2011 – Page 10 – Tshering Tobgay

Water pipes

January 20, 2011Towns1 Comment

Thank you for taking part in “Big picture – 10”. Your responses were varied, and many of them were deliberately funny. Answers ranged from electrical, telephone and TV cables; to branches, roots and stems; to serpents, TMT bars and organizational charts! But most of you knew the answer – yes, the picture showed water pipes, and yes such pipes, carrying water to individual houses, can be seen all over Thimphu. “namgay”, “Tshewang” and “dodo” guessed that the picture of the water pipes was taken in Hejo, Langjuphakha and Taba respectively. The picture was actually taken above the “RICB Colony”.…

Pension benefits

January 19, 2011General

We talked about pensions two years ago. First, we voiced concern that the NPPF pension scheme was sustainable for only 30 years. Then, we discussed the merits of a defined-contribution plan over the existing defined-benefit plan. And then, we expressed alarm that the government was interfering in how our pension scheme was being run. Let’s keep talking about pensions. There’s good news. And there’s bad news. The good news is that, despite increased competition in the financial sector, NPPF seems to be performing well. In the last year, the membership base has increased by 5.4%, from 40,222 to 42,393…

Big picture – 10

January 16, 2011General25 Comments

We haven’t done this for a while. The first person to get the big picture wins a copy of “Treasures of the Thunder Dragon: A Portrait of Bhutan”.

Australia floods

January 14, 2011General

I just got off the phone with Colin McCowan, popularly known as “Mister Col” by Bhutanese studying in Brisbane, Australia. Col says that he’s in touch with all 25 Bhutanese students in the Brisbane area. And that all of them and their families are safe. The floods have wrecked unimaginable damage in Queensland. So I’m grateful that our students and their families – all 60 of them – are safe and sound. Mister Col: thank you for taking care of our students.

Discriminating industries

January 13, 2011Economy

Today’s steel prices: A ton of 10 mm TMT bar manufactured in Bhutan (by Karma Steel, for example) costs Nu 39,000 in Phuentsholing. A ton of similar grade (Fe415) 10 mm TMT bar manufactured in India (by SRMB, for example) costs Nu 42,900 in Jaigon, outside Phuentsholing. If you were a contractor, which steel would you buy? Bhutanese steel, right? All else being the same, TMT bars manufactured in Bhutan would be cheaper by Nu 3,900 per ton. But Punatsangchu Hydropower Project Authority contractors prefer Indian steel. Why? Because for PHPA, the government refunds the excise duty levied on…

Price increases

January 12, 2011Government23 Comments

A civil servant tells me that the recent salary increase has made him poorer! How? Because his pay increase barely covers the corresponding increase in the cost of rent, fuel and groceries. This is his statement of expenditure: We can’t do much about the increase in the cost of fuel and onions. They reflect price hikes in India and have nothing to do with salary increases here. But we can’t allow rents and the prices of other goods to shoot up every time civil servants get a pay hike. This undermines the whole purpose of a pay increase. And…

Forest fire

January 8, 2011Villages

The people of Lopa village in Haa, Samar Gewog, did not sleep last night. They stayed up to guard their village – a cluster of mostly old farmhouses at the edge of a pine forest – from wild fires that was spreading through the woodland above their village. The fire had started yesterday afternoon. And the Haa Dzongdag had quickly mobilized forestry officials, civil servants and community volunteers to fight the blaze. But the fire, which was fanned by strong winds, would not be contained. And by nightfall, the dzongdag wisely called off the fire fighting efforts as boulders,…

Sportsperson of the year

January 7, 2011Sports

Who’s your favourite sportsperson? No, I’m not talking about international sports personalities. I’m talking about your favourite Bhutanese sportsman or woman. Let’s find out. Please take the poll that asks: who, in your opinion, is the Sportsperson of 2010? My nominations are not exhaustive. Nor are they accurate. They are some of our athletes I’ve read about or heard about from the media during the past year. They are people who I think have excelled in their sport. Or who have shown potential. And who are role models for our children. If I’ve missed any one – and I’m…

2 Letters

January 3, 2011Legislature, Media9 Comments

I sent two letters today. The first letter was to the Chief Election Commissioner informing him that the ECB’s recent decision to revise the criteria for candidates to local governments may violate provisions of the Constitution, Election Act and the Local Government Act. The second letter was to the Director of BICMA complaining that The Journalist had quoted me in their article when they hadn’t even interviewed me. And that, in that article, they had inaccurately claimed that I had supported the ECB’s decision.

Happy Nyilo!

January 2, 2011Culture

Five friends - Tandin Bidha, Kinley Zangmo, Tandi Tshewang, Dawa Choden and Tandin Om - shower us with lolay blessings for peace, prosperity and happiness in the new year. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_-Am-LjqXs

New year wish

January 1, 2011Legislature

It’s a new year. And starting today, the Tobacco Control Act comes into effect. So if you cultivate or harvest, manufacture, supply or distribute tobacco and tobacco products, you’ll be jailed for at least three years and up to five years. If you possess tobacco, and if you can’t prove that you’ve imported it for your own consumption, you’ll be jailed for at least one year and up to three years, but only if you reveal from where you got your tobacco. If you don’t reveal your source, you’ll receive an additional sentence, jailing you for least three more…