridge to distribute that day’s newspapers to pedestrians making their ways to school and work. Bhutan’s media has come a long way. From very humble beginnings in 1967 when Kuensel was started as a government gazette, we now have at least 9 newspapers, 7 radio stations, a TV broadcaster and a growing number of new media sites. Today’s banner is a simple way of expressing my gratitude to our media,…

Breaking the law?

May 2, 2011Democracy12 Comments

210 candidates have been disqualified from taking part in the local government elections. These candidates, all of whom had been members of a political party, were disqualified as it has not yet been one year since they resigned from their respective political parties. Actually all of them had resigned from their political parties more than a year ago. All of them were automatically deemed to have resigned as far back as 2008 when they did not renew their memberships with their respective parties. But Section 206 of the Election Act requires that any resignation or removal from a party…

Bonded teachers?

April 28, 2011Education20 Comments

Suppose you’ve just completed college. And suppose that you are a topper – that you’re in the top 5% of the graduates. Would you consider becoming a teacher? You should. For the sake of our children, you should. That, at least, is what McKinsey & Company suggest. About five years ago, McKinsey sought to find out why some schools succeed while others don’t. They did that by studying the school systems of 25 countries, including 10 of the top performers, to identify the common characteristics of high-performing school systems. McKinsey’s year-long study revealed that increased spending and ambitious education…