EDITORIAL

At a time when austerity and rupee crisis are the catchwords, the RAA’s draft report on the construction of Domestic Airports by the Ministry of Information and Communication comes as a major disappointment. The report highlights how more than 50 percent of the Nu 435 mn project was either lost …

News of 50 Druk Phuensum Tshogpa supporters planning a trip to the capital on behalf of the Speaker and the Home Minister in regard to the Gyelpozhing verdict caused some disquiet in a country not used to political activism. Though the DPT members withdrew their petition as of yesterday the …

The harshest blow from the Gyelpozhing verdict falls on the 14 Committee members who are all long serving civil servants, and except for one who is retired, all 13 stand to be terminated without any benefits. This is because both the Civil Service Act and Rules list out termination for …

The conviction of the Speaker and Home Minister along with 14 other plot allotment committee members in the Gyelpozhing land case has generated a lot of public interest and reaction. The verdict in its entirety does credit not only to the Anti Corruption Commission but also to the institution of …

Though the state of the nation in the last five years may be divided into four pillars and elaborate sub sections, but ultimately the two most important issues are rural development and the state of the economy. On the rural development front, the numbers on minimum programs like farm roads, …

In the 2008 electoral race while candidates had mainly diplomatic words for each other in the media, the real electoral battle was what was whispered by party members in villages and towns or half suggested by party leaders. It was only occasionally that party candidates or workers made official allegations …

When the Rupee Shortage and the resultant Credit Crunch first hit the Bhutanese economy from early 2012 onwards, the RMA and the government were caught unaware. With elections just a year away and personal and institutional reputations at stake, both the RMA and the government blamed the financial institutions, private …

Though long discussed and speculated, the government’s move to initiate an early dissolution of the National Assembly before 20th April has set the proverbial cat among the pigeons. The government’s main reason is that without doing this the biggest losers would be the electorate who would not be as enthused …

Losar is upon us and as we leave an old year behind and start a new Water Female Snake Year, it is  time for reflection of the past and renewal for the future. As we are about to start the New Year, Bhutan is in the midst of important economic, …

Bhutan has around 67,000 vehicles and in 2012 itself there were around 26,000 cases of traffic violations across the country with around 17,000 just in Thimphu. There were also 96  deaths in the last one year. These numbers have all been increasing at an alarming rate in the last few …