Original sin

Posted inLegislature
How is it that the media – the press and television – reported that the proposal to increase the salaries of MPs originated in the National Council? The National Council session was broadcast on live TV, yet no one saw them discuss the salary increase. No one saw it, because it hadn’t been discussed in the National Council. In fact, a member of the National Council I met today claimed that the first time he heard about the pay increase was when the media reported that the National Assembly had approved it!

Rewarding work

Posted inLegislature
Last December, I suggested that we should greet the Pay Commission’s recommendation to give politicians a big raise with surprise and suspicion. Less than three weeks later, we were given the Government’s pay revision report. The Government had revised the Pay Commission’s report substantially. In fact, the Government modified the Commission’s report beyond recognition. But, I was happy. And, I had registered my satisfaction at the Government’s decision to stick with more reasonable pay increases to politicians. This is what I had written: For now, I am happy – happy and proud – that our government has decided against…

Dr Sanga Dorji

Posted inPeople
Dr Sanga Dorji, Chief Physiotherapist, JDWNR Hospital, on 3 December 2009, at Hotel Taj addressing his guests who had come together to celebrate International Day for Persons with Disabilities: Honorable Tshogpon, Honorable Lyonpos, Honorable leader of the Opposition, Honorable Thrizin of the National Council, Honorable members of the Parliament, Representatives of the International Organizations, Dashos, Leaders of the Business communities, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen … Dr Sanga’s introductory words were ordinary – this, in fact, is how almost every speech for almost every official occasion in Thimphu begins. But he said it with passion, and great satisfaction.  For…

Answering questions

Posted inLegislature
I salute the Cabinet ministers for attending the National Council’s Question Time. The NC’s Chairperson was quoted as declaring: this session was a remarkable one as three cabinet ministers from the ruling party actually visited the house to answer queries during Question Time of the session. They were labour minister Lyonpo Dorji wangdi; finance minister Lyonpo Wangdi Norbu; and agriculture minister Lyonpo Pema Gyamtsho. Well done. I congratulate the National Council and the Cabinet for resolving their earlier differences.

Educating officials

Posted inGovernment
Yesterday, during the NA’s Question Hour, I asked the Education Minister: On 30th June 2009, the RCSC terminated (without benefits) seven civil servants from the Ministry of Education for embezzling Government funds. However, the RCSC and Ministry of Education had already taken various disciplinary actions against each of them. So the termination of these education officials may be in contravention to Chapter 19, Section 10.2 of the RCSC’s BCSR which states that “Only one penalty shall be imposed in each case.” How has the Ministry of Education sought to redress this possible injustice against the Education personnel? All seven…

Anticorruption

Posted inGovernment
Earlier this week, the Anticorruption Commission’s annual report to the Parliament was discussed. Members of National Assembly – including the PM, cabinet minters, ruling party MPs, the opposition and the Speaker – registered their support for this important organization, and reiterated their resolve to fight corruption. The ACC’s annual report, however, was silent on one issue. The report made no mention whatsoever of the recruitment of DPT party workers by the Government. About a year ago, I had informed ACC that the unilateral appointments of the DPT party workers may be unlawful, but have received no response so far.…

Dr Chencho for Changemakers

Posted inHealth
Ashoka Changemakers have announced the finalists in a competition to select the three most innovative solutions that radically rethink mental health to achieve individual and community well being. And, Dr Chencho Dorji’s project, Promoting Mental Health Treatment in Traditional Bhutanese Society, has made it to the final12 entries. Dr Chencho Dorji needs your vote to make it to the winning three entries, and be recognized by Changemakers. To vote, you will first need to create an account at Changemakers. A step by step account on how to vote is available here. Dr Chencho Dorji is a senior psychiatrist at…

