EDITORIAL

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 …

Bhutan’s press freedom rankings have moved up quite a bit from 65 in 2021 to 33 in 2022. This is a cause for cheer as it shows how we are doing compared to other countries. This is not due to any special effort by the government, but it is more …

The stabbing of an ACC Director of Investigation and the assault on an ACC Commissioner in the Supreme Court in full view of the full bench of the Justices is a dark day for our democracy. It is not only a dark day for the incident that happened but what …

When the social media first made its presence felt in Bhutan around a decade ago it was primarily seen as a force for good. The power of the press was now in the hands of every citizen, and what could possibly go wrong? However, around a decade later social media …

There are three important lessons to learn from two news stories this week. The first two lessons are from the case of DB Chhetri. This case has attracted much discussion on social media and people have jumped to their own conclusions. The social media has effectively become a court of …

There is no doubt that when it comes to counting friends in South Asia, India will count Bhutan as its closest friend and vice versa. One of the bedrocks of this relationship is a sense of mutual trust, and that leads to the two countries making special exceptions for each …

The government has been under tremendous pressure to open relaxations, and so far it has been ahead of schedule doing away with more and more restrictions by the day. This is as cases start shooting up, testing is only for the symptomatic, red homes are lifted and the testing and …

A lot of the attention of the recent leadership assessment has gone on the senior executives being managed out, but the actual Civil Service reforms are much deeper and wider. As His Majesty said in the past, the success or failure of Bhutan as a nation rests primarily on the …