Changing forex reserve from US Dollars to INR?
Transcription
Changing forex reserve from US Dollars to INR?
NATION’S FIRST FINANCIAL NEWSPAPER dealing you january 16, 2016 every saturday vol 7, issue 03, Nu 10 Money teller Exchange rates for notes as of yesterday. A Nu/unit of currency BUYSELL Dollar 66.1568.30 Pound 95.4098.00 Euro 72.2574.25 Aus. Dlr45.8047.05 Sing. Dlr45.90 47.20 Gold Price in India INTernational STOCK indexes Index (Region/Country) The Global Dow (World) Dow Jones China 88 (China) Nikkei 300 (Japan) Straits Times (Singapore) S & P BSE Sensex (India) Thursday, January 14, 2016 High 2179.59 252.95 285.1 2663.51 25018.46 Low 2142.37 242.69 278.26 2642.01 24473.22 Close 2171.61 252.48 283.04 2644.57 24772.97 Chg 4.02 3.73 -7.14 -51.93 -81.14 Friday 15th January 2016 Unit Ounce 10g 24K 1kg 24K 10g 22K 1kg 22K Rs (INR) 82,157 26,417 2,641,710 24,700 2,470,000 $ (USD) 1,220.90 392.57 39,257 367.06 36,706 fuel price Prices in Thimphu Product Diesel Petrol Kerosene Lpg (Home) Lpg (Com.) Unit Liter Liter Liter Cylinder Cylinder Nu 46.88 59.00 15.00 492.00 1,278.00 Poor voter turnout at Local Government election campaigns and forums Dechen Dolkar from Thimphu One of the possible reasons for the extremely poor voter turnout in the local government common forums could be because urban dwellers are not eligible to vote for the mayor of the city they live in, despite the decisions from thrompon and municipality affecting their everyday events. “The Election Commission was expected to look at the issue this time but they cited cost and other reasons and opted not to do so. A handful of eligible voters in urban areas will definitely result in a very limited pool of candidates and more so the voters,” said a political analyst. According to her, the turnout, in terms of potential candidates and voters at the zomdus, is fewer at this thromde elections than the first one. This could also be attributed to the dwindling interest among people. First elections have always generated more excitement. Subsequent elections can never be the same, she said. Of the total registered voters for the upcoming thromde election for three thromdes, less than 12% turned up for the common forums. The Phuentsholing Thromde which has 776 registered voters saw only 96 voters turn up, of which 59 were male and 37 female. Gelephu Thromde with 1,121 registered voters saw only 133 voter turnout comprising 89 males and 44 females. Thimphu thromde with 7,278 registered voters had only 352 voters participating with 189 males and 163 females. The common forums were conducted on various dates at different venues from 6 to 14 January. Phuenstoling Maed and Changangkha constituencies saw the lowest voter turnouts with five and seven respectively. For 2011, the local government elections for Thimphu, Phuentsholing and Gelephu Thromde saw a total of 8,462 registered voters while the voter turnout was 4,269 p19 A village woman from Bidung Gewog in Trashigang offers tshogchang to Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay. Lyonchhen is currently on his eastern Bhutan tour. CENTRAL BANK NOT IN A HURRY TO TWEAK MONETARY POLICY TO CONTROL RISING VEHICLE IMPORTS The Royal Monetary Authority will however closely observe and monitor lending in transport sector and would impose necessary measures only if it finds unusual trends Dechen Dolkar from Thimphu Although Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) has expressed concerns over the increasing imports of vehicle, which has resulted in the outflow of Rs. 3 bn in the last two years, the central bank does not intend to introduce any monetary policy interventions to curb vehicle loans. The import of vehicles and corresponding increase in import of fuel adds pressure to the fast depleting Indian rupee (INR) reserve. Last year, 8,374 new vehicles were registered with Road Transport and Safety Authority (RSTA), of which 4,693 vehicles p19 were registered in Thimphu Business Bhutan january 16, ‘16 news in a nutshell p02 Anthropological Research based in the United States. The Foundation is dedicated to the advancement of anthropology throughout the world. Gyalyum Charitable Trust launched Her Majesty the Gyalyum Sangay Choden Wangchuck and Her Royal Highness Ashi Eeuphelma Choden Wangchuck launched the Gyalyum Charitable Trust at the Textile Museum in Thimphu on 12 January. The Trust was registered as a Civil Society Organization recently. Lyonchhen Tshering Tobgay tells the people of Thrimsing that the government is investing a lot in sustaining and continuing free healthcare services to the Bhutanese citizens First session of Bhutan Children’s Parliament ends The first session of Bhutan’s Children’s Parliament concluded on 8 January. The works and human settlement minister, Dorji Choden graced the closing ceremony. The chief election commissioner, election commissioners, senior officials, representatives of the UN and political parties and the escort teachers from the 20 dzongkhags attended the ceremony. BOC to develop more sports facilities Bhutan will get five more football grounds in the country by the end of January 2017. Artificial turfs will be installed at Gyelposhing, Kanglung, Phuenstholing, Samdrupjongkhar, and Bumthang. The project is being funded by the Government of India. Five business ideas from first startup weekend The first startup weekend organized by QED, a local think tank, churned up five business ideas before concluding on 8 January. A panel of judges declared the first two ideas, “Travellers and Pilgrims” and “Car renewal reminder” as the best and relevant agencies such as Loden Foundation and the labour ministry is expected to support the ideas. Leopard killers nabbed Wangchuck Centennial National Park (WCNP) officials nabbed two men from Tshenkhar in Lhuentse, who had in their possession parts of the common leopard. The officials acted following a tip-off. It is believed that the leopard was killed sometime in December last year in Tadhogang, Tsenkhar. Teacher gets nine years for murder of student Yebilapts Middle Secondary School’s assistant principal has been sentenced to nine years in prison for murdering a 14-year old female student on 16 October. The girl who went missing after noon that day was found dead in his house. The student was strangulated to death. JICA donates a “splicing” van to Bhutan Japan International Cooperation Agency donated a Nu 4 million “splicing” van to Bhutan Telecom on 11 January. This would help Bhutan Telecom to fix internet cables that have been severed by construction activities faster and more efficiently. The van will provide technicians with an environment that protects the splicing or rejoining of cables from dust and rain at the sites. Bangladesh and Bhutan anticorruption agencies to work together Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Commission and the AntiCorruption Commission of Bhutan would work together in the future. The former is considering signing a memorandum of understanding with its counterpart in Bhutan. This is the sixth delegation that the Anti-Corruption Commission of Bhutan has received from its counterparts since 2010. RMA counters disburse