The Bhutanese Leading the way.
In 2023 when there was no money in the treasury due to the poor state of the economy, the government gave a 50 percent pay hike for MPs, civil servants and public servants which would cost Nu 6 bn a year. This was money Bhutan did not have and the hike was funded in large part by the sale of Bitcoins then valued between USD 30,000 and 50,000 at the time.
Bitcoin sales would pay Nu 4 bn each year coming to Nu 8 bn for two years.
The hike load will be taken by the Punatsangchu II project when it comes online next year.
There was no hike for the private sector or farmers and the pay gap got even wider, but a hike for public servants was thought to be essential to motivate them.
Less than a year later, the same MPs and some civil servants have come with another big begging bowl demanding overtime payment for officers, vehicle quotas and more.
The demand this time is driven by the new NA MPs of both parties unhappy with their lucrative Prado quota being taken away by the Pay Structure Reform Act 2022.
Playing a smart political game, the MPs have also included the never-ending grievances of civil servants to the list.
The cost implications of agreeing to the motion and amendments will be in the billions and also hit the foreign reserves hard at a time when we can ill afford it.
The US election results are an outcome of a major class divide in USA where a certain segment did well but others did not.
It can now be confidently declared that there is now also a major class divide in Bhutan. Private sector businesses are going bust and private employees don’t know if they will have a job, but the overfed politicians and civil servants want more and more.
The MPs and their postal ballot wielding voting bloc of civil servants have effectively captured the system and are milking it for all it is worth.
There is no concern that it may undermine the clean wage and civil service reforms, be an encroachment of the legislative arm into the executive or even be unconstitutional.
Greed is not a financial issue. It’s a heart issue.
Andy Stanley