Standing up for sitting fees

Posted inEconomy, Government
“Guest”, a frequent commentator, left the following note in my last entry: Please pardon me but I am going to deviate from the topic to register my unhappiness at your support for DHI during the discussions in the Parliament. I cannot believe that a man of your intelligence truly meant what you said. I do not believe that your blind support for DHI stems from your need to show allegiance to our King. I think it is wrong to do so. In fact, you ought to know, more than anyone else, that it would be a great disservice to…

Gender choices

Posted inWomen
Our last poll asked what you’d like to be reborn as in your next life. Most of us (133 or 42%) of us said that we did not care about the gender of our next birth. This is good, as it could mean that this group does not experience obvious gender biases in this life. But 132 or about 42% of us said that we would prefer to be reborn as men. And, only 51 of us – that’s barely 16% – would choose to be reborn as women. The last poll was meant to be amusing. It was…

Smoking bill

Posted inLegislature
The National Assembly passed the Tobacco Control Bill today. The most important, and contentious, part of the Bill bans the sale of tobacco products in the country, but permits smoking in designated areas. I am proud of our antismoking heritage. Our forefathers always frowned on tobacco consumption. We hold the distinction of having the world’s oldest tobacco control law, passed in the 17th Century by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal. And, in the last decade, we have gained international recognition for our efforts to control the consumption of tobacco. So I support the Government’s initiatives to develop tobacco control legislation. But,…

Investing in Bhutan

Posted inEconomy, Government
During Question Hour today, I asked the Minister for Economic Affairs: Newspapers recently reported that 100% foreign ownership of hotels is allowed for foreign direct investments above US$ 200,000. Please explain why the minimum is fixed at US$ 200,000. I was basically concerned that the minimum investment required to qualify for 100% foreign ownership of hotels was too low. I reported that many Bhutanese have already demonstrated that they can build and operate hotels that cost many times more than US$ 200,000. And that, while foreign investors should be encouraged, policies should ensure that opportunities are not taken away…

Walk the talk!

Posted inGovernment
The MP from Gangzur-Minjey Constituency questioned the Finance Minster this morning. His question was straightforward: DPT Government during the campaign has promised various developmental activities and till date not much has been delivered. People are grateful to the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Man Mohan Singh for the 100 billion financial assistance but our Government is yet to activate the 7 billion SDP grant. The people of Gangzur-Minjay Constituency would like to know the status of the fund release. The Finance Minister’s response was long and detailed, but confirmed that the MP was correct in asserting that, “…till date not…

Monetary authority?

Posted inLegislature
The National Assembly passed the Royal Monetary Authority Bill yesterday. I did not support the bill. My objections were based on a simple principle: that the proposed legislation gave the government too much influence over the RMA. True, it’s important for the RMA and the government to work together to achieve our common national objectives. Yes, I expect the RMA’s monetary policies to compliment the government’s fiscal policies as we, collectively, build an economy that we can call robust and vibrant. And yes, the RMA should be accountable to the government. But, our central bank must also have sufficient…

Bringing GNH home

Posted inGovernment13 Comments
GNH is synonymous with Bhutan. So it’s important for us to participate in and contribute to the growing international knowledge base on GNH. Still, I was a little concerned when, recently, our prime minister personally led a 24-member delegation to a GNH conference in Brazil. After all, it had been barely 10 weeks since he had visited Japan to tell them about GNH. Like some, I felt that the PM should have been in attendance when the nation’s highest legislative body was in session. Like others, I believed that he should have stayed behind to help victims of the…

On the warpath

Posted inHealth3 Comments
Six weeks ago, the Annual Health Bulletin announced that 37% of our children are stunting, that 4.6% of them are wasting, and that 11.1% are underweight. This week, we learnt that the Right to Food Assessment Study concluded that 26.6% of our households are undernourished. That would also roughly mean that about a quarter of our population is undernourished. The study, it seems, was conducted sometime last year by FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture. And recently, the Basic Health Worker in Chali has reported that "the number of malnourished children under the age of five in Chali geog…