INR 8.3M on first day The Royal Monetary Authority disbursed INR 8.3M on the first day of its reopening the Indian Rupee exchange counters at Thimphu and Phuenstholing on 12 January. The facility is primarily for pilgrims travelling to India. The central bank will inject INR 200M a month into the counters. RTC gets research grant The Royal Thimphu College was awarded the Institutional Development Grant of USD 125,000 from the prestigious WennerGren Foundation for GoI releases Nu 1.99B The government of India on 14 January handed over two cheques amounting to Nu 1.99B to the Gross National Happiness Commission. Of the total, Nu 1.24B is for project tied assistance under which the north east-west highway widening works are being executed. The remaining Nu 751.76M is meant for small development projects. ADB to finance Nyera-Amari projects The Asian Development Bank will finance USD 320M for the 442-megawatt NyeraAmari hydropower project. Nyer- Amari is estimated to generate 478 million units of energy from the first stage and 1,222 million units from the second. Terdzo Wang to start in Lhuentse The six-month long Terdzo Wang will begin on 9 February at Takila in Lhuentse. Thirty temporary rooms have been completed at the site to accommodate more than 300 people. About 100 more rooms are expected to be completed soon. p03 dealing business Business Bhutan january 16, ‘16 Changing forex reserve from US Dollars to INR? Krishna Ghalley from Thimphu A few local economists are saying that it would make more sense for Bhutan to park it’s foreign currency reserve in Indian banks or better still if it is converted into INR and ploughed back to Bhutanese banks. This would increase liquidity in the banks, thereby making borrowing easier and cheaper, which will shoot up investments. A local economist suggested that after meeting the constitutional requirement of minimum foreign currency reserve, it could bank the rest of the amount in Indian banks rather than banking in other redundant banks. “This would increase liquidity,” he said. Article 14, Section 7 of the constitution states, “A minimum foreign currency reserve that is adequate to meet the cost of not less than one year’s essential import must be maintained.” Once liquidity is restored, the cost of borrowing would decrease, which will promote viable businesses, he said, “Access to finance will also improve. Today with limited liquidity, there are limited funds and the government has to be prudent to whom the loans should be given,” said the economist. Bhutan’s trade balance with India has remained negative in the last five year. As of September 2015, the country’s trade with India in electricity is Nu 14,873.68mn in import while export accounts for Nu 12,682.72mn, with a deficit of Nu 2,188.96mn. Likewise, without trade in electricity, the country imported Nu 14,857.97mn worth of goods but exported only commodities worth Nu 6,121.96 with the negative balance of Nu 8736.01mn. In 2012, Bhutan’s negative trade balance with India grew to Nu 15.21bn, with import of Nu 41.83bn and export of Nu 26.62bn with India with electricity. Without trade in electricity, Bhutan’s negative trade balance further increased to Nu 24.32bn with 41.82bn of import and Nu 17.50bn of export. In 2013, Bhutan’s import stood at Nu 43.66bn while export was Nu 17.75 without trade in electricity. Thus the trade balance remained negative by Nu 25.91bn. In the same year, Bhutan’s trade balance with trade in electricity remained negative at Nu 14.91bn with Nu 43.88bn and 28.97bn worth of import and export respectively. In 2014 too, Bhutan’s trade balance with India with trade in electricity remained negative by Nu 16.05bn and Nu 26.36bn without electricity. Meanwhile, Jamyang Tashi of QED Group, an independent think tank, said the objective of reserve management is not only to generate returns through investment, but also to ensure that the financial system has adequate liquidity and limited risk exposure in order to maintain efficient markets and resilience to external shocks. “To do that, reserves must be held in currencies that are considered reserve currency,” he said. He further said INR does not have reserve currency status, and that makes it a bad idea for any central bank to hold a share of its foreign exchange reserves predominantly in Rupees. “While I agree that a larger share of total reserves than at present needs to be held in INR to facilitate more efficient market transactions, I would be wary of the lure of higher returns in India,” he said. Higher returns mean higher risk, and the central bank unlike a private investor cannot afford to expose itself to that level of risk, he said. “Prudent reserve management should inspire confidence that a country can meet both internal and external obligations, of which paying for import is only one part,” he said. “A reserve that is seen to be managed in a risky way will erode that confidence from foreign investors and development partners.” Local economists say there is definitely a need to increase the share of reserves held in INR but only to the extent that market transactions are made efficient. “A small foray into India wouldn’t be so bad, but once you factor in the country’s convertible currency borrowings and other obligations, I doubt there is much left to play with,” said Jamyang Tashi. The central bank, Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan, said did not reveal the information saying that it is confidential and could not be revealed. dealing business Business Bhutan january 16, ‘16 p04 Central Bank eases restriction on rupee, opens five rupee exchange counters Five INR exchange counters, three in Thimphu and two in Phuentsholing, were opened early this week and a total of Rs. 8.68M was exchanged on the first day itself Dechen Dolkar from Thimphu In one of the first major reforms introduced by the newly appointed central bank Governor, the Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) temporarily lifted the restrictions on individual rupee transactions with the opening of the Indian Rupee (INR) exchange counters in the country. Three INR exchange counters in Thimphu and two in Phuentsholing were launched on Tuesday early this week. The exchange counters were established primarily to facilitate free exchange of Ngultrum for INR notes, particularly for Bhutanese pilgrims traveling to India. The five counters exchanged a staggering Rs. 8.68M in the first day of its operation. Around 205 customers availed the serviced. Around Rs 7.1M were xchanged in three counters in Thimphu while the remaining Rs. Rs 1.5M was exchanged in Phuentsholing INR counters. Any Bhutanese citizen going on pilgrimage to India can individually avail INR cash up to Rs. 50,000 from the exchange counter on producing citizenship identity card. Earlier, individuals were entitled to withdraw only Rs. 10,000 a month. Lhab Gyem, 52, who came to avail the service said the exchange counters would facilitate easy and sufficient exchange of INR, especially for people who want to genuinely travel to India for pilgrimage. “Until now, it has really been difficult to get rupees and the Rs10,000 banks give was