Culture: The government will support the department of culture to complete repair the remaining 1,229 vandalised choetens (stupas) across the country by the end of next year, 2016.

Lyonchoen Tshering Tobgay committed “support in its (government’s) capacity” at the inaugural of the 6th national cultural conference in Thimphu yesterday. Lyonchoen said that since the department was able to repair 1,607 of the total 2,838 this year alone, repairing remaining should be made possible.

According to records with department of culture there are about 10,000 choetens and 2,000 lhakhangs and temples including dzongs in the country.

Records with police show that nearly 4,000 choetens and lhakhangs were vandalized in the last 27 years, which is about 148 a year. Last year police recorded a 12 percent increase in cases involving offence against the Ku-Sung-Thukten or statues, scriptures, and lhakhangs.

Meanwhile, the five days conference attended by cultural officers from the 20 dzongkhags will relook into the ‘misunderstood’ roles and responsibilities of dzongkhag cultural officers.

Officiating director of department of culture, Nagtsho Dorji said until today, cultural officers responsibilities were always misunderstood as just conducting chadis (preparation) when they are the key persons to preserve and promote culture in the society.

Cultural officer particularly were carrying out responsibilities such as handing and taking, and repairing of lhakhangs and giving etiquette trainings in the dzongkhag among others, she said.

“By the end of this conference, we will redefine the responsibilities of cultural officers, who are key person in promoting our culture,” she said adding that cultural officers moreover need to work together with Zhung Dratshang and Rabdey who currently own a lot of dzongs, lhakhangs and goendeys.

The conference will discuss ways to find better ways of preserving, conserving, promoting and protecting antiques, lhakhangs, dzongs, libraries, mask dances, other forms of traditional dances and national museums, which are key elements of Bhutanese culture.

Nirmala Pokhrel

Four cars collided and three people suffered from collateral damage in less than an hour on the busy Thimphu-Paro highway yesterday. The numbers could have been more had the police not intervened as soon as they received information.

But there is no reason to be alarmed. Our roads no matter how broad or smooth can still become risky to motorists. It is winter and we have an unusual cold these past few days. When there is water on the road, it will turn to ice on a freezing night. It is basic science that cars skid on slippery surfaces, especially if they are speeding and brought to a halt immediately.

Not to say those motorists were speeding, but the highway is broad and smooth. Motorists like zooming along it even though there are speed-warning signs. Unless they see a cop from a distance, they tend not to slow down. Not many understand that it is for their own safety and not the police’s.

At Khasdrapchu the blocked drain that caused the havoc was cleared and the road is safe, at least for now. The unsafe part is that there are surprises on our highways. Actually there was already a warning. Motorists share near miss stories when water from fields above had washed mud on the road making it slippery near Sisina, on the same highway.

If landslide is a problem in monsoon, winter can become nasty here. And it need not be in the high passes alone. A small stretch in the shadowy area can become slippery and risky. Caution is what is needed. It can come in the form of cautionary signboards. The police and road safety authority has met and decided to do that. That is good even if we are learning safety rules through accidents.

We are not experiencing heavy snowfall like in the good old days but still our mountainous roads can become unsafe in winter. We are not sure how information is relayed to the most un-expecting motorists of the impending dangers. There is technology to do that in real time, but we cannot reap the benefits because of lack of capacity or initiative.

Meanwhile, it is not only ice, snow or landslides on our roads that make ours unsafe. In many parts, our roads are accidents waiting to happen. If it is not a broken down truck parked in the middle of the road, it is construction materials. Truckers ferrying materials like sand, gravel and soil are not bothered when they spill it onto the road. Nobody bothers because we can rely on the thromde workers or the national workforce to clean it.

In urban areas we see people digging up roads to lay pipes after a road is blacktopped, even newly paved ones. Roads develop potholes because there is water leaked on it. Nobody bothers.

The number of vehicles on the road has increased. Safety measures cannot keep up with the growing numbers.

A multi-sectoral response to save lives from suicide has picked pace since the launch of the time bound action plan 

Health: At almost two calls a month, the crisis helpline established at the Health Help Centre has attended to 21 calls from people seeking help on suicide prevention in the last 11 months.

The crisis helpline is among the several activities that have been implemented after the Cabinet endorsed the Suicide Prevention Action Plan in May this year.

Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay officially launched the three-year plan that has six objectives and 56 actions yesterday during the first National Suicide Prevention Steering Committee meeting at the health ministry.

Although prank calls still remain an issue, health minister Tandin Wangchuk said the HHC’s toll free hotline 112 has expanded its phone lines to establish the crisis helpline and facilitate people to seek medical advise.

Deputy Chief Program officer with the department of public health, Dr Gampo Dorji while presenting the status of the action plan said the HHC staff have already been trained to provide crisis support.

“The advice provided through the crisis helpline has helped saved all 21 lives and few also visited the HHC to thank them,” he said. Of the 21 callers between 15- 42 years, seven are males.

Dr Gampo Dorji shared with the members that suicide prevention is now included as an indicator in the heath ministry’s and the local government’s Annual Performance Agreements (APA).

Besides orienting district health officers across the country on suicide prevention roles, the National Suicide Prevention Program (NSPP) secretariat at the health ministry and Royal Bhutan Police have also developed a National Suicide Registry to improve record keeping.

The registry is in its final phase and is currently being tested in Samtse, Bajothang in Wangdue and Chukha, Dr Gampo Dorji said.

Bhutan may be leading globally by being among the top 30 countries to have such an action plan in place but its suicide death rate is not far behind.

Dr Gampo Dorji pointed out that the country’s suicide death rate in 2013 of 14 per 100,000 population is higher than the global average of nine to ten deaths.

Records with police show that a total of 314 suicide cases including 54 attempted suicides were reported until this year since 2013. Of the total, 92 were below 24 years.

