EDITORIAL

The hottest topics of discussion these days, especially in government offices, are the proposed pay hike and house rent allowance for the civil servants. Even in the recent past, when civil service pay hikes was being considered, there was a strong and enthusiastic interest shown by civil servants on the …

Steer into any major conversation these days-and the topic will inevitably gear around to the how the new government is doing. There are those who feel that the government, like its predecessor, should be given time to settle while there are also those who feel differently, and are starting to …

News that the government recently borrowed around Nu. 3bn from the banks through Treasury Bills and directly through the Royal Monetary Authority to finance budgetary needs attention as it will impact the private sector negatively. This is so because- in a situation where credit is limited due to the limited …

As the Tobacco Control Act has shown- simple and one-sided arguments without proper research and consultations often makes for bad policy and even worse laws. It is in this context that one must remember that the debate around mining has become highly polarized, and taking either of the polarized views …

The first session of the second Parliament which started on September 11 and due to close on October 1 has been an interesting and revealing one. The Parliament session took place in the context of a stronger and more experienced opposition party and a new ruling party representing change but …

Whenever Bhutan has stood on the cusp of some major change, there has always been hesitation, doubts and fears, but eventually the country, its leaders and its people have taken the path going forward. Even when democracy was introduced, the Bhutanese people had to be cajoled and convinced by our …

Currently, the biggest challenge that Bhutan faces is the state of the economy. It is of no coincidence that the economy became one of the biggest election issues, and in the end helped decide the electoral outcome. Some may be satisfied in voting out the previous government, which was either …

The initiative of the new government to introduce the long awaited Right to Information Bill in the first session of Parliament will be another important step forward for Bhutanese democracy. The government of the day must of course be appreciated for such a move and for keeping one of its …

The latest draft 11th plan is around Nu 213 bn, of which around Nu 121 bn will be spent on current expenditure like salaries, TA/DA, vehicles, fuel, stationeries, etc., of the government machinery. Only Nu 92 bn will be spent on capital or developmental works and socio-economic works like roads, …

The Bhutanese media scene is currently experiencing a strange paradox. Despite the challenges and odds, it has achieved much since the inception of democracy in 2008, to the point of being a major factor in Bhutanese democracy. Scams have been exposed, wrongs have been righted, broken systems have been fixed, …