National Assembly:
1 July 2006- After another full day of heated debate on June 28 the National Assembly resolved that the Public Accounts Committee would verify the special audit report on the renovation of the Semtokha Dzong and the construction of a new Chukha Dzong and that the verification report would be submitted to His Majesty the King.
Debate was revived when the Chukha chimi, Palden Dorji, submitted that the special report on the problem had not been made public like the normal audit reports. He suggested that the issue should be clarified through the media.
The Home Minister Lyonpo Jigmi Yoezer Thinley submitted that it was important for the chimis of Thimphu and Chukha dzongkhags to get the reports and to thoroughly understand and clearly explain the issue to the people. He proposed that the special audit report, the report by the Public Accounts Committee, and the report of the Home Ministry should be submitted together to the Assembly.
He said that the controversy on the special report had arisen because the members did not understand the auditing system and also because of the misunderstandings caused by the language used in the report. He added that if an audit conducted by specialised experts was to be verified it should be done by specialised professionals.
The chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Bumthang chimi Dorji Wangchuk, said that the audit report had to be verified by the committee. He said that the committee was not aiming at penalising anyone but to clarify the issue for the benefit of the general public.
The Foreign Minister, Lyonpo Khandu Wangchuk, emphasised the need for the government and the people to work together and to support the work of Royal Audit Authority and the Anti-Corruption Commission. He added that it was also the Assembly's responsibility to see whether the concerned people were performing their duties as required and to advise them on what was needed to be done but not to involve itself in the auditing process since it did not have the required skills.
The Prime Minister, Lyonpo Sangay Ngedup, explained that the procedures of submitting audit reports was clearly mentioned in the Audit Bill of Bhutan, 2006. He said that, according to the bill, the audit report should be submitted to His Majesty the King, the Prime Minister, the chairperson of the Royal Civil Service Commission, and the chairperson of the Anti-Corruption Commission. The Prime Minister said that special audit reports would be included in the annual audit report and distributed to departments and corporations concerned and the media.
The debate was cut short by the Speaker who pointed out that the Assembly had already come to a resolution on the issue and that there was no need to waste more time. “If we keep debating this issue this way we would be doing so for years to come,” he said.
The special audit report were distributed to the Assembly members and also made public.
By Kinley Y Dorj
kins@kuensel.com.bt