Lyonpo Tandin Wangchuk, who is the chairperson of the committee, said the government is concerned over the increasing number of suicide cases particularly among the youth. “In Bhutan, suicide death ranks among the top six leading causes of death after alcoholic liver disease and other NCDs,” he said.

He said members of the steering committee were carefully selected considering the relevance and leadership role they can play in prevention of suicide in the country.

“Given the importance of the public health issues and responsibilities bestowed upon us as members, it is our role to provide leadership, guidance, advise and thrust to the multi-sectoral response in national suicide prevention in the country.”

One of the institutional arrangements to effectively implement comprehensive suicide prevention plans is to set up forensic units in all the regional referral hospitals.

Dr Gampo Dorji highlighted the concern of misclassification of suicide as homicide given the lack of training among health personnel who attend such cases. He said the current practice in handling attempted suicide cases treated the bruise only but not the causes behind the act.

Setting up a standard protocol to improve care for individuals who attempt suicide or inflict self-harm will be one of the actions taken along with reducing access to means of suicide such a pesticide regulation.

To improve community resilience and societal support for suicide prevention in communities including schools and institutions, the action plan makes it mandatory for schools and institutions to orient teachers on mental health issues and suicides.

During Gyalyum Sangay Choden Wangchuck’s recent visit to schools, Dr Gampo Droji said that suicide was the main topic students wanted to talk about.

The committee members were also informed that the dratshang and health ministry would pilot Buddhist approaches and modern psychotherapeutic techniques in counseling alcoholic and addiction problems in JDWNRH psychiatric unit, and Trashigang hospital.

Lyonchoen Tshering Tobgay assured the government’s support to the committee members in implementing the action plan. “Suicide is a concern and for a country of 700,000 people, even one life lost is one too many.”

Sonam Pelden

His Majesty The King graced the consecration ceremony of the newly expanded Tango University of Buddhist Studies. His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo and members of the Royal Family graced the ceremony.

The Prime Minister, Indian Ambassador, and other officials also attended.

The Shedra offers bachelors and masters  degrees in Buddhist Philosophy as well as optional English classes, and is the premier institution for Buddhist Studies in Bhutan.

Spread over more than 12 acres, the expanded campus of the University was built with the support of the government of India.

The University campus houses a tshokhang which seats 300 monks, academic and administrative blocks with classrooms, faculty offices, library, IT rooms, and 2 seminar halls, 2 hostel blocks, a dining hall and mass kitchen, guest house, and quarters for the principal and faculty.

After it was established in 1988, over 400 monks have received a Master’s degree from the University.

Research finds 47.8 percent of HR related complaints were against ministries

RCSC: Bhutan’s rank in the Corruption Perception Index may be the best in the region but a research shows corruption is inherent in the civil service system.

Research findings on the prevalence of corruption in Human Resource (HR) management were shared yesterday at the Royal Institute of Management.

One of the researchers and lecturer from Gaeddu College of Business Studies, Tshering Lhamo, said corruption was prevalent in the form of favoritism in recruitment of civil servants. However, she reported that corruption in the form of bribery was “low and insignificant.”

The team had surveyed 1,334 civil servants and 22 percent of them had reported that favoritism influenced decisions regarding recruitment “sometimes” while 2.2 percent said favoritism “always” influenced recruitment decisions.

However, 64.4 percent of the respondents also said there was no need to pay bribes to get recruited against 0.4 percent who believed that officials had to be bribed “always”.

Tshering Lhamo however said that civil servants recruited through the Bhutan Civil Service Exams had no complaints related to their recruitment process. “The problems are prevalent in recruitment and promotion of in-service candidates and recruitment at the support staff level,” she said.

She added there was also perceived potential for collusion among HR committee members while recruiting candidates.

The research found lack of external observers in the recruitment process as one of the problems in the system and that the chairperson of the HR committee seems to influence the decision. It was also found that there was inconsistency in penalties meted out to civil servants who commit the same offence.

It was also found that the headquarters did not honour the HR recommendations from dzongkhags and thromdes. The research found that 47.8 percent of HR related complaints were against ministries.

“There is also a perception of political influence due to social ties,” Tshering Lhamo said. “If some body has a negative relation with an HR committee member it could backfire on the HR decision.”

There was only one complaint filed with the ACC related to performance management system during the last nine years. “Civil servants said promotions were time-bound rather than performance based,” she said.

Almost all civil servants received “excellent” rating, which the researchers said were indicative of the fact that the performance management system needed improvement.

There is also a perception among civil servants that it was more difficult for candidates from dzongkhags to get selected for trainings and promotions compared to civil servants from the headquarters. The research team shared that 26.3 percent of the respondents were from Thimphu.

One of the researchers, Prof Bertrand Venard from Nantes School of Management, France said the prevalence of corruption could lead to financial consequence for the state.

“If Bhutan implements the same level of control of corruption as the United States, the increase in performance of the civil servants would be equivalent to Nu 17.9M a year,” he said.

Nonetheless, the professor said that Bhutan was an outlier in terms of corruption prevalence in the region because of its Buddhist values and the quality of civil service among other factors.

He said some Buddhist countries are however, corrupt and that corruption was prevalent in low-income countries.

The findings, which will be submitted to the government, suggest for establishment of a whistle blowing system and a dedicated unit to listen to complaints in the Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC).

“HR officers are bogged down with administrative works in larger dzongkhags and we recommended for recruitment of HR assistants,” Tshering Lhamo said.

RCSC chairperson Dasho Karma Tshiteem, who chaired the discussion, said the commission takes the recommendations positively. “Of course, there is corruption, but we are by and large clean,” he said.

Dasho Karma Tshiteem said most of the recommendations were relevant and that the commission would try to implement and address the problems. He said at a time when the ACC already has a whistle blowing system, establishing another in the RCSC would be reviewed properly.

