4 September, 2009 – we are already facing a major problem in our capacity to handle the garbage we produce, as lifestyle and consumption patterns change with increasing prosperity.Garbage landfills are overflowing, drains are clogged and rivers are being used as a flowing bin to take away from sight what is thrown. It is not yet part of our psyche that individuals must take responsibility to segregate garbage, so that it can be properly [... Read More]
3 September, 2009 – Wanted: Miners who can extract gold worth USD 50,000 in one sitting!
This is not a real advertisement, but a joke shared among office workers, who often play Gold miner, a free online game, after the department of geology and mines said that Bhutan had gold deposits.It is not unusual to come across office goers seriously engaged in computer games, and frittering away valuable work time. An expatriate, who recently [... Read More]
2 September, 2009 – There is no denying that unemployment is a universal phenomenon and a social ill. In our case, it was clear at the start that it would rise with time.So, the unemployment rate jumping to 4 percent from 3.7 in two years is no big surprise. Our limited job market is struggling to absorb the thousands of jobseekers pouring in every year from the various educational institutions.
In the mid 1990s, [... Read More]
1 September, 2009 – That the capacity of the local government must be strengthened is a catchphrase that has been bandied about for so long, it has become a clich.Yet, nothing is truer and needed more when considering the burden of development falls squarely on the dzongkhags.
No matter what kind of ambitious plans are made at the centre, when it comes down to implementation, it is the dzongkhags that must do it.
Yet government officials, who [... Read More]
31 August, 2009 – There is growing excitement about the possibilities of finding wealth hidden beneath our pristine natural environment.Past explorations indicate the presence of both industrial and metallic minerals like, quartzite, graphite, talc, tungsten, lead, zinc and copper.
With two thirds of the country still unexplored mining is seen as one sector that has not been tapped and holds the potential for growth.
The mining sector will form the basis for an industrialization drive depending on [... Read More]
29 August, 2009 – His Majesty the Kings command to the speaker of the National Assembly and the chairperson of the National Council to convene an Extraordinary Sitting of Parliament has cleared the air of uncertainty surrounding the special session and the need to pass urgent bills.The kasho highlighted the need to look beyond specific disputed bills towards building the foundation for healthy debate and consensus building. This was a strong message from the [... Read More]
28 August, 2009 – The maximum punishment is a life sentence and our prisons hold more than 115 people convicted of such crimes.Still the desecration of our chortens, a symbol of values and beliefs, continues to abound.
The dilution of our culture and tradition is often projected in terms of western attire and loud music. But it is the vandalising of such monuments that truly indicate erosion at the core, the erosion of our essence.
These [... Read More]
27 August, 2009 – Its not going to be easy becoming a gup or member of a local government office.
The election act stipulates that the interested candidate must be functionally literate and possess adequate skills to be able to discharge duties as a local government office bearer.This means the ability to read and write in the national language, Dzongkha, do simple math and have managerial and leadership skills.
So the Election Commission of Bhutan has come [... Read More]
26 August, 2009 – No one is quite sure when the special joint session of parliament will be convened to pass the urgent bills that got stuck in the July session.August 17 was mentioned as the day for the special session. That date is long gone.
What is clear though is that the already delayed local government elections may not happen in October as planned if the local government bill does not get passed any [... Read More]
25 August, 2009 – The imagery of minors, some barely in the teens, working in greasy conditions in workshops in Thimphu usually brings out two reactions.One group sees it as exploitation of the child for cheap labour in not very safe working conditions. It is a trend that should be stopped.
Another group sees it as something to be appreciated – young boys working hard and learning the ropes of living early in life. [... Read More]