PEOPLE POWER – As popularly elected representatives, gups feel entitled to top dog slot in gewogs

15 April, 2009 - About 205 gups are in Thimphu to discuss and resolve, once and for all, the confusion surrounding their powers and responsibilities vis a vis gewog administrative officers (GAO) – mainly, who should be the boss in the gewog.

“There should be a clear guideline for our working relationship before the new gups are elected and there can’t be two chief executive officers (CEO) in a gewog office,” said Pugli gup, Lok Mani Gurung.

Gups proposed that they be the CEO in the gewogs and not the GAOs.

“We don’t want the GAOs to think that we’re ordering and treating them as mere clerks,” said Radi gup, Samdrup. He said that having GAOs in the gewog offices was vital because they could assist uneducated gups in making and interpreting work plan documents. But he said that gups should be the CEO as people in the gewog elected them. “It needs to be clarified soon because we have to serve the people and not be drawn into any conflict.”

The government appointed college graduates as gewog administrative officers in 2007 to plan, manage and monitor development programmes in the gewogs.

The GNH Commission identified GAOs as CEOs at the gewog level, but the gewog yargye tshogchung Act empowered gups with all the executive power in the gewog.

Prime minister, Lyonchhoen Jigmi Y Thinley, addressing the meeting, told gups that their role in democracy was critical because they were the ones, who would be dealing with the people directly at the local level. He said that the government was aware of the controversy surrounding the gups and administrative officers. “Gups are elected by the people and they’re most suitable to be the CEOs,” he said. He assured the gups that the matter would be resolved when the revised Local Governments’ Act was enacted.

Gups, however, want the confusion to be resolved at the Thimphu meeting this week. GAOs are not present at the meeting.