Speaking at the closing session, Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay said the government will review the recommendations and discuss with ACC and the RCSC and give due attention.

Lyonchoen assured the government would extend all support to the ACC to curb corruption.  If we have to achieve national goals such as economic prosperity, there should be no place for corruption, he said.

The ACC and RIM organized the daylong conference.

MB Subba

More than 31 percent of mining companies reported at least one request for bribe

Research: Various forms of corruption exits in the mining industry, a research initiated by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) says.

The research team including an Audencia Nantes School of Management, France, Professor Bertrand Venard, officials from ACC, Royal Institute of Management, and Department of Geology and Mines presented their findings at a national conference on enhancing good governance yesterday.

Researchers found corruption is the top constraint for the mining industry along with electricity and access to finance.

Of the 22 mining companies, more than 31 percent said they have experienced at least on bribe payment request. There are also incidences of manipulation of bills.

From 20 corruption complaints lodged with the ACC between 2006 and 2015, seven were on abuse of power, four on deceptive practices, three on collusion, two on official misconduct and one on bribery, among others.

Four of the complaints were against talc, three against limestone, two against stone quarry, and one each on coal, dolomite, marble and quartzite. However, the trend is decreasing.

The mining sector contributed 2.8 percent to the gross domestic product last year and revenue of more than Nu 4 billion in 2013, earning Nu 199.6 million in royalty and mineral rent. The sector has the second highest growth rate and today employs 1,386.

Researchers’ calculation based on the Royal Audit Authority report 2014 show the country lost Nu 670.81 million between 2008 and 2012 as a result of wrong doings in the sector including non-revision of royalty, with an average loss of Nu 134.16 million a year.

Having to route through multiple stakeholders for processing the mine application, inconsistency in rules and regulations, and no clear service delivery standard or turn around time by the agencies involved were the main causes of corruption.

“When there are many stakeholders involved the process becomes lengthy and complex, and longer the process higher the corruption and ultimately the monitoring becomes weak,” the research presenter  and RIM lecturer Sonam Choiden said.

“That’s the reality in Bhutan…doing business is nothing to do with business; it’s to do with how you can manage government and government system. How you get your paper passed through the system,” she quoted a mining company representative.

The National Environment Commission appears to strongly influencing the decisions of the Department of Geology and Mines having higher standard requirements and penalties, among others, the research showed.

There are no clear processes, procedures and timing, which makes the processes longer, complex begetting in more wrongdoing.

The research team recommended having simple and clear roles and responsibilities of the agencies involved besides a service delivery standard for the DGM.

Lacking a strategic development plan, insufficient budget, limited staff capacity, and shortage of available mining engineers, DGM has been weak in monitoring.

Only one third of the required engineers are available, of which two thirds end up being abroad or doing other works, the research found.

The department is constrained on monitoring with officials having no computers, Internet connection, training, insufficient financial means including travel and daily allowances, and their suggestions are hardly heeded, Sonam Choiden said.

The study pointed out that the inspectors left on their own run the risk of colluding with mine owners, and resulted in some cases of threats as well.

It recommended financial disclosure programme by inspectors, mine owners, board members and mining managers and engineers, and establishing online annual report by mines and a mining report by DGM.

Unclear dzongkhag land leasing committee (DLLC) procedures have led to unclear public consultation processes which could develop potential unethical behaviours by the mine owners to win the heart of community or potential corrupt relations with local authorities.

“Community clearance is the most difficult primarily because different government rules think of it in a totally different way,” the research quoted a mine chief executive officer.

While the research asked to review the guidelines of DLLC and public consultation, it also called for formulating corporate social responsibility in absence of which mine proponents could make false promises, result in minimum community development, and risk conflict within the communities.

The 10-year lease period of mines was found too short, where the mining companies tried to cut corners to make profit. A longer lease could also lead to investments on infrastructure building and protection of environment, the research showed.

Raising royalty based on the sales value of the minerals and economic development of the country was another recommendation.

While the daily allowance has increased, the budget for in-country travel has not changed.

The moderator, DGM director general Phuntsho Tobgay acknowledged the findings of the research team and said the department will undergo a major overhaul soon.

“While the Constitution says that every citizen is a trustee of the natural resources, we have 38 individuals owning the 48 mines in the country,” he said.

He said the rules would also be reviewed and amended. “Most of these findings would validate what I am going to do,” he said.

“From my 31 years of supervising and being at the mining and quarrying site, I feel they are doing their job,” Dungsam Cement Corporation  managing director Dorji Norbu said.

ACC officials said the research was to ascertain root causes, costs and risks of corruption, promote research competency and facilitate evidence-based decision-making which are vital for promotion of good governance.

Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay attending the closing of the conference said the government would take note of the findings and discuss implementing the recommendations.

“We would give the time and consideration it deserves,” he said.

Tshering Palden

But organizers are worried that such habits could result in an injury

Archery: Hundreds of spectators turned out for the semi-finals of the Druk Wangyal National Archery Tournament at Changlimithang, yesterday.

This was one of the highest turn outs recorded at the tournament, according to a tournament official, Yoesel Dorji. He said safety concerns over the large audiences is becoming an issue as spectators crowd near the target, sometimes even blocking the sight of the archers.

Yoesel Dorji said that although audiences are informed not to get near the target while the game is in process, most of them don’t comply. “We try to control the crowd but in the midst of the excitement from the game most of them are lured towards the target,” he said.

To prevent spectators from getting hit by an arrow, boundary lines near the target are marked. However, people are seen crossing the lines to get a better view of the game. With all the spectators seated on the ground near the target, the spectator-stands at the archery range are usually deserted.

