Former Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS) journalist, Kinga Penjor, has declared his intention to stand as National Council candidate from Lhuentse.

Kinga Penjor, 44, from Thimyul village, retired as a senior documentary producer and television anchor.

He graduated from Sherubtse College in 2002 with Bachelors of (Honours) in Philosophy and Literature.

Kinga Penjor said that having interacted with the common people and policy makers in the capacity of a journalist, he is confident that he could make a difference as NC member to fine-tune the policies and planning. “I feel National Council is the right option for me to serve Tsawa-Sum at this juncture.”

He said that Lhuentse is one of the least developed dzongkhags, and has many issues that need to be looked into by reviewing policies and plans to suit the situation of the dzongkhag.

“We need to explore shorter road connectivity to the capital through Shingkhar-Gorgan highway, address rural-urban migration and goongtongs, lack of proper commercial farming, human-wildlife conflict,” he said.

Kinga Penjor said he has the advantage of having travelled to corners of the country and understood the various issues as he reported on them for both news and documentary filming. “I have talked with enough people from all walks of life that helped me understand about their hopes and aspirations, their problems. With this knowledge, I can contribute better by as a National Council member.”

If elected, his focus would be to support promotion of agro-based rural economy, youth entrepreneurship and employment in agriculture sector, to promote vegetable farming for self sufficiency, reviewing legislation and good governance, support to fight corruption in promotions and trainings, and look into elements of corruptions in recruitment of employees in different ministries and autonomous agencies.

Tshering Palden