There are four poisons or problems choking the civil service that need to be rectified by the RCSC and the reform team under it. The first problem starts at the recruitment level where the process is unscientific, outdated and unable to screen people who are fit for the job or …

In the first meeting between the government, private sector and Financial Institutions chaired by the Prime Minister, the RMA Governor was absent though a team was there. The issues raised were mainly around the monetary measures phase four. In the second follow up meeting chaired by the Finance Minister the …

HAMBURG – As Sri Lanka’s economy unravels before our eyes, one must ask how this could happen in a country that is historically known for its high standard of living and stable economy. Sri Lanka’s achievements go back decades, giving it a per capita GDP that is 70% higher than India’s, and …

Overall, the Rules for Administrative Disciplinary Actions (RADA) for civil servants is an important reform. While it is largely drawn from the Code of Conduct of the Bhutan Civil Service Rules (BCSR), the BCSR did not spell out specific penalties. As a result, there was no uniformity in the action …

On 13 December 2023 Bhutan is due to exit from the category of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) as we have met two out of the three thresh-holds viz. Per Capita Income and Human Asset Index (HAI). The HAI is a composite of health and education indicators.  The third threshold is …

Usually the Ruling Party, Opposition Party and the National Council can be trusted to have three different views on the same issue, but this was not the case when it came to discussions on the Civil Society Organizations Amendment Bill in the last two sessions. There were concerns raised on …

TOKYO – The assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo is as sad as it is shocking. Gun violence is exceedingly rare in Japan, and it seems clear already that both the Nara local police and the Security Police (secret service) were ill-prepared to protect him. For Japanese of …

A dog food feeding organization named “Zeus for stray and homeless dog food” has named and accused me openly of being responsible for the death of a puppy at Sangaygang. Zeus says my Facebook post on 5 July 2022 about a group of aggressive dogs in Sangaygang attacking me has …

There is an old adage that barking dogs seldom bite, but this saying may not hold in Bhutan where statistics show close to 7,000 bites in a year which means every year one in every 100 Bhutanese gets bitten. The issue of dog attacks in Bhutan are caused by two …

NEW DELHI – The recent virtual BRICS summit, which brought together the heads of state and government of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, was interesting as much for what did not happen as for what did. The two-day gathering was marked by some constructive discussion but also platitudes and …