Sherab Dorji, who had come to witness the game, said that the experience is not the same while watching the game from the stand. “The real thrill lies in watching the game from up-close near the target,” the 57-year-old said. “It’s very safe and unlike in the past, the archers today are more experienced and precise with their aim.”

Amongst the local spectators, two tourists from the United Kingdom were also seen relishing the thrill from the game. “This is very exciting, I’ve never seen something like this before. The atmosphere here is very lively and filled with energy,” said Kate Williams. “Getting near the target is a bit precarious but we feel safe and we trust the archers with their skill.”

Wayne Arnold said that the archers look professional with their precision. “This is a high degree of skill, hitting the target with such precision must have taken a lot of practice,” he said.

A few more tourists joined the crowd as the match entered its climax. Druk Green Power Corporation defeated Draley Gyalwai Duetshen to enter the finals of the tournament against Norlah.

The finals will be played on December 26th and 27th at the Changlimithang archery range.

Younten Tshedup

Agriculture: Trashigang is no exception to the poor mandarin harvest that has been reported in other parts of the country.

For the past couple of years, orange trees have started dying across the dzongkhag. In Thrimshing and Lumang gewogs where oranges are grown in abundance, the yield has dropped to an all time low this year.

In Lumang, about 80 percent of orange trees have been affected. For villagers of Chengri and Bemri who largely depend on mandarin business for their livelihood, most trees didn’t bear proper fruits this time.

“It has almost been about three years since the problem started. Leaves are turning yellow and most trees are dying,” Lumang Mangmi, Sangay Chodup said.

For households that would earn almost Nu 100,000 every year, Sangay Chodup said the income this year is expected to plummet to Nu 10,000.

“Save for few orchards in Chengri, orange trees in Lumang and Dori villages have all died,” he said. “Major mandarin growers in the gewog own up to 70 trees each while others own at least 10 trees.”

In Thrimshing, orange trees started dying since last year. Thrimshing Gup, Ngawang Dorji said the yield has dropped by 50 percent this year.

“Villagers of lower Thrimshing who solely rely on mandarin are worried but we don’t seem to know what is affecting our orchards,” he said. “We have reported to the agriculture extension office.”

Phungsing tshogpa, Tsheten Dorji said the gewog extension officer suspected citrus and asked them to uproot the trees for replacements.

“But we are trying to salvage from what is left or we won’t have any income this year,” he said. “We suspected rain water to be the cause but farmers who irrigated their orchards are seeing the same results.”

In northern gewogs like Samkhar and Bartsham, the trend is similar. Oranges have significantly shrunk in size and taste sour. Acres of orange orchards have died in the past two years.

In the past, two households together would produce about a truckload of oranges in Khaptoe village. Despite having no road connectivity, villagers walked until Trashigang to sell their produce.

“We would transport our oranges to Samdrupjongkhar also. Today, most of us have stopped doing mandarin business,” a villager, Lachi Seldon said. “I think it is the dust from the farm road that is killing our trees.”

Dzongkhag agriculture officer, DC Bhandari said the office has not received any complaints from the farmers so far. Investigations would be carried out to find out what is affecting the orange orchards.

“Production life of the trees shouldn’t be over nor dust from the farm roads could be a cause,” he said. “At times, water could be the problem since most of our orchards are rain fed. But, we need to carry out inspections before we conclude.”

Tshering Wangdi,  Trashigang

The organization is seeking to clear misconceptions of its roles and responsibilities by holding awareness programmes for local leaders

Meeting: A local leader in Wangdue questioned the Druk Holding and Investments (DHI) chairperson on why DHI employees are receiving much higher salaries compared to that of many others.

The question was raised during a half-day awareness programme on corporate governance organised by DHI for dzongkhag tshogdue and sector heads in Wangdue yesterday. The same programme was also held in Punakha during the first half of the day.

Responding to the Rubesa gup Gyeltshen, the DHI chairperson, Dasho Sangay Khandu said employees of DHI companies are paid 15 percent higher than civil servants. However the additional 15 percent is a performance based variable pay.

He said those serving on a contract system were paid a negotiated rate based on market conditions, and usually had to be paid higher as they shouldered higher responsibilities and more risk in terms of job security. Contracts are normally for three years. Therefore the difference in salary is justifiable.

Dasho Sangay Khandu said the difference in salary also comes following an increase in competitiveness in the market. As an example he pointed out that Drukair lost some of its pilots to Tashi Air subsidiary Bhutan Airlines when it started its venture.

When Bhutan Airlines started to pay Nu 400,000 a month for a pilot, Drukair had to increase its salary for pilots, he said. Drukair had no choice but to pay around Nu 370,000 per pilot a month depending on seniority. The same thing happened with Bhutan Telecom, he said.

He added that while government servants were entitled to more leave and other added benefits, DHI employees get less leave and not many benefits other than the salary.

Meanwhile, on the roles of DHI, director Passang Dorji said the awareness programme has become important as there are of lots of misconceptions about the organization. Although DHI was created in 2007 its responsibilities were still unclear to the general public, particularly at the local government, he said.

He added that as the dzongkhag tshogdu members and dzongkhag administration staff play a critical role in decision making at the local government level, it is important for them to understand DHI’s mandates and its role in the economic development of the nation.

The officials explained the roles of DHI and its companies.

Some of the completed projects include the 126MW Dagachhu hydropower project, Dungsam cement plant in Nganglam, Dungsam polymers, Bhutan hydropower services in Sarpang, Thimphu Tech Park and Koufuko International private limited in Trashigang.

He said that the total assets of DHI subsidiaries had grown from Nu 51,092M in 2008 to Nu 145,659M in 2014, registering a compound annual growth rate of 16.1 percent. The net worth of DHI subsidiaries grew from Nu 22,254M in 2008 to Nu 67,879M in 2014 registering a compound annual growth rate of 17.3 percent.

