PM says Civil Servants will be reshuffled to agencies based on capability and academic qualifications

The Prime Minister Dasho Dr Lotay Tshering announced that as part of the reforms the proposal is to have 9 ministries instead of 10 with various other structural changes and so there are proposals to reshuffle individuals based on individual’s capabilities after assessment or it will be on one’s academic credentials, and organizations under relevant institutions.

The RCSC has already made it clear that no civil servant will lose his or her job due to the restructuring and reshuffling and those who require skill up gradation will get it and be redeployed.

He also said the National Statistical Bureau (NSB) will come under the CBS and move to the CBS office.

The PM said, “Both (NSB and CBS) come out with economic data, we cannot have NSB at one end coming up with conventional GDP and CBS studying GNH based GDP calculations or GNH based economic measurements on the other side.”

“To study the balance, coordination and redefining of GDP in line with GNH or GNH in line with GDP, I feel is the primary mandate of CBS,” said the PM.

The National Human Resource development will be mandated under the Cabinet Secretary, who will look into master planning and human resource development.

The PM said that the Labour Ministry could not fulfill this role as as it needs to be linked to the economy and economic developments.

Another major reform would be the prospective planning will also be under the Cabinet Secretary. It will be a long time visioning planning that will go beyond five or six years.

Gross National Happiness Commission (GNHC) is expected to be split between Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies (CBS), the Cabinet and the Ministry of Finance.

Department of National Budget (DNB) will be re-mandated into Department of Budget and Planning, where the annual budget design and budgeting of activities will be done.

The Ministry of Education will be reformed into Ministry of Education and Skills Development. The ministry will be responsible for the reform in the education sector, where currently there is the mismatch of the skills required for the market and the courses learned.

These are some of the expected reforms in the coming months with other unconfirmed reforms still being discussed.