Government – Page 4 – Tshering Tobgay

i-Question

November 4, 2011Government22 Comments

Did DHI try to bribe the prime minister and cabinet ministers? If, as the PM claimed in Kuensel, DHI had indeed offered them “the latest generation iPhones”, then that would amount to blatant corruption. And the Anticorruption Commission should investigate it thoroughly. Why should this particular gift be seen as “blatant corruption”? Because three years ago, during the new year, DHI had given Nokia cell phones to all officials holding cabinet rank, including the PM and the opposition leader. But, as far I know, most of the recipients did not accept the gifts; most of them had returned the…

GNH vs GPH

November 3, 2011Government8 Comments

Yeshey Dorji, a prolific blogger (and an excellent photographer), weighed in on minister Khaw Boon Wan’s controversial comments by concurring with the view that since we want to emulate Singapore, for us Singapore could well be the Shangri-la. But regardless of where Shangri-la may lie, Au Yeshey admits to finding GNH confusing, and raises the alarming prospect that GNH may actually undermine personal happiness. This is what he writes: “GNH, GNH. GNH - Oh God, it is so confusing. This GNH has me totally baffled. The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that the principles…

We should (not) be proud

September 8, 2011Government47 Comments

I applaud how the prime minister has responded to allegations that he, and other powerful people, were allotted land illegally in Gyelpozhing. He has written to ACC to investigate the allegations, and he has promised that offenders, especially those holding current political authority, will be made fully accountable. The fact that the head of the government demands to be investigated is a very good precedent. We should be proud. But I also condemn how the prime minister has responded to the same allegations. He has questioned the motive for and timing of the media’s reporting on the so-called “Gyelpozhing…

Lottery issues

September 1, 2011Government20 Comments

Last year, on 29th September, I wrote that media reports about Bhutan’s role in the Indian lottery scam screamed for answers. On 11th October 2010, I wrote that the government needed to answer certain pressing questions regarding its dealings with Bhutan’s lottery agent in India. On 14th November 2010, I suggested that, instead of pulling out of the lottery business, the government should use lottery proceeds to fund public service broadcasting. On 30th November 2010, during the National Assembly’s question hour, I asked the Finance Minister to explain what the government had done to investigate the alleged violations in…

Explaining our absence

August 27, 2011Government15 Comments

I got back yesterday. My tour to the eastern and central parts of our country was quick yet fruitful. So the first thing I did today was to visit Dechenphug Lhakhang, my favorite monastery. I went there to thank Ap Gengye, one of our foremost guardian deities, for granting us protection and safety during the tour. In Dechenphug, I met several groups of recent graduates. They had attended the recent National Graduate Orientation Program, and, as they prepared to enter the real world of work, most of them were still weighing their options. They could sit for the Royal…

All is not well

July 5, 2011Government5 Comments

The government’s final accounts for 2009-10 show that 22% of the approved budget was unutilized. Of that about 7% was for current expenditure. And a whopping 33% was money budgeted for capital expenditure. But it’s not just last year, accounts for 2008-09 show that the government did not utilize 35% of the capital budget. The government has a range of excuses for the huge deviation between funds budgeted and funds utilized. They point out that it is not always possible to predict when donor funds that have been committed are actually made available. They complain about the continued shortage…

State of the government

July 1, 2011Government19 Comments

The prime minister took more than three-and-a-half hours to deliver his State of the Nation address to the Parliament today. He used that time to describe, in great detail, and to great effect, the achievements of his government. The PM is correct in highlighting the government’s performance in his annual report to Parliament. We expect him to use the occasion to showcase his government’s successes. And showcase he did. But we expect the PM to report on the status of some of the other institutions that are important to our nation as well. After all, he’s supposed to the…

Inappropriate

June 23, 2011Government, Local Government3 Comments

The Budget Appropriation Bill for 2011-12 proposes how Nu 42,174 million of the government's Consolidated Fund will be divided during the coming financial year. Central agencies will keep a good 74% of the funds. The 20 dzongkhags together will get about 20% of the funds. And the 205 gewogs combined will get barely 6% of the funds. And that includes money to build farm roads. Take away farm road construction, and the winners of the forthcoming local government elections will have very little money to fulfill their campaign promises.

Budget – taxes

June 23, 2011Government13 Comments

During his budget report last year, the finance minister informed the National Assembly that the government was implementing a range of measures to rationalize the sales tax and customs duty rates, and to broaden the sales tax base. The measures were expected to bring in additional revenue of Nu 450 million. The government eventually withheld the implementation of all the increased taxes, except those that were imposed on vehicles. The taxes on vehicles were also lifted after the Supreme Court declared them to be unlawful. This year, the government has submitted the Tax Revision Bill 2011 to the National…

Budget – services

June 23, 2011Government

Here are more random thoughts on the budget. Please keep your comments coming. Education. 17% of the total budget will go towards education. And this does not include money for vocational training, which comes under a separate budget head. Excellent! Health. 7% of the total budget will go towards providing free healthcare. Excellent! Incidentally, the government earned Nu 130 million as “health contribution”. That works out to 7% of the total outlay for health. Not bad, considering that healthcare is provided “free of cost”. But we can do better: health contribution (which is currently 1% of basic pay) could…

Budget report

June 22, 2011Government12 Comments

The finance minister presented the government’s budget proposal on Monday. Here are some of my random thoughts on the budget. Pay increase. Last year’s pay hike for public servants cost the government Nu 380 million. PIT increase. The government made an extra Nu 247 million in personal income taxes last year, mainly because of the pay hike. Tax refund. The government collected Nu 28 million by increasing vehicle taxes unlawfully last year. At the Supreme Court’s orders, the government has refunded that money to the taxpayers. Government expenditure. The government’s expenditure for this financial year is budgeted at Nu…

License to kill

June 16, 2011Government8 Comments

It’s good that the government will rake in an extra 10 million bucks from the auction of alcohol vendor licenses in Southern Bhutan. The bids were exceptionally high. Many of them sold for twice, thrice and even five-times the earlier amount. And one of them – the license to sell wholesale liqueur in Kuchidaina, Samtse – saw a whopping 2020% jump. That the government will make that extra money is good news. But we should also be concerned. Our readiness to pay huge license fees means that the alcohol business is thriving. And that just confirms that the government…

Secondary tertiary policy

June 9, 2011Education, Government13 Comments

About a year ago, on the 26th of July 2010, the prime minister launched the Tertiary Education Policy. The policy, one of this government’s most significant declarations so far, aims to enrich tertiary education in the country by streamlining how colleges and universities are planned, funded, registered, licensed and accredited. The education minister described the 112-page policy as, “… a road map for the development and expansion of tertiary education in the country,” and boasted that it would contribute to making our country a “knowledge hub” and our people an “IT enabled knowledge society.” In his introduction to the…

Screaming for answers

May 30, 2011Government17 Comments

The picture above, taken by Bhutan Today, shows victims of the recent Chamkhar fire huddling around their possessions. Look at that picture. It should make you feel grateful. The picture shows that the residents were able to save at least some of their belongings from the fire that engulfed entire houses. They seem to have rescued clothes, mattresses, blankets, tables, carpets, pots, cupboards and even a bukhari from the fire that destroyed 33 houses. Given the tragic circumstances, we should be grateful for that. Look at that picture again. It should now make you feel frustrated. The picture shows…

Stop digging!

May 29, 2011Government, 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…