Dawa Gyelmo, Wangdue

The slump in mandarin production is touted as one of the worst in recent years

Export: Each businessman associated to mandarin export in Phuentsholing yards at Toorsa embankment have unhappy tales to tell.

Business, they say, has squashed by more than 70 percent.

Sonam Norbu, 30, just transported three truckloads of the produce on December 21.

“These are all I have this year,” the supplier said. “There are no mandarin at all.”

Around this time last year, the Nganglam supplier had brought eight truckloads at the auction yard. However, with just three truckloads, his trade journey is ending bitterly, he said.

Sonam Norbu brought the mandarin to Phuentsholing given the better price. A mill (240 oranges) can fetch Nu 900 in Samdrupjongkhar, while the same fetches Nu 1,000 in Phuentsholing.

A farmer from Purbey, Samtse, Lok Bahadur Tamang shared a similar story. Until yesterday he unloaded eight truckloads of mandarin, while it was 20 truckloads last year for the same period.

“I may go for another three truckloads,” he said adding the fruits were almost over in the farms back home.

Lok Bahadur Tamang earned about Nu 300,000 in 2014 but this year, he said, the earnings look gloomy.

Farmers attribute low production to unfavourable weather condition that experienced windstorm and hailstone even though the trees had flowered well in spring. The sprouts however died in June which some doubt was because of poor rainfall in the initial days this year. Suppliers also mentioned insects and other diseases that infested the fruits.

A transporter from Trongsa, Phuntsho, 44, also said the export business could see a huge fall this time.

“I do not know what happened but there are no mandarin this year,” he said.

Phuntsho, who ferries mandarin from Sarpang, said all mandarin growing places shared the same outcome. Around the same time, the transporter had carried 15 truckloads of mandarin last year. He had just reached a truckload yesterday for the first time this year.

Exporters are already worried at the future of mandarin export and are calling for relevant agencies to appropriately study and research the matter.

One of the exporters Sonam Tobgay said he had not come across such a scenario in his seven years of export business.

“The problems are in the orange fields,” the exporter said. “Farmers in the country could have done much better with some support.”

Almost a month since the season started, Sonam Tobgay was busy working on his third truckload of mandarin yesterday evening. The exporter had managed 73 truckloads by this time last year.

Another exporter at Torsa embankment pointed out that Nagpur in India has continued to see huge production both this year and last year.

“I think Bhutan can do even better,” the exporter said, wishing anonymity. “The agriculture extension offices must be proactive now.”

Although correct figures could not be gathered, the general understanding at the depot is that exporters have not managed to transported more than 400 truckloads of mandarin this year. More than 1,000 truckloads had been lifted from Toorsa embankment last year by this time.

Orange export to Bangladesh in 2014 generated USD 10.42M, which was the highest earnings in the 14 years. The figures with the Bhutan Exporters Association (BEA) revealed that the country had produced 26,728.10 metric tons (MT) of mandarin last year, more than double of the 12,728.10 MT produced in 2013. Exporters in 2013 had earned about USD 5.6M.

However, with mandarin yards across the country showing the same signs this year, businessmen suggest the government try something and save the export culture gets completely uprooted.

Rajesh Rai, Phuentsholing

A malaise so heartbreaking and deeply disquieting has entered our society. Look around and you will agree that there is something so utterly rotten in this our proverbial land of Gross National Happiness.

Suicide rate in the country is increasing by the day even as we continue to bask in the sun of international renown that we have managed to earn over the years. We still believe that we are one of the most welfare-driven societies in the world where citizens enjoy higher level of contentment than all others.

But it takes courage to look deep into our own soul and find our face staring back, twisted with shame, guilt and unease. But that we did exactly, as boldly as we felt compelled to. And we found that we need to fill in so many gaps that we created as we hastily marched along the path of development – sometimes called progress.

More than 60 percent of those who attempt or commit suicide are young people between the ages of 15 and 40 years. Men constitute more than women. This speaks clearly of the pressure certain groups of people are hurled in to handle, failing which, there is little option left for them than to evict themselves out of their skins.

Employment is becoming scarce. In the meantime, rural to urban migration is increasing. Why? Are we not consulting demographic shift when we plan our development? Our streets are increasingly being filled with elderly orphans. Yet we continue to debate whether as a GNH country we should have old-age homes.

A study on reported suicide cases in Bhutan says that almost half, 49 percent, of those who attempted suicide earned less than Nu 3,000 a month. The report also says that a majority of those who committed suicide were farmers and students. Civil service is already saturated and private sector is in no position to create jobs. Where must our young people look for hope?

More significantly, what is happening to our national objective of achieving rural prosperity and urban well-being? We must bring our citizens on the fringes back to the fold.

The magnitude of the problem will only grow if we do not act sooner to address some of our gaping social problems. As things stand, is it not a bitter irony, a darn hard smack on the face of our own hallowed national development philosophy of Gross National Happiness?

School: Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay yesterday made it clear to close to a hundred Dungna residents that the central school promise was a mistake on the part of the education ministry. Lyonchoen also pleaded for forgiveness regarding the mistake.

The issue was addressed after the Dungna gup and one villager stressed the people’s dismay when they recently learned Kamji Middle Secondary School (KMSS) was to be upgraded as a central school in the next academic session despite prior promises that the Dungna Lower Secondary School (DLSS) would be upgraded.

“It is not your fault,” the Prime Minister said.

Lyonchoen then told the crowd that KMSS was the better choice over Dungna.

“DLSS has just 286 students,” he said. “And Dungna has to be developed first.”

It would take almost two years to blacktop and prepare the 44km road, Lyonchoen said. With both road and school infrastructure development required, the government would require a huge budget, he added.

Giving an example of three gewogs in his own constituency, the Prime Minister said it was difficult to think of central schools in all the gewogs across the country. Pros and cons have to be studied, he said.

