Stop digging!

May 29, 2011Posted inGovernment, Justice11 Comments
Denis Healey, a British politician, once famously said: “When you’re in a hole, stop digging.” Digging. That’s what the government is doing by issuing guidelines to relax the implementation of the controversial Tobacco Control Act. According to the guidelines: Any Bhutanese bringing in tobacco products, more than the permissible quantity for personal consumption through designated port of entry, will not be directly charged for smuggling, but would be levied a 200 percent tax. The excess quantity would be seized, the citizenship identity card number noted, so that the offender would be charged on the second attempt to bring in…

Saving face

March 9, 2011Posted inGovernment35 Comments
The Supreme Court has ruled that the government violated the Constitution by raising taxes without seeking the Parliament’s approval. This is a landmark verdict. But the verdict should not be seen as a loss for the government. Nor should it be seen as a win for the opposition party. In fact it should be seen, and celebrated, for what it really is: a resounding victory for the democratic process. Even so, the government made a mistake – a serious mistake – by imposing taxes unilaterally and, in so doing, violated the Constitution. For that, the government must accept moral…

Vast paintings

March 2, 2011Posted inMiscellaneous2 Comments
A painting of the Punakha Dzong has graced the banner of this website for about two weeks. The beautiful painting was created by Rajesh Gurung. I saw Rajesh Gurung’s Punakha Dzong at the VAST gallery. It’s still there if you’d like to see it. And so are many other paintings, all by Bhutanese artists. I’ve uploaded photographs of a few of the paintings to tempt you to visit the VAST gallery. Enjoy …

Totally redundant

December 7, 2010Posted inLegislature
Yesterday, the National Assembly passed the Sales Tax, Customs and Excise (Amendment) Bill, and the Public Finance (Amendment) Bill. The two of us in the opposition party had argued that the bills would violate the Constitution, and, in the end, only the two of us voted against the bills. The two amendments could allow the government to impose and raise taxes without having to seek the Parliament’s approval. The bills will now be forwarded to the National Council, who will discuss them in the next session. If they pass the bills, the amendments will come into effect. If not,…

About administrative action

June 16, 2010Posted inGovernment
The second issue in “Administrative action” asked if prime minister had the authority to issue “… directives to the home ministry, the judiciary and the police to take appropriate actions against the senior dzongkhag officials.” Again, several of you felt that, as head of the government, the prime minister does have this authority. And again I refer to the laws of the land. Chapter 19 of the BCSR is dedicated to administrative discipline in the civil service. And in its pages are contained procedures for the identification, investigation and adjudication of offenses by civil servants, all powers for which…

Precious gifts

February 26, 2010Posted inMonarchy
His Majesty’s birthday gifts to the people of Bhutan: a vibrant media and a strong judiciary for a successful democracy.

Protecting our judiciary

June 11, 2009Posted inJustice
On 9 June, Kuensel reported that the selection of the new DDC secretary may have violated the RCSC's position classification system. If this is the case, RCSC should look into it. I have no problem about a member of the judiciary applying of a civil service post, and the RCSC accepting that person's candidature, or selecting that person. No problem that is, as long as both the Judiciary's rules and the RCSC's rules are followed. So the RCSC may wish to ensure that due process was followed. RCSC should also consider if it has infringed on the independence of…