Tshering Tobgay

Pep-say

June 15, 2012Villages7 Comments

Thank you for participating in Big Picture -12. It was fun to follow your comments - most of you recognized the picture, but you still spent the time to craft interesting answers. Thank you. My favorite answer comes from "Thinlay", whose keen sense of observation, meticulous research and precise composition bags our prize: bragging rights! Here's the scholar's complete and completely correct answer: It is a white plastic bottle with narrow neck and closed with modified wooden cap, and tied around the waist to ensure that it does not fall off while walking. The content could be anything from…

Ordering people

June 13, 2012Government25 Comments

At the end of the second Pedestrian Day, I reproduce below a comment posted by “Dala”: Can anyone provide a copy of the executive order circulated by PM.I want to see the content of the order because the Police and the RSTA people are not allowing vehicle movement even in remote places forget about towns and cities. I was on the way to Dagana from Dagapela and they stopped my car and said that I cannot go to Dagana. When I asked why I can’t go, their reply was that there is executive order from PM to restrict all…

Big picture -12

June 12, 2012Miscellaneous19 Comments

Can anyone tell me what this is?

The ineligible Bhutanese

June 11, 2012Employment, Government45 Comments

What would you do if you found out that there's this job opening that would pay three times more but would be less demanding than your current job? You'd probably apply for it, right? How could you pass up an opportunity to earn three times your pay for actually doing less work? What would you expect if you found out that that job was in a government project, financed by government funds? You'd expect to get that job, right? And if you don't, you'd expect a more qualified and experienced fellow Bhutanese to get it. That's exactly what happened.…

9th Session

June 7, 2012Legislature28 Comments

The 9th session of the Parliament begins tomorrow with a traditional ceremony, and will continue 11th of July. Here's what we will be discussing... Three bills will be introduced in the National Assembly: Domestic Violence Prevention Bill; Land (Amendment) Bill; and Road Bill. Two bills that were introduced and endorsed by the National Council will be discussed in the National Assembly. They are: National Flag Bill; and Parliamentary Entitlement (Amendment) Bill. The following three bills, which were endorsed by the National Assembly and subsequently discussed in the National Council, will also be discussed to resolve differences, if any, between…

Stop playing games

June 5, 2012Democracy, Government130 Comments

I like to walk. And I like to bike. So today, on Thimphu’s inaugural Pedestrian Day, I enjoyed the opportunity to bike from my home (in Taba) to my office (in Langjophakha) to the clock tower square to lunch (in Motithang) to the PDP office (Changangkha) to Karma’s Coffee (Hongkong market) to the archery range (near the Indian Embassy) and finally back home. The government has declared that, henceforth, every Tuesday will be Pedestrian Day, at which time most vehicles will not be permitted to enter the core area of Thimphu. Other cities are reportedly already following suit. The…

Auspicious

June 4, 2012Monarchy3 Comments

We, in Bhutan, take auspicious signs seriously. And the more auspicious the sign, the better. Today is Duechen Ngazom, the most important day in the Buddhist calendar. Today, coincidentally, is also Her Majesty the Queens' 22nd birth anniversary. Her Majesty the Queen's first birthday after being crowned the Druk Gyaltshuen falls on the most revered day of the year. How auspicious is that? Very auspicious. And that bodes well, very well, for the tsawasum - our monarchy, our country and our people. Happy birthday, Your Majesty!

The Journalist?

June 2, 2012Media32 Comments

Politicians and political parties love media coverage. The Journalist, a weekly paper, has featured PDP on its cover, directly or indirectly, in four of its last 8 issues. Therefore, PDP must be happy. Right? Not exactly. Every one of The Journalist’s stories on PDP during the last two months has a negative bias. And almost every one of them seems to be intended to undermine the PDP, and to discredit its president. The Journalist began their 1st April cover story by telling readers that: The talk in town is that Gasa MP, Damchoe Dorji, the only opposition member apart…

What we really need

June 2, 2012Government11 Comments

Our country is going through an unprecedented economic crisis. So why is the government establishing a “Secretariat for the new economy”for the United Nations? Instead, what we need is an office – a war room – dedicated to planning and directing the recovery of our economy. And why is the prime minister preparing to “make a statement promoting the vision for a new economic system” for the world? What we really need – desperately – is a head of government who is genuinely and fully committed to understanding, planning and directing the recovery of our economy.

Too good

May 31, 2012Economy, Government32 Comments

Yesterday’s economic forum was scripted and implemented to perfection. The forum, which was organised by GNHC and supported by the UNDP, was called “Macroeconomic Challenges, Opportunities and Policy Options for Bhutna” and held at the National Convention Centre. The forum was attended by the prime minister, cabinet ministers, senior civil servants and The forum was NOT attended by the governor of the Royal Monetary Authority and his two deputies. The CEOs of the financial institutions could not attend as they were summoned, by the RMA governor, for a separate meeting. The experts at the forum included Professor Joeseph Stiglitz…

Really important business

May 29, 2012Economy6 Comments

Doing business in Bhutan is already difficult. But it’s getting even more difficult. Each year, the World Bank publishes a “Doing Business” report in which they rank countries according to the “ease of doing business” in those countries. Here’s how our country has fared in their report over the last few years. In 2008, Bhutan was ranked 119 out of the 178 countries that the project studied. In 2009, we fell to 124 out of 181 countries. In 2010, we were placed at 126 out of 186 countries. In 2011, we plummeted to 146 out of 183 countries And…

When loss is gain

May 24, 2012Miscellaneous17 Comments

Her Majesty the Queen Mother, Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, launched When Loss is Gain yesterday, at the closing session of Mountain Echoes 2012, a literary festival that keeps getting bigger and more successful each year. When Loss is Gain is written by H.E Pavan K. Varma, India’s ambassador to Bhutan, and a prolific writer who has already authored no less than 16 other books. This, however, is his first work of fiction, and one that you will most probably read continuously, in one sitting, from cover to very enjoyable cover. The story, set mostly in Bhutan, is about the…

The plague

May 17, 2012Government16 Comments

Kuensel featured this advertisement yesterday. Read it, and see what's wrong. I, like the friend who showed me this notification, found it funny that RITH would invite bids to produce the plague. But we all know that what RITH really wants is a plaque to commemorate the inauguration of the institute. Funny. And no harm done. But look at the notification again. Look at it closely. To be awarded the work, one must be a registered license holder and pay Nu 200 for a set of bidding documents. The bidding documents will be sold from 17th May to 31st…

But nat!

May 15, 2012Government40 Comments

At school, we, like all children, all over the world, loved playing pranks. Our arsenal boasted an impressive range of innovative pranks. But the simplest and the most popular of them by far was the very versatile but nat! prank. This is how it was administered: We’d go up to a fellow student and excitedly declare, “I found your wallet!” And then, very slowly, add, “But nat!” Or we’d tell him, “Our math test is postponed … but nat!” Or, “She says she likes you too … but nat!” The but nat! was meant to negate whatever news had…

Thank you Ama

May 13, 2012Women15 Comments

We don't celebrate Mother's Day in Bhutan. But 160 countries do. And 79 of them celebrate it today, the second Sunday of May. I think we should celebrate Mother's Day too. Like the rest of the world, we should dedicate a day to thank our mothers for their love and affection, and to acknowledge them for the huge influence they've had on our lives. Bringing up children is a difficult job at the best of times. But my mother raised six of us - all boys! She did so single-handedly. And she did so on a shoestring. That meant…