Legislature – Page 4 – Tshering Tobgay

Update on fifth session

May 7, 2010Legislature

The National Assembly’s draft agenda for the fifth session of the Parliament was distributed yesterday. The Assembly will discuss the Water Bill, Financial Services Bill, Disaster Management Bill, and the Annual Budget 2010-2011. The joint sitting of the Parliament will meet to discuss and endorse the Tobacco Control Bill, RMA (Ammendment) Bill, Standards Bill, and Service Conditions Bill for Constitutional Offices. In addition, the prime minister will report on the State of the Nation. Please keep sharing your comments on these bills. And, don’t forget to check the National Assembly’s website periodically to see if new bills have been…

Parliament’s fifth session

May 6, 2010Legislature

The National Assembly has announced that the fifth session of the Parliament will begin on 28th May. That’s in about three weeks. But, I still don’t know what will be discussed. And I still haven’t received the bills, if any, that will be introduced in the fifth session. So I’m at a loss about how to prepare for the Parliament’s imminent session. It appears that the government has recently submitted four bills to the National Assembly. They are the Childcare and Protection Bill; the Child Adoption Bill; Water Bill; and the Financial Services Bill. The first three are on…

Excavating dirt

March 3, 2010Legislature

Two weeks ago, I accidentally telephoned Passang Dorji, the chief reporter at The Journalist. I’d meant to call someone else. But somehow, I dialed Passang’s number instead. So we made use of the unforeseen opportunity to catch up. I asked how he was doing. And how their new company, The Journalist, was faring. He replied that the times were difficult; and that they weren’t making enough money; but that, with support from friends and relatives, they were pulling through. Passang also confided in me. He told me that they were working on a scoop – a story about members…

Adverse opinions

February 27, 2010Government, Legislature

Should civil servants be allowed to express adverse opinions about the Government? 93% of those that took the the last poll answered with a resounding “Yes!” Now our polls are not scientific, and their results may not necessarily represent popular opinion. Still, and particularly on this issue, legislators, the Government and the RCSC would do well to reflect on the results. The Constitution grants every Bhutanese citizen with the fundamental right to “…freedom of speech, opinion and expression.” And yet, the Civil Service Bill, which the National Assembly passed last year, requires civil servants to “Refrain from publically expressing…

Civil liberties

February 11, 2010Legislature

Yesterday’s workshop on human rights awareness confirmed what most of us already suspect: that we don’t have serious human rights violations, but that, occasionally, human rights do get inadvertently sidelined. Dasho Damcho Dorji, who is the Chairman of the National Assembly’s Human Rights Committee, explained that instances of human rights violations were isolated and that they were: “not intentional” and resulted from either “ambiguity in laws” or “over enthusiasm by young officials.” But, intentional or not, the Human Rights Committee has decided to investigate all complaints they receive. They will also review legislation and government policies to ensure that…

Banned!

January 7, 2010Legislature

Our last poll asked: “What legislation to control smoking would work?” Most of you (58%) said: Allow sales, but at higher prices. 31% said: Ban sales and ban smoking. And, only 11% said: Ban sales but allow smoking. Parliament has, however, already decided that the sale of tobacco products inside our country will be illegal. Though the National Council had initially favoured allowing sales (but with hefty taxes), they reversed their decision after the National Assembly insisted on applying a complete ban on the sale of tobacco products. So the debate on whether or not to ban the sale…

Allowing allowances

January 4, 2010Government, Legislature

Last month, when, at the end of the Parliament’s Fourth Session, the National Assembly approved salary increases for MPs, I had complained that: Parliament does not have the powers to consider or grant pay increases unilaterally. Instead, according to the Constitution, it’s the Pay Commission’s job to recommend increases in the salaries and allowances of public servants. And that includes us, politicians. Now we hear that the Cabinet has approved allowances (equal to 45% of their basic salaries) for “ACC investigators and related professionals”. The Prime Minister had, in fact, announced that ACC employees would be given allowances, but…

Salary fixing

December 24, 2009Legislature

How on Earth could an Honourable Member of Parliament claim that: “From our point of view, the MP’s pay was never fixed and the 20 percent hike was only a hike on an interim and not the fixed pay.” And, how on Earth could another Honourable Member of Parliament point to the finance secretary’s letter of April 2008 as proof that salaries of MPs were never fixed? Yes, the finance secretary’s letter outlined salaries and allowances for MPs as an “interim arrangement”. But, interim only till the salaries were finalized. And, those salaries were finalized when we, Members of…

De facto increase

December 14, 2009Government, Legislature

The National Assembly’s decision to increase the salaries of MPs has caused widespread public outrage. Rightfully so. Not one person has registered support for the pay increase in any of the online discussion forums, including this blog where, in my last entry, I had suggested that the pay increase could be illegal. Since then, I’ve been thinking about another matter that the Government will soon have to deal with. After several ministers had argued that the salaries of MPs had to be increased, and increased to salary levels of Secretaries, one minister proposed to increase the salaries of Secretaries…

Original sin

December 14, 2009Legislature

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

December 10, 2009Legislature

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…

Answering questions

December 10, 2009Legislature

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.

Smoking bill

December 3, 2009Legislature

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,…

Monetary authority?

December 1, 2009Legislature

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…

Talk about towns

November 25, 2009Legislature, Local Government, Towns

Yesterday, the government proposed a motion in the National Assembly to endorse a list of thromdes (urban settlements). Thromdes, along with gewogs and dzongkhags, form our local governments. But the Local Government Bill, which describes different types of thromdes, has not yet fully completed its passage in Parliament as required by Article 13 of the constitution. The bill was endorsed during a special joint sitting of the Parliament two months ago, and was submitted to His Majesty the King for His Assent. Till Royal Assent is granted, the LG Bill will remain just that – a bill. And that…