The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The National Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed the Bhutan Red Cross Society Bill 2016 after all 44 Members present voted in favour of the Bill to be passed. The Speaker of the House expressed appreciation to all parties involved in drafting the Bill which he said would benefit the country and people.
The House earlier on Wednesday commenced its third reading on the Bhutan Red Cross Society Bill 2016. The Chairperson of the Legislative Committee submitted that the recommendations of the National Council and the Legislative Committee were presented for the third reading on the Bill. He also informed that consultations were held with various agencies and stakeholders before drawing committee’s recommendations.
Deliberating on the Bill, the House endorsed most of the recommendations of the National Council. However, on Article 4(3), the House resolved that the Bhutan Red Cross Society ‘may’ instead of ‘shall’ as recommended by the National Council establish regional and district offices across the Kingdom as deemed necessary from time to time.
The House also saw overwhelming submissions on section 1 of Article 7 which pertains to providing financial support to the Society’s Secretariat. The Member from Lamgong-Wangchag submitted that it was of paramount importance for the State to provide adequate financial assistance to the Secretariat as it would promote better cooperation and trust between the International Red Cross Society and its National Society in Bhutan. The Minister for Finance and other Members expressed similar views supporting the submission. The House accordingly endorsed section 1 of Article 7 which states that the State shall provide adequate financial support for sustainable management of the Society’s Secretariat.