not sufficient for a pilgrimage,” she said. She exchanged Rs. 50,000 and will be leaving for Sikkim on pilgrimage along with her family. The Governor of the RMA, Dasho Penjore, said the exchange facility is extended to supplement free exchange services provided by five commercial banks. However, the Governor made it clear that this facility is a shortterm measure that RMA is facilitating to ease access to INR. “For the long term, the government may have to come up with structural changes like more export and less import,” said Dasho Penjore. The central bank is wary of the possible misuse of the facility. To this end, the RMA’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) will be instituting stringent monitoring and surveillance systems for people availing INR from RMA or the banks. If any person is found violating the law or misusing the facility, they would subject to the penalties prescribed under section I, 10 (I) of Operation Guidelines for Indian Rupee Transactions. The Governor said depending on need, the RMA would also gradually enhance its services and remove other restrictions in collaboration with the banks. “The initiatives are to re-enforce the national policy of maintaining one to one parity between Ngultrum and INR and to make it freely accessible to Bhutanese citizens for all legitimate transactions,” said Dasho Penjore. p05 dealing nation Business Bhutan january 16, ‘16 Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis on the rise MDR-TB is not only difficult but also expensive to treat Lucky Wangmo from Thimphu If not nipped in the bud, Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) has the potential to become a major public health issue in the country especially at the rate people are getting diagnosed with the disease. One person is diagnosed with MDR-TB every month in Bhutan. The number of new cases of people suffering from MDR-TB has dramatically increased from 11 cases in 2012 to 49 in 2013 and 61 in 2014. MDR-TB is defined as a form of TB infection caused by bacteria that are resistant to treatment with at least two of the most powerful firstline anti-TB drug, isoniazid and rifampicin. Talking to Business Bhutan, the Chief Medical Officer at Gidakom Hopsital in Thimphu, Dr. Chencho Dorji, explained that isoniazid and rifampicin are also called first-line drugs (drugs to treat normal TB) while drugs to treat MDR-TB are called second line drugs. The five basic or first line TB drugs are Isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide, ethambutol, and streptomycin. “So by definition, MDR-TB is resistant to isoniazid and rifampicin but may or may not be resistant to other three-line drugs,” he said. “MDR-TB is caused due to inadequate therapy, inconsistent or partial treatment on the part of the patient or due to poor quality or shortage of drugs,” said Dr. Chencho Dorji, He also added that MDR-TB occurs because patients stop taking their anti-tuberculosis medication once they start to feel better. “Poor treatment, poor quality of drugs and poor adherence leads to development of MDR-TB,” he added. Treating MDR-TB is expensive since multiple drugs, which are entirely different from normal TB, are used for a period of two years. For a normal TB patient, the treatment duration is for six months without any injectable drugs while a person undergoing treatment for MDR-TB has to get injection for the first six months (intensive phase) and is usually admitted at the hospital. The cost of treating a normal TB patient is around US$ 34. The treatment of a MDR-TB patient however touches a whopping US$ 2,800, excluding the hospital expenses. The costs can go up to US$ 7,000 especially for those patients if more drugs are added to modify the treatment due to adverse effects or for those patients who show poor response. Dr. Chencho Dorji said the only solution to control drug-resistant TB is to have intense awareness programs and intense counseling for TB patients. TB patients need to be cured at the first time round. “There is also a need for early diagnosis and treatment of MDR-TB patients,” said Dr. Chencho Dorji. “There is also a need to ensure adequate infection control in facilities where patients are treated and ensure appropriate use of recommended second-line drugs.” According to the annual health bulletin 2015, although the number of patients suffering from normal tuberculosis decreased from 1,065 in 2010 to 954 in 2013, the number has shot up to 1,187 in 2014. Bhutan: one of the finalists for World Habitat Awards Community development project, led by Tarayana Foundation has been selected as one the finalists for the award Alka Katwal from Thimphu Bhutan is one of the finalists for the prestigious World Habitat Award: an award given annually to projects that provide practical and innovative solutions to current housing needs and problems by the Building and Social Housing Foundation as part of its contribution to the United Nations International Year of Shelter for the Homeless. Bhutan’s “Comprehensive community development for poverty alleviation”, a project led by Tarayana Foundation has been selected as one the finalists for this award. “This is the first time for Bhutan to be selected as one of the top ten finalists for this wonderful award. The Tarayana family is most excited about this and for us, coming this far in itself is a great achievement,” said Sonam Pem, Program Director, Tarayana Foundation. “We would think that the model of the project is what took us this far. For us, we see all the issues on the ground being interlinked and therefore, believe in solving it with the same holistic approach, and not looking at it sector based. Also, how we maximized the small fund that was at our disposal could be another reason, considering the remoteness of the site and limitations to services like road and electricity,” she added. The project, “Bhutan’s “Comprehensive community development for poverty”, focused on the Olep ethnic group who live on the western fringes of Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park. Originally a nomadic hunter gatherer community, the Olep were encouraged by the government to settle in Rukha in the early 1970s, so that they could benefit from the development initiatives that were taking place in the country. With no experience of settled living and their earlier means of living off the forest no longer available, the community fell into extreme poverty. This project has developed skills and encouraged a self-help ethos that has successfully helped the community recover and prosper. Originally focusing on the village of Rukha, the project has spread to 150 other villages across Bhutan. The project’s main aim was to empower the local community so that they could help themselves out of poverty. This was achieved through the key objectives such as awareness creation of the roles, rights and responsibilities of the community members and education of the children as well as non-formal adult literacy programs for the adults, among others. Besides Bhutan, the other nine entries are from Chile, Colombia, Malawi, Puerto Rico and United Kingdom. “For us, we see all the entries