EDITORIAL

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 …

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 …

One common opinion in the past about the impact of any global financial crisis or economic recession is that it will not impact Bhutan much given the closed nature of our economy, and how we are not a part of the global supply chain. This view even holds today among …

In all the Tourism Bill and SDF debate we are missing the forest for the trees. If one takes a careful look, the tourism transformation or reforms are aimed at many multiple issues which we are facing, which will all get worse in the future if not handled now. While …

The National Council has reignited the Dzongkha debate by asking the Home Minister on why History and Geography cannot be taught in Dzongkha and the need for a National Language Act. The NC has done a lot of important national service through its various legislations and resolutions. However, this is …

The huge rush of young Bhutanese and even mid-career professionals to Australia has become a major talking point these days. A closer look at this will reveal some important issues in Bhutan and around the world. One of the obvious conclusions is that the youth in Bhutan do not see …

What comes across as a shock in the Phajo Nidup banking fraud case is the sheer lack of accountability be it at the Phuentsholing Thromde or the Banks themselves. It was this that allowed the Phajo to take double mortgages and effectively dupe people. It is shocking that in this …

Normally we are used to reading the big RAA or ACC reports on irregularities and corruption and following those cases. However, a closer look at the less glamorous RAA reports on various government agencies, Dzongkhags and projects really captures the level and extent of problem in our system. From these …

One of the impacts of environmental destruction, climate change and a globalized economy is the increasing tendency of diseases in animals to jump to humans to cause major pandemics and health issues. Whether it was AIDS in the past or COVID-19 now and the latest being monkeypox, we will have …

Sri Lanka is in the midst of much economic turmoil. Not long ago, it was South Asia’s fastest growing economy with the highest per capita income. However, a combination of populist tax cuts which halved the value added tax rate just before the pandemic, heavy borrowing for two decades, pandemic …