It was also highlighted in the media that some people had thought the eventual shift of locating KMSS as central school had political connotations, which the Prime Minister dismissed.

“Yes it’s true there are more people in Kamji,” Lyonchoen said, adding this was also one of the major reasons KMSS was chosen. “So more can benefit.”

DLSS was established in 1995 and Dungna residents expected the school to be upgraded. Initially it was identified as the central school and surveys were also carried out until recently when KMSS was announced as the second central school in Chukha.

The Dungna road condition needs a lot of improvement, including blacktopping, Kuensel learned. The government has a budget of Nu 135M to blacktop the 44km road (from Thimphu-Phuentsholing highway point), including another 19km portion towards Metakha from Dungna.

Lyonchoen Tshering Tobgay told the residents not to worry and said development and upgrades would eventually come. He also promised the Dungna people that the education minister would be deputed to understand further.

“While other developments will keep on happening, lets focus on the road for now,” he said, adding all developments will fall in place when the road is completed.

Lyonchoen was on a one-day visit to the gewogs of Dungna and Metakha in Chukha yesterday. Home minister Dawa Gyeltshen and Phuentsholing Member of Parliament Rinzin Dorji accompanied Lyonchoen.

 Rajesh Rai, Dungna

ICT: The Nu 2.05 billion ICT Chiphen Rigpel project comes to a close today having met or exceeded all its objectives, according to the project’s report.

The ambitious Indian government assisted human capacity development project was designed to help Bhutan successfully transition to a modern IT enabled knowledge based society.

It was implemented by NIIT in April 2010 on the sidelines of the SAARC summit. A little over five years has passed since its implementation.

According to the project report, Chiphen Rigpel has provided ICT skills to a significant part of the Bhutanese population to become “confident and empowered citizens” of an ICT enabled world.

“The project has reached to all sections of Bhutanese society including leaders, civil servants, local government, teachers, schoolchildren, youth, underprivileged children and the monastic body,” it is stated.

The project was made up of six major components.

One was to bring ICT to schools by imparting computer education and computer aided education services in specified government higher secondary schools to develop computer literate students capable of interacting with and leveraging technology for learning. The project met its target of establishing computer labs in 168 schools and covering all children in classes 7-12.

Another component was to train teachers to use ICT tools and integrate ICT in the teaching and learning process. The project established seven training facilities and certified 5,204 teachers.

The third component focused on enabling e-governance by providing e-governance literacy for government leaders, civil servants, officials, managers, and executives. It was expected that those trained would be able to develop a leadership and workforce that understands the concept of e-governance and is able to efficiently envision, design and implement initiatives.

The project set up seven, instead of an initially planned four training centres, and a total of 7,396 were trained and certified.

The fourth component was designed to enhance employability by providing high-end IT training, vocational and basic IT literacy to create an IT literate workforce to meet immediate workforce requirements for existing and future IT and ITES industries. A total of 14 training facilities and 20,541 were certified under this component. The initial outcome was only 12,800 trained and certified.

The fifth component was to reached the unreached by bridging the rural-urban digital divide and providing access to education for rural citizens through informal learning. The goal was to provide a vital link for rural citizens to the formal education system and bring the rural population into the ICT fold. A total of 131 HiWEL or “hole in the wall” playground learning stations were set up and 131 operators trained.

Controlled studies showed that children with access to such stations demonstrated significant improvement in IT, science, mathematics, and English.

The last component included developing an e-waste management strategy so that Chiphen Rigpel could be sustainably implemented. The project reports points out that regulations on e-waste were accepted by the cabinet. Furthermore, concerned agencies received awareness trainings on e-waste, and a national e-waste implementation manual was accepted by the government.

A closing ceremony will be held in Thimphu today.

Gyalsten K Dorji

Corruption: Former Gelephu dungpa Pema Wangdi admitted to 45 of the 70 counts of charges framed against him during the opening statement hearing at the Gelephu dungkhag court yesterday.

The Office of Attorney General (OAG) has categorized the corruption cases into eight sections amounting to a total of 70 charges.

Out of 26 counts from first section that includes embezzlement of Nu 10.637M (million), a fund generated from Losel Cinema hall in Gelephu town, the former dungpa admitted to 24 counts and to 21 counts from mismanagement of Losel cinema hall.

The former dungpa however refuted the six charges framed against him. The six charges include maintenance of Losel cinema hall, maintenance of cremation ground at Serzhong in Gelephu, construction of wall at India-Bhutan border in Gelephu, forging of accounts, the Tokay Gecko case and hot spring maintenance at Serzhong.

Another charge against him includes the fraudulent award of contract works. Pema Wangdi had allegedly awarded three contract works to construction firms without floating tenders. He was accused of awarding renovation work of Gelephu tshachu (hot spring) worth Nu 1.350M to four contractors, who were believed to be friends and acquaintances of him and his son’s. ACC had found that the tender documents were submitted later while some documents were forged.

Awarding works of renovation worth Nu 1.2M for the Gelephu crematorium, and re-roofing of Nu 1.6M cinema hall followed the same modus operandi.  The ACC in August last year suspended trade and contract licenses of seven construction firms allegedly indulged in fraudulent tendering process, following an investigation on complaints lodged against the dungpa.

When forwarding its 500-page investigation report to OAG in March this year, the commission had implicated 253 counts of charges against Pema Wangdi and accomplices.

The commission began investigation on June 13, 2014 after receiving several complaints against the former dungpa, who has been suspended since June 23, after they found a prima facie case of corruption and embezzlement. In the process of investigation, ACC officials recovered Nu 3.401M from the dungpa’s residence in Gelephu.

The OAG will rebut on January 4.

