Australia floods

January 14, 2011Posted inGeneral
I just got off the phone with Colin McCowan, popularly known as “Mister Col” by Bhutanese studying in Brisbane, Australia. Col says that he’s in touch with all 25 Bhutanese students in the Brisbane area. And that all of them and their families are safe. The floods have wrecked unimaginable damage in Queensland. So I’m grateful that our students and their families – all 60 of them – are safe and sound. Mister Col: thank you for taking care of our students.

Discriminating industries

January 13, 2011Posted inEconomy
Today’s steel prices: A ton of 10 mm TMT bar manufactured in Bhutan (by Karma Steel, for example) costs Nu 39,000 in Phuentsholing. A ton of similar grade (Fe415) 10 mm TMT bar manufactured in India (by SRMB, for example) costs Nu 42,900 in Jaigon, outside Phuentsholing. If you were a contractor, which steel would you buy? Bhutanese steel, right? All else being the same, TMT bars manufactured in Bhutan would be cheaper by Nu 3,900 per ton. But Punatsangchu Hydropower Project Authority contractors prefer Indian steel. Why? Because for PHPA, the government refunds the excise duty levied on…

Price increases

January 12, 2011Posted inGovernment23 Comments
A civil servant tells me that the recent salary increase has made him poorer! How? Because his pay increase barely covers the corresponding increase in the cost of rent, fuel and groceries. This is his statement of expenditure: We can’t do much about the increase in the cost of fuel and onions. They reflect price hikes in India and have nothing to do with salary increases here. But we can’t allow rents and the prices of other goods to shoot up every time civil servants get a pay hike. This undermines the whole purpose of a pay increase. And…

Forest fire

January 8, 2011Posted inVillages
The people of Lopa village in Haa, Samar Gewog, did not sleep last night. They stayed up to guard their village – a cluster of mostly old farmhouses at the edge of a pine forest – from wild fires that was spreading through the woodland above their village. The fire had started yesterday afternoon. And the Haa Dzongdag had quickly mobilized forestry officials, civil servants and community volunteers to fight the blaze. But the fire, which was fanned by strong winds, would not be contained. And by nightfall, the dzongdag wisely called off the fire fighting efforts as boulders,…

Sportsperson of the year

January 7, 2011Posted inSports
Who’s your favourite sportsperson? No, I’m not talking about international sports personalities. I’m talking about your favourite Bhutanese sportsman or woman. Let’s find out. Please take the poll that asks: who, in your opinion, is the Sportsperson of 2010? My nominations are not exhaustive. Nor are they accurate. They are some of our athletes I’ve read about or heard about from the media during the past year. They are people who I think have excelled in their sport. Or who have shown potential. And who are role models for our children. If I’ve missed any one – and I’m…

Secret agents

January 5, 2011Posted inMedia

Friend or foe?

WikiLeaks: 38 of you said that WikiLeaks promotes transparency and accountability in government; 24 think that it threatens international relations and global security; and 6 readers either had made up their minds or didn’t know about WikiLeaks.
Thank you for taking the poll.
It’s important to think about WikiLeaks. And what the whistle-blowing phenomenon means for Bhutan. Drukpa, a monthly newsmagazine, asked me for my views and published them in their latest issue. My commentary in Drukpa follows:
Opinion over WikiLeaks is sharply divided. The whistle-blowing website has angered many governments. They claim that the indiscriminate release of secret information threatens international relations and global security. And they warn that it endangers the lives of innocent people. So they have aggressively sought to discredit WikiLeaks and its upstart founder, Julian Assange.
But others including journalists, activists and technologists, claim that WikiLeaks makes governments and corporations more transparent and accountable. They herald the organization as a champion of democracy and good government. And anonymous supporters of WikiLeaks have retaliated by attacking the websites of several agencies who have appeared to suppress the organization.

2 Letters

January 3, 2011Posted inLegislature, Media9 Comments
I sent two letters today. The first letter was to the Chief Election Commissioner informing him that the ECB’s recent decision to revise the criteria for candidates to local governments may violate provisions of the Constitution, Election Act and the Local Government Act. The second letter was to the Director of BICMA complaining that The Journalist had quoted me in their article when they hadn’t even interviewed me. And that, in that article, they had inaccurately claimed that I had supported the ECB’s decision.

Happy Nyilo!