competent enough for the award. All are operating under different circumstances with their own fair share of challenges and therefore, have come up with innovative solutions involving the beneficiaries,” said Sonam Pem. “Through our experience, looking for funds to support disadvantaged communities and families with housing improvement has been most difficult, while it is a basic need. If we win this award, we hope to convince many donors, partners and supporters to support such initiatives especially housing improvement,” she said, “Through our dozen year of experience, we can validate that if people have a proper roof over their head, everything else will fall in place by itself, of course, with some facilitation.” Tarayana is currently replicating this model in 49 villages under the Rural Economy Advancement Programme (REAP) Phase II. The program is outsourced by the government through the Gross National Happiness Commission (GNHC) and is funded by the Government of India (GoI). An award of £10,000 is presented to each of the two winners. The winners will be announced in February and presented with their awards at Habitat lll in October 2016. Business Bhutan january 16, ‘16 editoria Our views & perspectives IS ELECTORAL APATHY SETTING IN? I t’s almost cliché to say Bhutan is a young democracy. Truth is, we are still in the early stages of the democratization process. Our democracy just completed its eighth year. We have had only two parliamentary elections so far. The second Local Government election has just begun, although slightly on a discouraging note, if poor participation and turnout at common forums, campaigns and zomdus is any indication. What is very unnerving is the fact that voters and constituents are almost indignantly refusing to exercise their right to participate in the electoral process, either in the nomination of candidates or in zomdus and common forums. These are vital democratic processes through which the constituents elect the most capable leader of their choice, and who by a long way is the most competent one. However, just the contrary has been happening at the ongoing Local Government elections. Some constituencies in Thimphu saw a handful of registered voters turn up, as pathetic as four or five, to nominate their candidates. The numbers weren’t impressive even during the common forum sessions. The situation has not been so different in other thromdes as well. There are many questions that beg honest answers. Why is this happening? What are the possible reasons? Could it be that voters are already fatigued by elections? Or are they not interested to participate in the electoral process, any more? Or is the poor response to be attributed for insufficient level of advocacy and voter education? Or worst still, are Bhutanese voters becoming apathetic to elections? Although there can’t be no single reason or cause why a group of voters just do not want to be part of an event that could affect their lives in many ways than they can ever fathom. And for certain, we possibly cannot be exhausted due to the last elections because it was held two and half years ago. There is a much deeper reason, and we must make efforts to understand these reasons so that we can come up with solutions. Democratic decisions such as elections require people’s participation. The more people participate to choose their leaders and government, the more reliable the decision becomes, and elected leaders and government enjoy greater legitimacy. That’s why democracy is the rule of the majority. And that’s why it is the responsibility of the Election Commission of Bhutan and also quite a number of civil society organizations that champion democracy to create greater level of awareness, understanding, and willingness among people to participate in elections. Looks like the Local Government election was a rushed event. The announcement of election dates was quickly followed by zomdus, common forums, and now debates are expected to begin. In a month’s time, three thromde elections in Gelephu, Phuentsholing and Thimphu would be completed. And we hope, there would be a good number of voters turning on the poll day. Let’s hope because not much has been done to prod and prompt people to vote. It is election season but there is hardly any media campaign and voter education in the media. It appears even the authorities conducting the election are not really interested! A young electorate can be easily dissuaded by politics, by fear, by apathy. We need to get into the core of these issues to make our democracy more vibrant, effective and progressive. Certainly, we have a long way to go! p06 Namgay ZAM To trolls, with Love I will do and say, as I please. You cannot force my hand. Do not politicise my choices or my actions. Unlike you, I have better things to do with my life than try and fit everything into tidy PDP and DPT boxes. You thought I was in the PDP camp during the elections. When I resigned from BBS immediately after, you became confused. “But, I thought she was…” Surprised you, didn’t I? I vote, yes. But the party I vote for will never influence the way I write or think. You see, I write when I am inspired or feel anger and sadness. I don’t write out of jealousy or pettiness. I write because I have a space you don’t. I earned it being myself- not someone’s daughter/ sister/ in-law, and definitely not by being a faceless coward attacking everyone with malice and contempt. Unlike you, I stand by every word I write or say. Not a single alphabet of mine is obsequious. I don’t care whether you are PDP or DPT. I have friends in both camps, and feel sorry for people in both camps too. I will not flog dead horses. Do not for a second think you will be able to draw me into facile political arguments by accusing me of bias. I am not biased the way you are with your blinkered (and oftentimes fake) Raybans and Guccis. I am biased when it comes to trolls, and humans who treat others as steps on a ladder. I feel nothing but pity for you. BTW, I reserve this emotion only for the hopeless. Congratulations on making it this far! I am surprised you have the patience to read more than half of my column. By now, you have already thought of several hideous tweets you will send my way, digging up what you perceive as “dirt” on me, and my family after you are done here. Bite me! Unlike you, I’m no political lapdog. Some of who you send me all this love, especially on Twitter are old enough to be my parents and yet are as spineless as you are faceless. I feel sorry for your children and younger siblings who look up to you. Some of you have faked those smiles at me, and have pretended to care about my well-being and work when all you want is for me to fail, and fall flat on my face. Unlike you, I am not afraid of failure or falling. My successes and failures are honest, and my own. Since you didn’t give them to me, you cannot take them away. All you can do is troll. What a life. Business Bhutan p.o box 1190 changzamtok, Thimphu Please send your opinions and commentaries to [email protected] or [email protected] The writer is a freelance journalist and currently a Humphrey fellow opinion I