Book it!

January 21, 2009Posted inMiscellaneous
“Far apart and close together” is an informative book that celebrates the enduring friendship between Switzerland and Bhutan. The book comes with a DVD on GNH.Every MP was gifted this delightful book.Did we accept the bag which cost Nu 1,800? Absolutely not, that would be corruption. Did we accept this book, valued at Nu 2,700? Absolutely.

No to bags

January 2, 2009Posted inMiscellaneous
The first item the National Assembly debated yesterday was bags. To be precise, bags worth Nu 1800. It turns out that traditionally, members of the National Assembly are given a bag each at the start of every session. This tradition is not uncommon – countless bags and satchels have been distributed in workshops and seminars throughout the kingdom. For this session of the National Assembly, the DHI offered to present the bags.Trouble is we are not allowed to accept gifts valued above Nu 1000. So the honourable members unanimously decided not to accept the bags.This is significant and historic.…

Fighting for equity and justice

December 31, 2008Posted inGovernment
It's been six months since I questioned the legality of the appointment of DPT party workers to the Cabinet. The government has not addressed my concerns. So I’ve decided to go to ACC. Here’s what I’ll tell them: That in mid-June, five DPT party workers were appointed to the Cabinet. One has since resigned, but four of them continue to work under the government’s payroll. That on 19th July, the RCSC approved the proposal to recruit four staff on “contract basis” for the Cabinet. By then the DPT party workers had already been working for more than a month.…

Running against corruption

December 9, 2008Posted inMiscellaneous
As I left for Trongsa this morning, I drove by runners participating in World Anticorruption Day. The turnout was impressive – hundreds of people, young and old, women and children, businesswomen and men, and bureaucrats and politicians had turned out to show their resolve to fight corruption.Today's run was important, and it was especially significant that some politicians participated. I didn’t run. So instead, I’m writing.Shortly after the first parliamentary session ended, the ACC organized a presentation for MPs. Our Honourable MPs rose, one after the other, denouncing corruption, vowing to fight it, and promising full, unconditional support for…