Tshering Tobgay

Dealing with business

October 7, 2009Media

Two months ago, on the 6th of August, I was invited to hold an interesting press conference. About a dozen journalists, all belonging to one newspaper, grilled me for a good two hours. After my brief statement on the opposition party, they fired away rapid questions ranging from politics and business to media, my blog and my nickname, Massive. Our discussions that day were never published – the press conference was, in fact, a practice session. I suppose that was why we had so much fun. But by last week, those very same journalists were no longer practicing. And…

Grinding flour

October 4, 2009Culture

Most people guessed that the last Big Picture was a water driven prayer wheel. It did sound like it. But, actually it was a traditional water driven flour mill. Two people answered correctly: Jabab Phub Dorji and Linda Wangmo. Jabab Phub Dorji, who got the answer first, said, “it’s a sound of a water mill”. Later, however, the Jabab wondered if it was the “sound of a bird at the river side”. Still, I’m giving the prize to Jabab Phub Dorji for being the first to answer correctly. The video was shot in Nagu, near Jabana, Paro. So, perhaps…

Your opposition party

October 2, 2009Democracy

Part two of the speech I would have delivered to the 2009 graduates: ……………………………………………………………………………..............................................................................…………. Many people think that the opposition party is ineffective. That’s okay. After all, we are most probably the world’s smallest opposition. With only two members – Dasho Damcho and I – against the ruling party’s 45, we can easily be overwhelmed in the National Assembly. And we have been. Many times! So I’ve had people tell me that we should accept the limitations, in numbers, of the opposition. And that we should relax. Not bang our two heads against an unyielding wall. But other people…

Bhutan’s address

September 29, 2009International

Foreign Secretary Daw Penjor delivered Bhutan’s statement to the 64th session of the UN General Assembly yesterday. He called on the UN members to collectively fight poverty, climate change and terrorism, and supported the ongoing discussions to reform the United Nations. He also spoke about Bhutan’s successful transition to a democratic constitutional monarchy, and about the recent natural calamities. The General Debates conclude today.

Be Somebody!

September 26, 2009Economy, Youth9 Comments

The National Graduate Orientation Programme is over. And 1,300 graduates have now entered the workforce. I didn’t get to congratulate them. So I’ve decided to write about what I would have talked about had I been given the opportunity to meet them. First, I would have talked about employment. Then I would have talked about the role of the opposition. ……………………………………………………………………………………..........................................................................................………. Be somebody! Sound familiar? Be somebody! Remember this hand signal? Clenched fist, thumb upright? Yes, of course you do. It’s from the career counseling tour in 2002, seven years ago. Yes, seven years ago – I can’t believe…

Big Picture – 7

September 24, 2009General

This week’s big picture is a recording of life in Bhutan. Listen to it. And guess what’s making the sounds. The first one to answer correctly wins something relevant to the big picture.

Another disaster!

September 22, 2009Nature

Today, on True Bap – the blessed rainy day – I join the nation in offering my prayers and support for the victims of the deadly earthquake that struck our eastern dzongkhags yesterday afternoon. BBS and Kuensel have reported loss of lives and extensive damage. The international media has also expressed concern. Government officials are already at work, contacting the gewogs and accessing the damage. The full extent of the earthquake’s destruction will not be known for sometime. But there’s one important sign of hope: since yesterday evening, no more deaths have been reported. I am in Dehi, en…

Graduating students

September 20, 2009Education, Youth9 Comments

About 1,300 graduates are currently attending this year’s National Graduate Orientation Programme. And, like last year, the opposition party has not been included in the programme. So today, when I heard that the graduates were hosting a cultural show for the public, I rushed to the Nazhoen Pelri. I’m glad I went. Our graduates are obviously talented. And they put on quite a show. From boedra and rigsar to Bhutanese rock and hip hop, the graduates entertained us with a range of performances. Not bad, considering that they’ve been together for barely ten days. The chief counselor, Namgyal Dorji,…

Taxing cars

September 18, 2009Government, Towns29 Comments

So our government is thinking about increasing the taxes, duties and other fees levied on vehicles. I suppose that that, in some ways, is inevitable. The number of vehicles plying on our city roads has increased drastically. And it’s already difficult to find proper parking spaces. So, unless something serious is done about it, we would have to deal with many traffic problems, including regular traffic jams. But I wonder if our government has thought about the most obvious way to control traffic congestion: scrap the import quota system. Import quotas, which are given only to public servants, are…

Promoting democracy

September 17, 2009Democracy

The panel discussion may have been too short. Politicians may have dominated the discussions. And the exchange of views and ideas may have been less than thorough. Still the interactive session, between students and MPs, that was organized by BBS to mark the International Day of Democracy was useful. At the very least, our students understood that it was okay to express their concerns, and question their representatives. Better still, politicians and young citizens could have, together, learnt that democracy is, ultimately, about accountability to the public. It’s been 18 months since our first general elections. That’s 18 months…

Lost and (not) found

September 16, 2009Towns, Villages

“Whoa…sho, sho, sho… Jamu-ya, sho, sho, sho! Whoa…sho, sho, sho…Tsheri-ya, sho, sho, sho,” Tshitem Dorji calls out shaking a feedbag of maize kernels. Jamu, an obedient mare, and Tsheri, a black mule, quickly respond to my cousin’s gentle entreaties. They emerge from the thick rhododendron forests to enjoy their morning meal before being saddled for the day. It’s a clear, crisp spring morning in the mountains. And Tshochuyala, where we have camped, is beautiful. The rhododendron – several varieties of them – are in full bloom. And much of the meadows are literally carpeted with purple primulas. Giant magnolias…

Born again

September 15, 2009Religion, Women

Our last poll says that almost half of us go to our villages at least once a year. And that 83% of us go to our villages a minimum of once every five years. That is good. As increasingly more of us abandon our villages in favour of city life, it becomes that much more important to stay in touch with our roots. And to support our relatives back home. Our next poll is a continuation of the previous one that asked if women face discrimination. Think about it carefully.

Better party

September 15, 2009Democracy, Political parties

That a group of people in Thimphu are forming a political party comes as very good news. Our two existing parties – one ruling, the other in opposition – cannot offer sufficient choice for democracy to take hold in our country. So we should be excited about the prospects of a third party. And we should encourage them. But we may need even more people to step forward and form political parties. After all, both the existing parties – DPT and the PDP – have huge loans, and may not be around to participate in the 2013 elections. The…

Chhimi visits PM’s visits

September 14, 2009Government

Chhimi Dorji gets upset every time our prime minister travels abroad. It’s not that he’s against the head of the government visiting other countries. What bothers him is the number of people who see off and receive our PM. This photograph in Kuensel prompted Chhimi to send me this article.

Parliament endorses LG bill

September 11, 2009Legislature, Local Government

All 67 MPs present at the extraordinary sitting of the Parliament voted “yes” to unanimously pass the Local Government Bill. The Bill had been narrowly rejected by the Parliament during its third session about six weeks ago. The extraordinary sitting of the Parliament was commanded by His Majesty the King as a special case to reconsider the Local Government Bill, the enactment of which was necessary to hold local government elections and to properly implement the Tenth Five Year Plan. In my statement, after the Parliament cleared the Local Government Bill , I requested the government to render full…