Real accountability

February 17, 2012Posted inGovernment17 Comments
Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba, the works and human settlement minster, was reportedly “shocked and alarmed” at news that his ministry was underutilizing its budget allocations. The Ministry of Works and Human Settlement has apparently used barely15% of this financial year’s budget although more than half the year has already elapsed. Is Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba really shocked and alarmed? I hope not. After all, we expect our ministers to have a good idea of how their respective ministries are performing or underperforming, as the case may be. So if he is really shocked, if he is really alarmed, we should be…

Big blue

February 17, 2012Posted inSports3 Comments
My oversized jaws continues to be the brunt of many jokes. Replying to my last post 'nagilabgey' answered that "OL's jaws" are the second largest structure in Thimphu! My jaws are big, but they're not that big. They certainly are not the second biggest structure in Thimphu. That distinction belongs to the BBS radio tower in Sangaygang. The BBS tower, measuring about 41 meters, was built in the 1980s to transmit shortwave radio waves. Since 1999, the tower has been used to broadcast TV and FM signals in addition to shortwave radio. Actually, I had another structure in mind…

Radio gaga

February 13, 2012Posted inEconomy3 Comments
Tourists visit Bhutan for many reasons. Most do so to catch a glimpse of the last Shangri la, that is, to experience our unique culture and enjoy our pristine environment. But many tourists visit our country for specialized purposes, and because those purposes can be fulfilled here more so than in any other country in the world. For instance, tourists visit us to do the arduous Snowman Trek, ride the treacherous Drangmechhu, or complete the grueling Tour of the Dragon. Enthusiasts pay to look for rare butterflies, catch a glimpse of stunning birds, or soak in the beauty of…

State of our civil service

February 12, 2012Posted inGovernment36 Comments
I watched the last part of the People's Voice debate on BBS TV this evening. The motion was "Civil Service - efficient and accountable?" The team arguing against the motion won by a huge margin, 692 votes to 184 votes. Obviously, they were able to convince the viewers that our civil service is NOT efficient and accountable. But the votes are compiled from viewer SMSs (only one SMS per phone number is recognized). So the result also reflects widespread discontent at the state of our civil service. What do you think? Is our civil service efficient and accountable? Please…

Exciting news

February 9, 2012Posted inMedia15 Comments
There’s excitement in the air. The media fraternity has finally launched the Journalists Association of Bhutan. The journey has been long: it began way back in 2006, and has included a UNDP funded project and the establishment of the Bhutan media foundation. So, naturally, our journalists are excited. I'm excited too. I congratulate our journalists. And I wish them success in their mission to improve the quality of journalism in Bhutan. Congratulations also to JAB’s office bearers, especially to their first president, Passang Dorji. But there’s another reason for that excitement. The media fraternity has been preoccupied by a…

Walk the talk!

February 7, 2012Posted inGovernment17 Comments
South Korea is home to 50 million people. They have the 13th largest economy in the world and are a member of the G-20. They are the world’s leading exporter of some of the best electronics (think of Samsung), home appliances (LG), cars (Hyundai Kia) and ships (Hyundai). They have hosted the Olympics, the World Cup and the Asian Games. They have the world’s best education system, enjoy one of the highest internet penetration rates, and boast a popular culture that has taken much of Asia by storm. But in spite of all their successes, South Koreans are still…

Reckless power

February 4, 2012Posted inGovernment10 Comments
The minister for economic affairs, Lyonpo Khandu Wangchuk, is in New Delhi. He’s meeting his counterparts in the Indian government to discuss the hydropower projects currently under construction. And he’s attending the empowered group meeting that will consider future hydropower projects, including those that will be developed as joint venture projects by public sector companies of the two governments. I hope that Lyonpo Khandu will remember the question that I had submitted during the last session of the Parliament. I didn’t get to actually ask it due to time constraints. But, as required, I had submitted my question in…

Nervous and scared

February 2, 2012Posted inEmployment20 Comments
The Class XII results are out. 8,576 students took the exams last year. And a good 86% of them passed. They’ve completed school. Some of them will go to college. Some will undergo training. And the rest will enter the world of work. They’ve begun a brand new chapter in their lives, a chapter that should be full of promise and excitement. So we should be happy for them. And we should be excited for them. But I’m not. I’m not happy. And I’m not excited. Instead, I’m nervous. And I’m scared. More than 7,300 students passed the Class…

About financial crisis

January 30, 2012Posted inMiscellaneous2 Comments
If you, like me, want to know more about the global financial crisis, here’s a quick two-step process. First, get hold of Justin Cartwright’s novel Other People’s Money. Okay, it’s fiction. But it’s very readable. And you’ll find that the story, which revolves around a failing London bank, provides an enjoyable introduction to why financial institutions collapse, and how rich bankers, powerful politicians and influential journalists conspire to prevent the bank from crashing. Justin Cartwright’s story also mentions Bhutan – not as the land of gross national happiness, or as an up and coming financial centre, but, interestingly, as…

Gyelpozhing: who’s right?

January 28, 2012Posted inJustice11 Comments
Almost six months ago, Tenzing Lamsang exposed the Gyelpozhing land grab case, and explained how laws of the land had been broken to acquire public land and redistribute them to influential people. A week after that, Dasho Neten Zangmo, the Anticorruption Commission Chairperson, was quoted as saying: We will look into the case and if there is any element of corruption, abuse of power and conflict of interest and if land has been taken unjustly from private people then we will further investigate the case. It’s been almost half a year since ACC’s assurances. So I was happy to…

Jai Hind!

January 26, 2012Posted inInternational3 Comments
I spent a couple of enjoyable hours watching India’s Republic Day parade broadcast live from New Delhi on Doordarshan TV. The spectacular procession, along the Rajpath and past India Gate, showcases India’s military might, cultural diversity and national integrity. The annual event is also a celebration of the Indian freedom movement and the successful rise of India in all spheres of the global arena since its independence 65 years ago. The chief guest at the Republic Day parade is typically a foreign head of state or government chosen carefully to reflect the important strategic, economic and political relationship between…

Indignity

January 26, 2012Posted inGovernment2 Comments
Last week, I reported to the National Assembly that, even four months after the September 18 earthquake, the victims of the earthquake still didn’t know what assistance to expect from the government. The government had, to be sure, provided corrugated iron sheets to some of the victims. And more importantly, the army, at His Majesty the King’s command, had built temporary houses for the victims. But the victims have not been able to start working on their houses. Most of them have not begun to repair the damages, or to rebuild their houses. They have not been able to…

Apologise and appeal

January 24, 2012Posted inJustice20 Comments
Today, we celebrated traditional day of offering. Today is also exactly one year since Sonam Tshering was detained by officials for illegally possessing Nu 120 worth of Baba khaini. Sonam Tshering has already been in jail for one full year. So today, on traditional day of offering, I thought about how we, parliamentarians, should offer our services to Sonam Tshering and the many others like him who continue to suffer under the oppressive Tobacco Control Act. First we should apologize. We should apologize and take full responsibility for arrogantly (and foolishly) passing a law that quickly subjected so many…

Short and sweet

January 23, 2012Posted inLegislature1 Comment
The 8th Session of the Parliament concluded last Friday. It was easily our shortest session: we started on 4 January and ended, barely 12 working days later, on 20 January. But the 8th session was historic. Her Majesty the Queen graced both the opening and closing ceremonies; and the members of Parliament got to offer the Oath of Allegiance to the Throne. Plus, the joint sitting of the Parliament amended the Sales Tax, Customs and Excise Act and the Public Finance Act to align them in accordance with the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Constitution which had been rendered…