Civil service bill

Posted inLegislature
Earlier today, at about 4:30 PM, after four days of discussions, we decided to conclude the deliberations on the Civil Service Bill. The bill will be adopted tomorrow morning. It will then be forwarded to the National Council. But I’m still confused. On day one of the discussions, we decided to remove Section 2(d) of the bill. This section repeals all sections of the Judicial Service Act that pertain to personnel matters. So we removed it to protect the independence of the judiciary. But on day two, the section was reinserted in order to ensure parity in personnel policies…

Dangerous standoff

Posted inLegislature
So yesterday, it was our agriculture minister’s turn. He too didn’t show up for the National Council’s “Question Time”. And the Council had to adjourn, yet again. The National Council Act, which we passed just last year, authorizes the Council to: “… summon any person to attend the proceedings of the National Council …” The act also empowers the National Council to “…call the attention of a minister to any matter of urgent public importance” and to “…question the Government during Question Time.” If our ministers feel that they do not need to report to the National Council, they…

Checking ourselves

Posted inGeneral
Lops didn’t like my last entry, about the poll results on our government’s performance. This is what Lops noted on Observing the state of the nation, but intended for my last entry: “Looks like OL wants everything to go the way he feels and views!!! POLL is just a poll and i don’t think anybody will take it seriously…For that matter, even earlier polls might be wrong!” I hope that Lops is not correct about the OL wanting everything to go his way. If he is correct, then the leader of the opposition party sucks – LOPS. But Lops…

Checking for our government

Posted inGovernment
The previous poll, on our government’s performance, drew a record number of voters. 409 of you participated in the poll. And, 206 of you said that our government’s performance so far has been “good” or “very good”. That’s an impressive 64% approval rating. Not bad, indeed. But some of you were suspect. Which promoted one reader, freewill, to point out “…that some DPT fanatics are corrupting you poll results by voting 50 to 100 times by one person. I think your website should be set up in such a way only one person from one ip can vote once…

Black Friday

Posted inDemocracy
Today, Friday, July 3, 2009, will be remembered as a dark day in the history of our democracy for two reasons.  One, the National Assembly started imposing its ban on live TV coverage of its proceedings. And two, a cabinet minister refused to report to the National Council for “Question Time”. The National Council had directed the home minister to report to them today, in person, to answer questions. The questions had been sent to him in advance. Lyonpo Minjur, however, did not report to the Council and submitted his answers in writing. The refusal of a cabinet minister…

Financing political parties

Posted inPolitical parties19 Comments
The Royal Audit Authority, in its annual report to the Parliament, pointed out what we all know: that both our political parties are in serious financial problems. As of 30th June 2008, PDP owed Nu 20,326,924 to the Bank of Bhutan and Nu 3,588,232 to other various other suppliers. DPT owed Nu 14,253,975 to the Bank and Nu 7,708,010 to other suppliers. Yesterday, the National Assembly spent a good hour discussing the Royal Audit Authority’s observations on the financial status of our two political parties. Actually, we did not really discuss the audit observations per se. Instead, we talked…

Guru’s birthday

Posted inReligion
Today, the 10th day of the 5th month, the Zhung Dratshang, our central monastic order, performed Tsho-khor for Trel-da Tshechu to commemorate Guru Rimpoche’s birth anniversary, and to offer prayers for the welfare of our country. The Trel-da Tshechu­­ was first performed, on the 10th day of the 5th month, by Guru Rimpoche to mark the completion of Samye Monastery, Tibet’s first and oldest monastery. The monastery was built by King Trisong Detsen in the 8th century. This week’s photo banner features monks performing the Tsho-khor for Trel-da Tshechu at the kuenra – the main assembly hall – ­of…

Eye of the Buddha

Posted inReligion
I’m impressed at the response to the “What in our world” challenge I posted yesterday. Your answers were interesting and varied. They ranged from the imaginative (Tshewang Nidup: “…this is the symbol of the sun and the moon”) to the wishful (Phub Dorji Wang: “Eye of our Fouth Druk Gyalpo, His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck”). One used the opportunity to express frustration (Sonam Tshering: “Megatron, the evil leader of deception”), while another was filled with adulation (Postman: “Genghis Khan”). Most of you got the answer: the iconographic eye of Lord Buddha. But, only two knew that it belonged to…

Observing the state of the Nation

Posted inGovernment25 Comments
I made a brief statement on the PM's state of the Nation address today in the National Assembly. What follows is a summary of what I said... Introduction I thank the Honourbale Speaker for allowing me to submit my views on the prime minister’s annual report on the State of the Nation to the Parliament. I congratulate the prime minister and the cabinet for presenting a detailed report on the activities of the government during the last year. I’ve divided these activities into four broad categories: (i) those that were part of the Ninth Five Year Plan; (ii) those…

The big picture

Posted inMiscellaneous
Here’s a challenge. The first one to recognize this picture wins a prize, the book “Portrait of a Leader” by Dr Mieko Nishimizu.

Wanted: live TV

Posted inMedia
The poll on the National Assembly’s decision to ban live TV coverage for most of its proceedings attracted considerable interest. But with 292 of the 315 participants (that’s 90% of them) disagreeing on the National Assembly’s recent decision, our readers’ views are clear. Only 23 voters (7%) supported the ban. And 10 people admitted that they really didn’t care. The public outcry against the National Assembly’s decision is obvious. And I’m not just referring to our poll. BBS has shown many people, from various walks of life, all denouncing the restrictions imposed on BBS TV’s live broadcast. Yet, the…

Electric cars

Posted inEconomy, Nature
I drove an electric car last week. It was a Reva, an electric vehicle manufactured in India. The Department of Energy is currently testing the car on Bhutanese conditions. The Reva is small. In fact, it’s not much bigger than a golf cart. So it can fit only two adults – that’s the driver and one passenger. The car actually has rear seats, where you can squeeze two little children. But if you do, you won’t be able to find space for even small luggage. Only this, and yet the car costs Nu 450,000 without taxes. Theoretically, the Reva…

Inaugural session

Posted inDemocracy, Legislature, Monarchy
I’m posting the speech I delivered in Parliament today. I’d proposed a vote of thanks for His Majesty the King’s gracious presence during the inaugural ceremony of the third session of the Parliament. The original speech was delivered in Dzongkha. And I spoke from points I had prepared earlier. But I’ve tried my best to translate what I presented into English as accurately as possible. The photograph shows Tshering Tobgay addressing the National Assembly’s second session in January 2009 Vote of Thanks to His Majesty the King Welcome His Majesty the King On this most auspicious day, I, on…

Third session

Posted inLegislature
The third session of the first Parliament of Bhutan begins tomorrow. His Majesty the King will grace the inaugural ceremony of the third session. And the prime minister will submit his annual report on the state of our Nation to the Druk Gyalpo and the parliament. The proceedings tomorrow will be broadcast live by BBS. As will the entire proceedings of the National Council. But the National Assembly, as of now, has not changed its decision to prevent the BBS from broadcasting most of its proceedings. I’m still working on some talking points for tomorrow. But I’m finding it…