Business Bhutan january 16, ‘16 p07 YOUR VOICE MATTERS His mere presence on this Amala’s Gawa - IX earth shattered hypocrisy Luzee A message from Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche upon the passing of Chatral Rinpoche 5 Jan 2016: The passing of Chatral Sangye Rinpoche marks the end of an era. Suddenly we have lost a sentry who was zealously guarding the Buddhadharma in general, the Vajrayana in particular, and especially Tibetan Buddhism and the Nyingma lineage. The word chatral has the connotation of an ascetic yogi who abandons all. Usually names are given as labels. But in the one now passing into paranirvana, the name Chatral was not just a label. He was the epitome and embodiment of what the word chatral really means. In his long lifespan of more than 102 years, this is a man who did so much, associated with some of the greatest beings, and became master of the masters, including teaching and becoming the guru of the very man who found the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, who was known as Yongzin Gyaltsab Radreng Rinpoche. Yet this same man can barely boast a monastery, institute, or dharma centre. Around him, paraphernalia like gold-plated roofs and thrones are nowhere to be found. He was a Chatralin the true sense. But make no mistake: Many lamas like myself, who make the loudest noises, display the most jarring images, and travel every inch and corner of the world, have achieved next to nothing compared to this man who appears never to have done anything except for keeping his meditation mat from ever getting cold. And if he did manifest in action, this is the man who spent 99.99% of what he had rescuing the lives of animals. So for ignorant beings like us to try and express the great qualities of this enlightened being is like trying to measure the depth and width of the sky.And yet if I may express one thing from the little I have known of this man it is this: The Buddhadharma has so many challenges, including all the charlatans who do outright damage to the image of the Dharma. These may be overcome by those who seem to do the right thing, who appear serene, proper, and moral, and who never upset anyone. But that often leads us into another challenge that is harder to overcome. Because in doing things correctly, properly and morally, and in bearing the burden of not upsetting people, one ends up being the victim of political correctness and becoming hypocritical. In my limited life I have seen very few anti-hypocritical beings, and he was one of them. He meant business, there was no negotiation, and of course he never traded one single word of the dharma for money. Time and again, he refused to bow down to the mighty. He made a lot of us hypocritical beings shudder. Just knowing he was alive and breathing somewhere between Siliguri and Pharping made our hearts quake. Even though we never got to see him, especially towards the end of his life – and I myself was refused an audience 20 times or more – his mere presence on this earth shattered hypocrisy. To express our homage, veneration and supplication, may we disciples of this man keep in our lives the practice of freeing living beings, such as releasing fish, and especially so within this month. A child at home is the perfect reason to create new bonds and renew the existing ones. A child at home is the perfect time to acknowledge and thank your parents for their unconditional love and affection. A child at home is yet another moment for the everyone to revive forgotten moments and cherish the bonding that is renewed because of a common subject, the baby. Like I said, for a long time I have ceased to bear my own identity - because, the first thing anyone wants to know is “How is Lo-lo?” My parents who raised seven children of their own and now the fourth grandchild in line is never short of their energy. Just days after they heard about my pregnancy, they zoomed back to Thim-phu - all packed and eager to “stay home with the child”. Both in early late sixties (then), I felt bad to think of making them baby-sit. But honest, I couldn’t have trusted anyone else. First day at work…worried. Second day...little less worried. Third day...no worry at all… Note: Thank you Apa and Ama. Looking at the way you nurture our children, we realise how fortu-nate we are. And thanks for never trusting another soul near our children. After sometimes, everyone at home ceases to exist and there is only that little bundle of joy who keeps the fire of life on. When back from schools, my other three girls run against each other to reach to Lolo. Often, it was in unison, “Lolo!” and pairs of arms stretched to fill in the thin air! “I love my nieces and nephew like my own children; Now with my daughter my siblings behave as if they never had any children of their own.” I meant it, seriously meant it. I haven’t seen my siblings that excited before, despite being parents much earlier than me. They are more excited than me to witness Lolo’s growth, who is endlessly being showered with love, af-fection and blessings day in, day out. For the first time in my life, I realized I was capable of making others happy - through my daughter. Such a blessing, you know, to have a reason to look forward to tomorrow. A child at home is the ultimate wealth. It’s not only “Amala’s Gawa” alone but everyone’s. The writer is an avid blogger Business Bhutan provides this vital public space to citizens from cross section of the society to encourage free and frank debate, dialogue and discussion. Views and opinions expressed here are that of the writer. If you wish to contribute, please email your opinions, views, and commentaries to [email protected] or [email protected]. Business Bhutan january 16, ‘16 face2ecaf p08 Talking to one and many ‘No other neighbor of India can beat Bhutan in its commitment to New Delhi’ An independent freelance journalist based in New Delhi, India, Vishal Arora has travelled and reported widely for various international publications. He visits Bhutan regularly and is a well-known name in the Bhutanese media circle. He considers himself “a Bhutanese at heart”. Business Bhutan’s reporter Chencho Dema talks to him about his work, his love story with Bhutan and challenges that journalists face. Q. What is your role as an independent freelance journalist? Which publications have you worked for? Challenges and difficulties you encounter while reporting? I travel and cover life and politics in South and Southeast Asia, and beyond, for a number of media outlets, mostly in the U.S., the U.K. and Japan. I have been a journalist for about 13 years, and I have been published in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post, The Guardian, Nikkei Asian Review, The Diplomat, Bangkok Post, Asia Times among others. I have worked full-time as an editor with Indo-Asian News Service and as Features Editor with The Caravan. Dasho Karma Ura I’m very new to visual or multi-media, something that all journalists need to learn to survive in the years to come. Websites around the world now have videos complementing stories, and people generally like to watch news videos on their laptops or