Yeshey Dema, Gelephu

The new chadi guidelines is likely to be in place by March next year

Culture: Ceremonial scarves in all five colours of green, white, yellow, red and blue should only be arranged over the door during occasions for His Majesty and the Je Khenpo. The Prime minister is entitled to three colours and the rest are entitled to only a white scarf.

This is one of the standards specified in the draft chadi guideline that is expected to come into effect in about three months time.

The draft was put up for discussion at the 6th national cultural conference yesterday. Cultural officers from 20 dzongkhags are attending the five days conference and are the key persons in conducting chadi.

Without a standard guideline until now, cultural officers were usually confused over how grand the preparation should be when guests or officials visited dzongkhags or while preparing for national events.

The draft guideline has specified on how chadi should be for His Majesty, members of the Royal Family, the Je Khenpo, Prime Minister, cabinet ministers, Members of Parliament (MP), Local Government leaders and other visitors.

It contains details such as variation in heights of the seat of the chief guest for a particular occasion of importance, the thokoe (ceremonial fruits) and podium decoration.

The colour of flags hoisted from the entrance gate until the function ground will now differ for individual guests.

Cultural officers said until now they were following the driglam-namzha (traditional code of etiquette) guideline for chadi and other references distributed by the department of culture. The entitlement and luxury of chadi varied among dzongkhags.

“Visitors’ expectation and our chadi often contradicted, resulting in unnecessary misunderstanding,” one of the cultural officers, said. “This new guidelines will clear all such differences once and for all.”

Driglam-namzha division’s head, Jigme Yoezer said the chadi protocol that was currently being followed had details only for visits of members of the royal family, prime minister, cabinet ministers, speaker, chairperson of the National Council, chief justice and MP. “The main objective of this guideline is to bring uniformity in preparation,” he said.

Revising the chadi protocol was one of the austerity measures the government took in August 2013 to avoid “unnecessary and excessive spending.”

Lhuntse’s cultural officer Tashi Phunthso said in his decade long experience in chadi, he came across many contradictions between the civil and religious aspects. “In such circumstance, we sought help from the driglam-namzha division officials,” he said.

In terms of expenses for chadi, for instance in receiving and seeing off incoming and outgoing dzongdags, he said it solely depended on how grand each dzongkhags wished the chadi to be following traditional norms.

While the new guideline might bring uniformity in the public sector, the culture of chadi is diluting in private ceremonies.

Cultural officers raised concerns that the norms of chadi are beyond their control in the private sector.

“This practice will’ve serious threat to our culture in future and might end up bringing different cultures,” a cultural officer said. “Private individuals are equally responsible for preserving the culture.”

Cultural officers also said that while they are most of the time involved in chadi, they are unable to concentrate on other administrative works and proposed that additional human resource be given to assist cultural officers.

Home secretary Dasho Dr Sonam Tenzin directed cultural officers to ensure that all schools across the country performed cultural programme by singing themselves and not dancing to songs played through a tape recorder.

“We also need to relook at the current practice of offering khadar to foreign guests as soon as they enter hotels; that’s not in our culture,” he said.

Dasho Dr Sonam Tenzin also directed the department of culture to find out the number of lhakhangs and goenbas, that were handed over to rinpochoes, trulkus and dratshangs.

Handing over ownerships of such religious institutions, he said was sheer sign of villagers not being able to take responsibility of their belongings.

Nirmala Pokhrel

Among others, the commission plans to hire retired civil servants as mentors 

RCSC: The Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC) is committed to overhauling the civil service system with changes that will reduce corruption and reward performing civil servants with promotions.

One such reform will be the hiring of retired civil servants as mentors to young civil servants. This will be implemented with the launch of a mentoring framework.

RCSC Chairperson Dasho Karma Tshiteem said the commission feels that mentoring of civil servants up to the age of 30 years is required. “But if you need mentoring after 30 years, probably, you are not the best and brightest civil servant the RCSC is looking for,” he said.

Dasho Karma Tshiteem shared the commission’s plans during the national conference on good governance at the Royal Institute of Management (RIM) on December 21.

He said 37 percent of the Post Graduate Diploma in Administration (PGDPA) toppers from 1990 to date have left the civil service due to indifference of the system. “The loss of the best and brightest means deterioration in the quality of the stock of the civil servants,” he said.

With the help of mentors, he said the commission hopes to retain and improve the quality and efficiency of civil servants because the civil service would see hoards of exceptionally qualified and experienced civil servants retire.

“Just because they turn 60 years does not mean they have lost their value,” he said, adding that the commission should continue to use their expertise to mentor young civil servants. “I am excited about it and I hope our PGDPA friends would be too.”

The Commission also wants to ensure there is a better performance management system in place to motivate and reward performing civil servants. The Commission is working on linking rewards to hard work.

Dasho Karma Tshiteem said the fact that almost every civil servant obtains “extraordinary” in his or her performance rating reveals that the system is indifferent.

The commission has also worked out the separation of responsibilities between the working agencies and the parent agencies as part of the RCSC’s organizational development (OD) exercise. For instance, he said the working agency should have the main say on who should get a training opportunity.

The main responsibility of a parent agency, he said, should be that of human resource (HR) development.

Another problem the commission is grappling with is short-term trainings, which according to the Chairperson has become, a “source of great friction” in the civil service.

To address this problem, he said the commission is planning to make short-term trainings more purposeful rather than just for “making friends” from abroad.

“We are looking at the whole philosophy of short-term trainings,” he said, adding that short-term trainings should be specifically linked with the job responsibility of the trainee.

The Chairperson also said that civil servants from every category of occupational group, including telephone operators should get training opportunities. “When you call some offices, people are so polite and some so rough; but you cannot blame them because they have never had a training on what is their role,” he said.

He also pointed out that HR officers do not have adequate trainings to fulfill their roles and responsibilities. “Until now, HR officers are mostly involved in administrative works such as processing trainings and fast track promotion, which is only part of their job. They don’t do anything strategic,” he said.

