Big Picture 13
Where, in Bhutan, is this place? The best answer wins a packet of Nado's zurpoe incense.
Shopping for poi
Walk into a shopping mall, and you’ll be greeted by customers sampling various perfumes. Walk into the Norling Building in Changangkha, and you’ll also be greeted by customers sampling various perfumes. But there’s one big difference. The customers in the Norling Building, in Nado Poi shop to be exact, would be trying out different types of poi – traditional incense sticks for religious offerings. That, at least, is what I saw the other day. I went to Nado’s to buy some poi, and bumped into a group of Taiwanese tourists. They, like children in a sweetshop, were excitedly trying…
Ambassador for life?
Should Parliament make the Prime Minister GNH Ambassador for Life? The proposal to make the Prime Minister GNH Ambassador for Life was tabled by the Speaker. But it was not discussed in the National Assembly. Yet, the proposal was forwarded to the National Council. And it was almost included in the Assembly’s resolutions as a proposal that had, more or less, been accepted. The Speaker also made indirect reference to the proposal in his address during this session’s closing ceremony. So should Parliament make the Prime Minister GNH Ambassador for Life? No. First, the Parliament did not follow due…
Rule of the mob
Last week, when the government introduced the Land bill 2012, I had exhorted the MPs to reject the motion to discuss the Bill. The prime minister reacted strongly to my statement, disagreeing with all my arguments. I had wanted to respond to the prime minister's strident remarks, but had not been given leave to do so. It would have been good if we had had the opportunity to discuss my arguments and the PM's counterarguments in a bit more detail. But we didn't. There were several issues that I thought merited the Assembly's, and the nation's, attention through discussion,…
Extraordinary
Something extraordinary took place in the National Assembly last Tuesday. The government introduced the Land Bill 2012 in the Assembly. But they did not move a motion to deliberate the Bill, as was expected. Nor did they move a motion to withdraw the Bill in accordance with legislative procedure. Instead, the government proposed that the next Parliament deliberate the Bill. And the National Assembly endorsed the government's proposal. So what's out of the ordinary? One, the government introduced a bill that they never intended to discuss. But why would the government go through the trouble of introducing a bill,…
The power of the land
The following is a translation of my statement in the National Assembly yesterday: Today we are discussing a matter of profound significance – land. The historic First Parliament of Bhutan has already deliberated many issues of great importance. Today’s topic of discussion, concerning the amendment of the Land Act, is also extremely important. The decisions we take will have a long-term impact, for better or for worse, on our country and our people. It may appear that our kingdom has been blessed with plenty of land. This is true, but the amount of land actually available for agriculture and…
Taxing issues
The National Assembly passed the Tax Revision Bill last week. The Bill is now with the National Council. The Council will discuss the Bill, but, because it is a “money bill”, the Council can only make suggestions and recommendations that the National Assembly may, or may not, chose to accept. (Last year, the Assembly did not accept any of the Council’s recommendations on the budget and tax revision bills. In fact, the Assembly just skimmed through the recommendations, barely discussing them.) The National Assembly has passed the Tax Revision Bill. But, we didn’t discuss it properly. After the Bill…
Just shameful
The government was caught off guard when the National Assembly passed the Tax Revision Bill last Wednesday. The Assembly threw out all but one of the proposed taxes. And before the government realized it, their proposals to raise taxes on petrol, diesel, kerosene and LPG; refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners; meat, fish and eggs; silk fabric, furniture and power chainsaws; and alcohol were emphatically rejected by the National Assembly. The only tax to get through was the "green tax" on new vehicles. But that too suffered a huge setback: the proposed 40% green tax on vehicles (with engines equal…
Subsidizing profits
In their story about MPs calling for certain state-owned corporations to be privatized, Kuensel quoted me as saying that the government was giving too much subsidies to the corporations. "As if providing land was not enough, the government is even generous enough to provide them subsidy, which meant extra burden to the government", I supposedly said. The quote is correct. But the context is wrong. I didn't complain about subsidies that corporations receive. In fact, I believe that we must do a better job of ensuring that corporations that provide a public service - BBS, for example - have…
I’m sorry
My blog has been giving me a lot of trouble lately. I haven't been able to access my control panel. So that means that I haven't been able to update posts or approve new comments. I'm sorry if you've had trouble with this site. I'll try to fix the problem as soon as possible. On a happier note, it looks like my recent problems are due to the increasing traffic on my blog.
Wangduephodrang Dzong
I was in Wangduephodrang on Saturday. I’d gone there to visit the De-Suung training program. After meeting the De-Suups, I stopped by the Wangduephodrang Dzong to see the massive renovation that the dzong was receiving. While returning to Thimphu, I stopped briefly on the other side of Punatsangchhu to take in at the grandeur of the Wangdue Dzong, and, as usual, marveled at the brilliance of Zhadrung Ngawang Namgyel. He had chosen the site personally, on a ridge overlooking the confluence of the Punatsangchhu and Dangchhu rivers, to defend His newly unified Drukyul against intruders from the South. He…
Responsible government?
"As the Honourable Members are aware, our balance of payments with India has been worsening and the RMA has been facing a severe scarcity of Indian Rupees..." That was the finance minister's opening line when he introduced the Tax Revision Bill in the National Assembly earlier today. Yes, our balance of payments with India is in bad shape. And we are facing a severe shortage of Indian currency. In other words, we face a rupee crisis. We have a crisis in our hands. And it's no point playing the blame game. We must work together - we must think…
Business on pedestrian day
The central secretariat complex outside the Tashichhodzong wore a deserted look on pedestrian day, this afternoon. No doubt, our civil servants were busy in their own offices, working, since they wouldn't be able to attend the otherwise unending number of meetings that plague our government. Norzin Lam, Thimphu's main street, also wore a deserted look this afternoon. I saw students walking home and taxis zipping around, but I saw little else. Shops were empty. And some, like these shops on upper Norzin Lam, were closed for business. There are many things wrong with pedestrian day. And one of the…
Trowa
Trowa Theatre in Changjiji sits on government land. The land, measuring 19,432.56 square feet, was leased to a businessman in 2001 to build an entertainment center. In 2006, the government approved the transfer of the lease to another businessman. And increased lease rent from Nu 2 per sft per annum to Nu 42 per sft per annum, which was the amount being charged to other lessees occupying similar property in Thimphu. The businessman taking over the lease did not sign a lease agreement protesting that the new lease rent was too high. He still has not signed a lease…
Real losers
Does anyone know why the government insists on permitting only FCB to import vegetables? I don't. The prime minister had explained that only FCB would be provided Indian rupees to import vegetables as FCB would be able to buy in bulk and would not be motivated by profit, which would make prices come down. But vegetable prices have not come down. Instead, they've skyrocketed, because FCB's prices turned out to be much higher. Plus, a lot of their vegetables had turned bad even before they reached Thimphu. As a result, consumers paid higher prices, but received poorer quality, and…