EDITORIAL

Every five years Bhutan loses an important three months in the interim government period when a largely symbolic government is in place and decisions are frozen at various levels. Developmental and economic activities are either stopped or slow down and only the most essential work is done. In the civil …

Despite some controversies and the occasional chest beating, elections in Bhutan are free and fair and very peaceful compared to the neighborhood. However, the issue is not so much with the process which is accredited and praised by international observers, but on the energies and forces that it unleashes among …

Bhutan currently has around 400,000 Facebook accounts according to Facebook which gives this estimated figure to those who want to use its platform for online advertisement in Bhutan. This not only dwarfs all other social media platforms but also makes facebook the largest and most powerful media outlet in Bhutan, …

There has been much discussion and views expressed on the outgoing cabinet handing over their duty Prado vehicles. The giving up of the duty vehicles entitlement is a recent development as the earlier culture of entitlement saw all classes of senior public servants and even corporate bosses jealously guarding and …

As elections approach there is a growing drum beat on the issue of youth unemployment by political parties, sections of the media and ‘experts’ on social media. First off, there is no denying that Bhutan faces a youth unemployment issue as it always has been doing. The detailed Population and …

On 1st August 2018, the National Assembly will formally end its term with a Tashi Moenlam and prayers, and it will witness the NA MPs symbolically handing over their blue Kabneys and Patangs. The government’s official term also ends on the same day, but unlike the MPs, the Cabinet is …

The biggest harbinger of development in Bhutan was the Phuentsholing-Thimphu highway which, even today, is the main commercial lifeline for Bhutan. In that sense, the Damchu-Chukha bypass inaugurated by the Prime Minister on 18th July is a major project that will save a lot of money and time and bolster …

The National Law Review Taskforce has come up with many laws that need to be done away with, harmonized, implemented with procedural change and also enacted. This taskforce got into action after His Majesty The King on 16th May 2014, in an address to the Parliament, expressed His Majesty’s concerns …

The disastrous Brexit vote that saw Britain exiting the European Union, was fueled due to long standing- but incorrect perceptions. One, was that Britain had no control over immigration and huge numbers were coming in, which was not true. The other was that Britain was losing more to the EU …

The conventional political punditry these days places the current PDP government as a strong contender for the 2018 elections. This has nothing to do with the party being the incumbent government which, in fact, is a disadvantage- given the high level of anti-incumbency in Bhutanese politics. The party and its …