The Bhutanese Leading the way.
After 9th January Bhutan will get its fourth elected government and the tasks before it will be enormous.
The first task will be to go through the draft 13th plan and give it a final shape by approving or disapproving what is there and inserting their own programs and pledges. The new government will have an option to make the draft Nu 512 bn plan even more ambitious by increasing its size.
The next step will be for the elected government to raise funds by either approaching donors afresh or converting their vague assurances into actual commitments.
The 13th plan will be the biggest plan so far and the plan also has the largest component of capital expenditure. This means a lot of infrastructure projects and so quality should be assured.
The economy is in the dumps and the foreign reserves are at a dangerous low.
It will have to act quickly and urgently to revive the economy through injection of funds and capital and also take steps to enhance business activities.
The government will also face a scenario of continuous youth migration abroad and as a result this means less customers for local businesses.
It will have to start coming up with policies and economic activities to give opportunities in Bhutan.
It will have to look at reviving and strengthening the various sectors of the Bhutanese economy like tourism, cottage industries, small businesses, construction etc.
The biggest task before the new government will be the Gelephu Mindfulness City project and here the new Prime Minister will have an especially important role.
The new PM will have to work closely with His Majesty on the project and be like His Majesty’s representative and ambassador to the world and big business companies for seeking investments and funds.
The new government will also have to support some of the key preparatory works for the project from basic infrastructure to skilling of youths to prepare them to take up the jobs in the city.
The 13th plan and the five-year period will probably the most important plan period for Bhutan and in some way a make or break moment for the country.
The new government will have to deal with immediate economic and developmental issues and at the same time also put in the foundations for a new Bhutan.
You can’t escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.
Abraham Lincoln