January 2, 2011Posted inCulture
Five friends - Tandin Bidha, Kinley Zangmo, Tandi Tshewang, Dawa Choden and Tandin Om - shower us with lolay blessings for peace, prosperity and happiness in the new year. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_-Am-LjqXs

New year wish

January 1, 2011Posted inLegislature
It’s a new year. And starting today, the Tobacco Control Act comes into effect. So if you cultivate or harvest, manufacture, supply or distribute tobacco and tobacco products, you’ll be jailed for at least three years and up to five years. If you possess tobacco, and if you can’t prove that you’ve imported it for your own consumption, you’ll be jailed for at least one year and up to three years, but only if you reveal from where you got your tobacco. If you don’t reveal your source, you’ll receive an additional sentence, jailing you for least three more…

Not small or compact or efficient

December 31, 2010Posted inGovernment14 Comments

Commenting on “No blank cheque!”, one reader, going by the name “justmyview”, asked what I thought about the government’s proposal to create a separate secretariat for energy under the Ministry of Economic Affairs. In particular, “justmyview” asked if the Parliament’s approval was needed to create the proposed secretariat, and elaborated:

Constitution clearly says that addition or reduction of ministry requires approval from parliament but doesn’t say anything about creating secretariat. Whether separate energy secretariat is necessary or not is altogether a different issue, but is it necessary to get parliamentary approval for creating secretariat? This is, yet, another important issue which will set precedence for the future government. Now the question is, should secretariat be treated like ministry? Or are there some differences? So, in this regard, what is honorable OL’s honest view on whether it is necessary to get approval from parliament or not? Who should have a final authority? Should it be with RCSC or Cabinet or parliament?

A week later, and “justmyview” was still waiting for my views:

I am still waiting to hear HOL’s view on constitutionality issue between government and RCSC regarding energy secretariat. Or HOL has no view on this issue?

First things first: Let’s drop that “H” before the “OL”. It serves no purpose.
Now for my views: Does the creation of the proposed energy secretariat need the Parliament’s approval? Yes.
The proposed secretariat will be headed by a secretary to the government and will have a separate PPD and a separate AFD in addition to whatever other departments have been proposed. By this proposal, the energy secretariat will be a secretariat of a ministry. And its structure (AFD, PPD and departments under a secretary) will be like that of any existing secretariat under any ministry.
By placing the proposed secretariat under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, that minister would, in effect, be in charge to two ministries – a ministry of economic affairs, and a ministry of energy. Whether the two secretariats report to two separate ministers or, as proposed, to a common minister, they are essentially two separate secretariats of two separate ministries. And this, incidentally, is exactly what I had said when, more than two years ago, I first heard about the government’s intentions to establish an energy secretariat.
According to Article 20 Section 2 of the Constitution, “… Creation of an additional ministry or reduction of any ministry shall be approved by Parliament.” Therefore, the creation of the energy secretariat (by which a new ministry, the ministry for energy, would be created) must require the Parliament’s approval. So I’m concerned that the government seems convinced that they do not need the Parliament’s approval to establish the new secretariat.

Beware of mad dogs

December 30, 2010Posted inMedia
Reporters Without Borders is a nongovernmental organization that fights for freedom of the press. Each year, Reporters Without Borders publishes the Press Freedom Index, an assessment and ranking of press freedom around the world. In 2003, Reporters Without Borders ranked Bhutan’s press freedom record at a miserable 157 of the 166 countries they studied. But since then, Bhutan’s record has improved consistently. In 2006 Bhutan was ranked 98 out of 168 countries. And for 2010, Bhutan is ranked 64 of 178 countries. 64th in the Press Freedom Index is not bad. We must protect our good record. And naturally,…

Paraprosdokian sentences

December 29, 2010Posted inGeneral

A friend sent me this. Enjoy ….
A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to re-frame or re-interpret the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect. For this reason, it is extremely popular among comedians and satirists.

  • I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn’t work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.
  • Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
  • I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather. Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.
  • Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
  • The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it’s still on the list.

Royal Body Guards

December 27, 2010Posted inGeneral
The Royal Body Guards are celebrating their golden jubilee today. The banner, featuring RBG’s famous “Gho Company”, congratulates and thanks the commandant, officers and all ranks of the RBG, past and present, for fifty years of dedicated service to the tsa-wa-sum. RBG’s announcement on this important day follows: Royal Body Guards was raised on 27th December 1960 to undertake the security responsibilities of His Majesty the Third King. It then just consisted of one Company of 120 men including officers under the Command of 2nd Lt. Tshering Nidup who was later promoted to the rank of Colonel and had…

What’s in a title?

December 27, 2010Posted inCulture
Our last quiz asked a straightforward question: What does HPM stand for? Regardless of how you answered, it’s obvious that you knew the answer. But “dungsamkota” was the first person to register it. He answered: “HPM = Honorable Prime Minister.” And for good measure he added: “HOL = Honorable Opposition Leader”. Well done! Your answers were interesting … and thought provoking. Thank you for taking part. But one of you, “Dodo”, who answered “HPM: Hon’ble Prime Minister. Can this be used formally?” seems to have read my mind! Is HPM a formal title? In Bhutan, we respect our elders…

Students’ Digest

December 26, 2010Posted inMedia
Finally! A magazine just for students! And about time too. After all, one in every three Bhutanese is a student. The magazine, Students’ Digest, a quarterly, was launched last month, befittingly on Children’s Day, the 11th of November. Students’ Digest is a rich compilation of educational material for students, and their teachers and parents. From news, views and interviews to scholarships, jobs and study tips the magazine offers knowledge, entertainment and counsel to its readers. I wish the Students’ Digest team well. Their success will be our students’ success.