HR officers, he said, should lead change in the organization as an employee champion, strategic partner and integrity advocate.

However, given the limited trainings and investments on them, the Chairperson said they are doing a good job. The commission and the RIM are designing a training content to improve the competency of HR officers.

Dasho Karma Tshiteem said the commission is mindful of ambiguities in the existing rules that can lead to unfair consequences for doing a work.

The commission is also designing the civil service system that will help curb corruption and increase efficiency. “People should appreciate the challenge of what we are tying to do,” he said.

MB Subba

As a result of new highways and tourism

Development: With a handful of shanty bamboo huts the place once looked desolate but that is changing now.

By a narrow dusty trail, Sangay Lhaden runs a general shop in Sonamthang, Panbang in south Zhemgang. She settled in the area 15 years ago.

Today, Sonamthang is located by the Nganglam highway that cuts through the village sprawling across wide fields of paddy, maize, citrus, banana and bamboo that is randomly dotted with traditional houses roofed with corrugated iron sheets.

“When I came here 15 years back Sonamthang just had around four bamboo huts,” Sangay Lhaden said, adding since the construction of the Panbang-Nganglam highway began, the place is brimming with new houses being constructed every few months.

Today, Sonamthang has over 10 houses mostly shops by the roadside. And more houses and some buildings are now sprouting.

Just before the construction of Gomphu-Panbang highway in recent years, the nearest road connecting Panbang with rest of the country was around a two-day walk away in Gomphu. Hiking then was the only way to reach the dzongkhag to avail services.

But things improved drastically after the construction of the Gomphu-Panbang highway in the north and Panbang-Nganglam highway in the east. Though Panbang’s connectivity to road is still fledgling, the opening of the highway to traffic is already beginning to spur economic activities.

Since the Panbang-Nganglam highway is shorter by almost a day’s drive and because of safety reasons, most truckers travelling to deliver cement from Dungsam Cement Corporation Ltd are using the 55km highway to get to Gelephu instead of going via India.

“Now the cement-laden trucks are using the Nganglam and Gomphu Panbang highways to deliver cement to Mangdechhu hydropower project,” Sangye Lhaden said.

Business in Tungudhemba, which is less then five minutes drive from Panbang on the way to Gomphu is also picking up now.

“Though it is difficult to quantify in terms of income, business is starting to pick up compared to before with truckers stopping by for meals or at least grabbing basics like water and doma,” a shopkeeper from Tungudhemba, Choden said.

With a continuous stream of travellers, the number of shops are also shooting up in Tungudhemba. Just two years back Choden’s was the only shop there. “Now there are at least three-four shops here,” Choden said.

The influx of vehicles and people is also beginning to give rise to infrastructures and the hospitality industry such as hotels. From the existing hotels, at least three new ones are under construction to meet the increasing demand for accommodation.

“A couple of hotels with modern amenities are under construction to cater to high-end guests and tourists,” a resident from Panbang, Sangay Penjor said.

Even the existing ones are trying to attune to the improved quality services. For instance, Manas-eco lodge is constructing a single-storied stonemason lodge with air conditioner from its existing minute single unit cottage lodge.

As such constructions are only likely to rise once the town planning is finalized, as tourism is rapidly catching up in Panbang because of its rich avian and floral biodiversity and unique culture.

Residents are also promoting Panbang as a potential ecological destination with attractions like bird watching, wildlife safari, river rafting, and elephant rides in the protected areas of the Manas park.

As a result of Panbang gaining popularity, investors from across the country are intrigued with the thought of opening business there.

“Lots of investors from Thimphu came asking for land for sale in Panbang,” a resident, Dorji Yangkey said.

While no transactions have happened so far, land prices in Panbang have shot up dramatically over the last few years.

“In the core Panbang area some are asking Nu 30,000 per decimal though no once has sold any land yet because of transactions being suspended for now,” another resident, Sangay Dorji said.

In Tungudhemba and Sonamthang, the land prices have gone up to minimum of Nu 18,000 per decimal from just Nu 8,000 some 15 years back.

Tempa Wangdi

But pleads that all acts were committed based on the former dungpa’s instruction

Corruption: The former Gelephu dungkhag administrative assistant, Sonam Norbu accepted all charges against him but rebutted that he did it as per the instructions of the former dungpa Pema Wangdi, during the opening hearing on December 22.

Regarding the embezzlement of Nu 6.2M (million) public fund generated from Losel Cinema hall, defendant Sonam Norbu submitted that the former dungpa was aware about the money saved at the State Bank of India in Gangtok in the name of the late Losel Cinema hall Manager, Dizang Choka and Ugyen Buthri.

“The care taker Gyeltshen Yeshey and I stayed at Gangtok for almost a year fighting the case to get back the money,” he submitted. “We won the case and got back Nu 10.6M including the interest in the form of demand draft that was in favor of Losel Cinema Hall and deposited the amount in the Bank of Bhutan account.”

Sonam Norbu also rebutted that the dungpa gave him Nu 0.6M after returning from Sikkim and said he accepted the money assuming that it was a reward for him for fighting and winning the case.

In his rebuttal, Sonam Norbu also said that procurement and forging of bills for the maintenance of Losel Cinema hall was done as per the instruction of the former dungpa and said he had assumed that there was no risk related to Losel Cinema hall since it was a private property.

Sonam Norbu admitted to forging documents and adjusting the amount withdrawn from the Losel Cinema hall account as well as forging bills from the maintenance work.

The administrative assistant was charged for embezzlement of public fund, fraudulent practices and misuse of authority. He is also charged for aiding and abetting the alleged crime and embezzlement.

The OAG will rebut on January 4.

Yeshey Dema, Gelephu