smartphones. As journalists, we need to share stories in the medium that today’s youth prefer, and that’s multi-media. I have been learning the skills involved, informally, from my journalist friends around the world, and, of course, also in Bhutan. Q. What are some of the notable stories you have covered about Bhutan? Vishal Arora My challenges have mostly to do with the quantum of work. I have more assignments than I can handle. So my plan is to write together, with a shared byline, with journalists in the countries I cover. Q. Tell us a little about your love story with Bhutan. I fell in love with Bhutan in January 2010, when I visited the country for the first time. I found the people of Bhutan to be exceptionally good at heart. For example, the day I was to depart for India, I realized i was short of money to hire a cab to reach the Paro airport. I didn’t carry enough cash while coming to Bhutan, hoping I would be able to use my credit or debit cards. When staff in my hotel in Thimphu came to know about it, they offered Nu.1,000, which must have been a substantial part of their monthly salary. They did so voluntarily, and despite knowing that I might never come back. That’s when I decided to visit Bhutan and cover it on a regular basis. Q. What do you have to say about the media scenario in Bhutan as compared to India or other countries? The challenges that Bhutanese media face may not be too different from press in the rest of the world. Generating advertising revenue, for example, is a global issue, and so are issues related to press freedom - be it laws restricting the right to the freedom of expression, or self-censorship, or the right to information. Laws might promise more rights elsewhere in the world, but they are generally not implemented in spirit, or a journalist is threatened with violence and other intimidations if they assert those rights. However, Bhutan’s situation is unique because dealing with challenges in the local context is not easy. Bhutan is a new democracy and activism is not part of the culture. I’m quite impressed with journalists here, as they have come a long way, in terms of the quality of journalism and the way they cover issues, since the birth of the private media before His Majesty introduced democracy. Most of them appear to be suffering financially, but they are staying the course. Q. You are now venturing into visual medium. How do you feel about this to-you- relatively new field? Tobgay. I don’t know if my stories have been notable, that’s for the readers to decide, but I have done quite a number of stories on Bhutan. The one that received a lot of response, both positive and negative, was for The Diplomat, in which I said that press freedom in Bhutan is not as bad as the world thinks. Of course, I have also enjoyed doing stories based on my interviews with both former Prime Minister Jigmi Y. Thinley and the incumbent Prime Minister Tshering Q. What do you feel about the whole Indo-Bhutan-China geopolitics in brief? India-Bhutan relations are quite unique in light of the India-China competition for regional influence. No other neighbour of India can beat Bhutan in its commitment to New Delhi. It’s such a contrast to what you find in Nepal, where the country’s relations with India generally depend on who at the helm of governance is. While it is in Bhutan’s interest not to make New Delhi insecure, India also needs to do its part, which is to value Thimphu’s commitment and loyalty, and reciprocate that with the acknowledgement of Bhutan’s sovereignty. Q. Any last words for Bhutanese journalists? Carry on with the good work. Diversify the source of revenue, or change the business model. For example, a news organization can have other small businesses to help finance its newspaper. Write for foreign media as well, and cover the South Asia region, and not just Bhutan. Start a news agency that is jointly owned by various newspapers, so that newspapers wouldn’t have to send reporters to cover every story. This will also help bridge the urban-rural coverage gap, as the news agency would be in a better position to cover rural areas. The agency can train local people in rural areas as reporters, and have a desk in Thimphu with good editors. The agency can also send news to media around the world, so that Bhutan gets more coverage in the international media - with stories that are explained well for a foreign reader but from Bhutan’s perspective. And above all, develop a thick skin while practicing internationally accepted ethics of journalism. Business Bhutan january 16, ‘16 green story p09 Environment, conservation and our future 2,782 households benefit from community forests An area of 22,034 acres is covered by the community forests in Trashigang Tshering Dorji from Trashigang Ever since the dzongkhag forestry sector handed over 49 community forests to the public of different gewogs in Trashigang, 2,782 households have been benefitted. An area of 22,034 acres is covered by the community forests in Trashigang. The Dzongkhag Forest Officer (DFO), Jigme Tsheltrim Wangyal said there are numerous benefits of community forest aligning with the principles of Gross National Happiness. For instance, by handing over community forests to the public, it is easier especially for the community to acquire timber as expenses are reduced and permit is given by the respective chairmen, of the community forests as compared to before when people had to travel to the dzongkhags to acquire timber. He also said that unlike government reserve forests, the community sells whatever resources they have or use the resources themselves while money will remain in the common community fund spurring economic development. The community elects a chairman, secretary and treasurer for the community forest which is related to good governance. The forest is based on sustainable management therefore it does not hamper the natural environment. “It is one tool to reduce poverty in the villages,” said the DFO. The dzongkhag will be handing over five new community forests to the people of Udzorong, Rangshikhar and Phongmey in June this year. Khaling and Udzorong have six community forests, the highest in number and the lowest number of community forests is in Sakteng with one. Merak does not have a community forest till date. Rongthung community forest chairperson, Sangtu said there are numerous benefits from community forest; for example, people will shoulder responsibility if there are some monetary incentives for caretakers. “If we could protect forests, than human wildlife conflict can be reduced and there will be no water shortage in the villages,” he said. In 2009, about 722 acres of forest were handed to the public in Trashigang . Now trees can be seen where there was barren land before. The minister for Works and Human Settlements, Lyonpo Dorji Choden while visiting Trashigang, said community forests have numerous benefits and people can avail its services nearby and faster. The community forest program is one of the regimes for forest management in Bhutan. The Social Forestry Division (SFD) under the Department of Forest and Parks Services (DoFPS), Ministry of Agriculture and Forests (MoAF), is the main government agency responsible for supporting the community forestry programs in all 20 dzongkhags of Bhutan. A community forest is managed by local people who are the traditional users of the forest, called the Community Forest Management Group (CFMG). On approval of a community forest management plan, the government provides community forest members the right to utilize forest products from their designated community forest in return for taking responsibility for its management and protection. The management plans, which are formulated by the community forest with the help of District Forestry Sector staff aand approved by the DoFPS form the basis for execution. This management plan act as an agreement between the community forest members and the government. dealing nation Business Bhutan january 16, ‘16 p10 When more is not merrier Parliamentarians and legal experts say instead of passing too many laws, Bhutan would do well by streamlining existing laws Chencho Dema from Thimphu In every session of Parliament, new bills are introduced and new Acts are passed. The irony is lawmakers themselves feel that there are to many laws, many defunct and obsolete. Today there are more than 200 plus laws in the country. The first law ever passed was Thrimzhung Chenmo in 1953. Parliamentarians fear that more laws and over legislating will only burden the country with unnecessary regulations and systems. “Passing a good law is necessary but passing too many laws is not. Many laws do more harm than good,” said a parliamentarian. A few parliamentarians Business Bhutan talked to said Bhutan has too many laws and it is rapidly approaching a point where the country would be swimming in a flood of legislations. Council Member from Samtse constituency, Sangay Khandu, who is also the Chairman for the Legislative Committee of National Council, said there are too many laws and some laws are not put in use. “We need to have quality laws. By legislating many laws, we may compromise the quality. Instead of passing new laws, we need to review and amend laws that we have in hand. Moreover we have to look at the cost factor while legislating and implementing,” he said. An Attorney with Bhutan Law Services, Younten Dorji, said for a small country with a small population, there are more laws than is necessary. “Having too many laws is not a solution to legal problems,” he said. He said there are some laws which people are neither aware of and nor implemented by the state. And some laws, eh added, are unreasonably severe. “For some offences where imprisonment is really unnecessary, our laws just provide it otherwise. This shows that our laws are more regressive than progressive. And as such it fails to achieve its greater objective,” he said. There are also instances where a particular offence is put under two different Acts, pointed out the private lawyer, which causes conflict and confusions. “We need laws that are more rational, uniform, just and practical, so that there will be more compliance and less violations. Enforcement will become far easier and it will be in a fair and uniform manner,” added Younten Dorji. Meanwhile Ugyen Wangdi of Dramedtse – Ngatshang constituency, also the former Chairman of Legislative Committee of National Assembly said many laws means many implementing agencies which in turn leads to redtapism in the system. “Too many laws not only complicate the system but it victimizes people who do not know about its existence and penalized for being breached due to lack of knowledge,” he added. The current Chairperson of the Legislative Committee of National Assembly, Lekey Dorji, however said he cannot say whether Bhutan has too many legislations. “In a parliamentary democracy, the basis for governance is the law enacted by the parliament. Where there is a lacuna, executive arm of the government may fill it in if it does not nullify the provisions of a law,” he said. He said it is simplistic to think that a small country may not require as many laws. “But as a sovereign independent country, we need all the systems in place just like big countries. All ministries and agencies work based on the provisions of the legislations pertaining to them, that is why we have RMA law, RAA law, Election law, ACC law, civil service law, Biodiversity law, OAG law, NA law, NC law, Lhengye Zhungtshog law, Judiciary law, and so on,” he said. The executive governs the country according to the laws and the judiciary adjudicates the laws, he added. “Small countries may not have complications that a large country has but we need written laws to ensure that the government executes things in a uniform way. Otherwise, the government of the day may execute things in ways that may solidify its hold and keep the minority parties away.” p11 dealing nation Business Bhutan january 16, ‘16 Avail electric fencing to tackle humanwildlife conflict: PM Lyonchhen is on a visit to 14 gewogs in Trashigang starting 12 January Tshering Dorji from Trashigang Human-wildlife conflict was one major issue that Lyonchhhen Tshering Tobgay touched upon while talking with the people in Yangnyer gewog at Trashigang on 14 January. Lyonchhen said that the communities are aware of the benefits of electric fencing and should avail it to tackle human-wildlife conflict. Lyonchhen Tshering Tobgay said that the government’s role is to provide electric fencing to the villagers at a subsidized rate and the people’s responsibility is to take advantage of it themselves or seek help from the gewog administration to install it. A km of electric fencing that is enough to cover three to four acres of land would cost about Nu 32,000. Only Durung village in Yangnyer has 18km of electric fencing. Apart from electric fencing, Lyonchhen said that to protect its water source, the government has kept apart Nu 70,000 for maintenance in response to Yangnyer Gup, Sonam’s concerns about Yangnyer being prone to drinking water shortage in winter. “I am happy to see that black topping of Yangnyer Gewog Center (GC) road is under progress,” he said adding that the government is spending Nu 51.9M for 18km of road and its black topping. He said that by 2017 the government will provide a power-tiller to every chiwog. In order to improve means of livelihood, Lyonchhen also suggested that villagers should avail the services of Business Opportunity and Information Center (BoIC). BoIC has approved 108 projects in Trashigang of which four projects are in Yangnyer. Meanwhile, people of Yangnyer gewog also shared their concerns regarding the need of an auction yard in Kanglung or in Khangma rather going to Samdrup Jongkhar, Minister-in-charge of Trashigang Dzongkhag, Lyonpo Dorji Choden who is accompanying Lyonchhen, said that farm shops aim to buy agricultural and dairy products from villagers and improve the quality of agricultural and dairy products in the villages. She said that in order to sell farm products in bulk, villagers are encouraged to form farmers’ groups. Lyonchhen also visited Phongmey on 13 January and shared that the construction of a bridge over the Yudhiri River in the gewog will begin next winter after a proper feasibility study. The construction of bridge will cost about Nu 41M. When Lyonchhen started his eastern visit with Bidung on 12 January, villagers raised concerns regarding the upcoming Gamrichu hydroelectric project in response to which Lyonchhen said that the government has already carried out geotechnical studies. The Prime Minister will be visiting 14 gewogs in Trashigang accompanied by Lyonpo Dorji Choden and cabinet secretary Kinzang Wangdi. འབྲུག་ཚོང་འབྲེལ། སྤྱི་ལོ་ ༢༠༡༦ སྤྱི་ཟླ་ ༠༡ པའི་སྤྱི་ཚེས་ ༡༦ རེས་གཟའ་ཉིམ། བཅའ་ཁྲིམས་ཚུ་ ག་དེམ་ཅིག་ སྒྲིང་སྒྲིང་ཡོད་རུང་ མཆོད་རྟེན་ཚུ་ སློངས་ཏེ་ར་ཡོདཔ། འབྲི་མི་་་་་ཡོན་ཏན་འཕྲིན་ལས། ༉ རྒྱལ་ཁབ་ནང་ མཆོད་རྟེན་བསྡོམས་ཀྱིས་༢༦༨༤ ཉམས་གསོ་ཞུ་ནིའི་དོན་ལུ་ གྲོས་འཆར་བཙུགས་ཡོད་མི་ ལས་ ད་ལྟོ་ མཆོད་རྟེན་༡༦༣༡ ཉམས་གསོ་ཞུ་ཚར་ཡོདཔ་ ད་ ལྷག་ལུས་མཆོད་རྟེན་ཚུ་ ད་རེས་ཀྱི་ཟླཝ་ནང་ མཇུག་ བསྡུ་དགོ་ནི་ཨིན་པས། ཉམས་གསོ་ཞུ་ནི་གི་ གྲོས་འཆར་བཙུགས་མི་ཚུ་གི་ གྲས་ལས་ བཀྲིས་སྒང་རྫོང་ཁག་ནང་ མཆོད་རྟེན་༨༤༧ ཉམས་གསོ་ཞུ་དགོཔ་ཡོད་མི་ལས་༨༢༧ ཉམས་གསོ་ ཞུ་ཚར་ཡོད་མི་དེ་ མཐོ་ཤོས་ཨིནམ་ད་ མོང་སྒར་རྫོང་ཁག་ ནང་ མཆོད་རྟེན་༤༨༥ དང་ ལྷུན་རྩེ་རྫོང་ཁག་ནང་༡༧༥ ཡོདཔ་ཨིན་པས། རྩི་རང་རྫོང་ཁག་ནང་ མཆོད་རྟེན་༤ ཉམས་གསོ་ཞུ་ནི་གི་ དོན་ལུ་ གྲོས་འཆར་བཙུགས་མི་དེ་ ཉུང་ཤོས་ཨིནམ་ད་ གསར་སྤང་ལུ་ མཆོད་རྟེན་༣༣ ཡོད་མི་ག་ར་ ཉམས་གསོ་ ཞུ་ཚར་ཡོདཔ་ཨིན་པས། གཞལམ་སྒང་ལུ་ མཆོད་རྟེན་༥༠ དང་ སྤུ་ན་ཁ་ལུ་ མཆོད་རྟེན་༦༧ དབང་འདུས་ཕོ་བྲང་ལུ་༡༣༩ ཀྲོང་གསར་ ལུ་༨༧ ཧཱ་ལུ་༦༨ བསམ་གྲུབ་ལྗོངས་མཁར་ལུ་༥༠ མགར་ས་ལུ་༡༡༠ ཆུ་ཁ་ལུ་༣༦ ཡོད་མི་ཚུ་ ད་ལྟོ་ ཉམས་ གསོ་ཞུ་ནི་གི་ལཱ་ཚུ་ མ་འབད་བར་ཡོདཔ་ད་ བསམ་རྩེ་ ལས་ ཉམས་གསོ་ཞུ་ནི་གི་ གྲོས་འཆར་ མེདཔ་ཨིན་པས། ལམ་སྲོལ་ལས་ཁུངས་ཀྱི་ ཅ་རྙིང་ཉམས་སྲུང་ལས་ཁུངས་ ཀྱི་ བཟོ་རིག་འགོ་དཔོན་ལས་རོགསཔ་ སངས་རྒྱས་ཀུན་ དགའ་གིས་ བཤད་དོ་བཟུམ་འབད་བ་ཅིན་ ཉམས་གསོ་གི་ ལཱ་ཚུ་ མ་དངུལ་མེདཔ་ལས་ མཇུག་བསྡུ་མ་ཚུགས་པར་ ཡོད་ཟེར་ཨིན་རུང་ ཉམས་གསོ་གི་ལཱ་ཚུ་ བློན་ཆེན་ ཚེ་རིང་ སྟབས་རྒྱས་མཆོག་གིས་ སྤྱི་ལོ་༢༠༡༤ སྤྱི་ཟླ་༡༡ པའི་ ནང་ བཀའ་གནང་པའི་ཤུལ་ལས་ར་ འགོ་བཙུགས་ཏེ་ ཡོད་ཟེར་ཨིན་པས། བཟོ་རིག་གཙོ་འཛིན་འགོ་དཔོན་ གནག་མཚོ་རྡོ་རྗེ་གིས་ བཤད་དོ་བཟུམ་འབད་བ་ཅིན་ མཆོད་རྟེན་ཚུ་ བདག་མེད་ སྦེ་ བཞག་ནི་དེ་གིས་ ཨར་རྐུན་འབད་མི་ཚུ་གིས་ཡང་ གོ་ སྐབས་ལེན་ཏེ་ འདུག་ཟེར་ཨིན་པས། མོ་གིས་ བཅའ་ཁྲིམས་ཚུ་ ག་དེམ་ཅིག་ སྒྲིང་སྒྲིང་སྦེ་ཡོད་ དེ་འབད་རུང་ བྱ་ངན་འབད་མི་ཚུ་གིས་ འབད་དེ་ར་ སྡོད་དོ་ ཡོདཔ་ད་ ནང་རྟེན་ཚུ་གི་སྐོར་ལས་ ཁ་གསལ་ཚུ་ཡང་ ག་ ནི་ཡང་མིན་འདུག་ཟེར་ཨིན་པས། མོ་གིས་ མཆོན་རྟེན་སློངས་མི་གི་དཀའ་ངལ་དེ་ མི་སྡེ་གི་ དཀའ་ངལ་གཙོ་བོ་ཅིག་ལུ་ འགྱུར་ཡོད་པའི་ཁར་ མི་ཚུ་ལུ་ གོ་བརྡ་སྤྲོད་ནི་དེ་ཡང་ ལཱ་ཁག་འདུག་ཟེར་ཨིན་པས། བྱ་ངན་འབད་མི་ཚུ་ མང་སུ་ཐོན་མི་ལུ་བརྟེན་ ནང་རྟེན་ ཚུ་ རྩིས་ས་གི་ནང་ནང་ བཙུགས་ནི་གི་སྐོར་ལས་ ཐབས་ ཤེས་ཚུ་ བཏོན་ཡོད་རུང་ མེདཔ་འགྱོ་ནི་གི་ ཉེན་ཁ་ཡོདཔ་ ལས་ འབད་མ་ཚུགས་པར་ཡོདཔ་ད་ ལ་ལུ་གིས་ མཆོད་ རྟེན་ཚུ་ནང་ སྲུང་རྒྱབ་དང་ འཕྲུལ་ཆས་ སི་སི་ཀེམ་ར་ཚུ་ བཙུགས་ནི་གི་ ཐབས་བྱུས་ཚུ་ཡང་ བཏོན་དགོཔ་སྦེ་ སླབ་ ཡོད་རུང་ འབད་མ་ཚུགས་ཟེར་ གནག་མཚོ་རྡོ་རྗེ་གིས་ བཤད་ཅི། མོ་གིས་ དཀའ་ངལ་དེ་ལུ་ ག་དེ་སྦེ་ འབད་ནི་ཨིན་ན་ལུ་ ལཱ་ཚུ་འབད་བའི་བསྒང་ཡོདཔ་ད་ དུས་ཅིག་ལོ་མཇུག་བསྡུ་ ཁམས་ལུ་ ས་ཆ་ལྷན་ཚོགས་དང་གཅིག་ཁར་ མཆོད་རྟེན་ ཚུ་གི་ ས་ཁྲ་ཚུ་ཡང་ བཟོ་ཚར་འོང་ཟེར་ཨིན་པས། སྤྱི་ལོ་༢༠༡༥ ལོའི་ ཟླཝ་གསུམ་གྱི་ནང་འཁོད་ལུ་ མཆོད་ རྟེན་༤༨ སློངས་ཡོདཔ་ད་ ལྷ་ཁང་གསུམ་ལས་ ཨར་རྐུན་ ཤོར་ཡོདཔ་ད་ རྒྱལ་ཁབ་ནང་ མཆོད་རྟེན་བསྡོམས་ཀྱིས་ ༡༠,༠༠༠ དེ་ཅིག་ ཡོདཔ་ཨིན་པའི་གནས་ཚུལ། Royal Government of Bhutan Dagana Dzongkhang Administration Gozhi Gewog NATIONAL COMPETITIVE BIDDING Ref: GOZHI/12/2016/109 INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB) 1. The Gewog Administration, Gozhi, Dagana Dzongkhag invites bids for the construction of works detailed in the table. The bidders may submit bids for any or all of the following works, for the package or for any of the slices. Sl.no Name Of work Bid security Estimate Amount based (Nu) on Gelephu rate 1 Construction of Permanent works at Dogak Farm Road Gozhi Gewog, Dagana 40,000.00 20,00,000.00 Contractor Category Duration (months) Small (W3) 05 five 2. A complete set of Bidding Documents in English can be downloaded from the Dzongkhag website www.dagana.gov.bt or www. cdb.gov.bt from 6/1/2016 to 6/2/2016, pay a non-refundable fee of Nu.200.00 in cash to the Gewog Administration, Gozhi, Dagana during submission of bids. 3. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security of listed above in table, drawn in favor of Gup Gozhi, Gewog, Dagana. Bid security will have to be in any one of the forms as specified in the bidding document and shall have to be valid for 30 days beyond the validity of the bid. 4. Bids must be delivered to Gewog Office Gozhi on or before 10.AM on 8/2/2016 and will be opened on the same day at 10:30 AM, in the presence of the bidders who wish to attend. 5. Interested Bidders may obtain further information from Dzongkhag Engineering Office at Tel.No.481153 during office hours or from Gewog Administration Gozhi, contract No. 17634882. Gup,Gozhi Dzongkhag Administaration Samdrup Jongkhar Engineering Sector “Towards Quality Infrastructure” SDA/DES-16/2015-2016/3780 NOTICE INVITING TENDER The Dzongkhag Administration, Samdrup Jongkhar invites seal bids from eligible and qualified bidders registered with construction Development of Board for the following works. Sl.No Name of Work Category Contrast Period (Months) Download Last Date & Opening Time for Bid Date & Time Submission of Tender 1 Construction of 200 (two hundred) feet span Double Double Reinforced Bailey Bridge at Phokcheri Farm Road under Serthi Geog of Jamotshangkha Drungkhag Large W1 12 (Twelve) months 18/01/2016 On or before 18/02/2016 at 10:00AM 18/02/2016 at 10:30 AM EMD (Nu) Estimated Amount (Nu.) 315000 15.75 M 2. Interested eligible bidders may download a complete set of bidding documents from the Dzongkhag web site www. samdrupjongkhar.gov.bt or www.ema.bt. Electronic bidding shall not be permitted. . Bids must be delivered to the Dzongkhag Engineering Sector on above mentioned date and time. . Bids must be accompanied by a bid security of fixed amount. . Interested bidders must visit the site of familiarize the site condition prior to filling of the bids. . Participating in other’s license shall not be entertained. Chairman Dzongkhag Tender Committee AD Business Bhutan, jan 16, ‘16 Gewog Admimnistration Semjong, Tsirang GA/semjong-14/2015-2016/162 NOTICE INVITING QUOTATION The Gewog Administration, Semjong Dzongkhag, Tsirang invites sealed quotation from eligible and Bhutanese qualified license holder for hiring of following vehicle and machineries. SL.No Type of Vehicle Period of Hiring Remarks 1 Excavator PC 200 or equivalent with rock breaker 2015-2016 Including all types of fuel, lubricants, to & fro transportation, all type of repairs and mtc. of excavator, operator/driver expenses, accommodation at site for staffs etc 2 Tripper Truck 2015-2016 -do- 3 Compressor with all necessary items like jackhammer, drill rods of different length, hosepipe etc, including operator and skilled jackhammer operators 2015-2016 -d0- 1. Bidding will be conducted throughout the National competitive Bidding procedure specified in the RGoB Procurement manual and is open to all Bidders 2. Interested eligible bidders may obtain further information from the office of Semjong Gewog , Tsirang Dzongkhag Ph# 17919549 during Office hours. 3. The complete set of Bidding Documents in English may be down loaded from Tsirang Dzongkhag website www.tsirang.gov.bt with effect from 18th January, 2016 till 1st February, 2016 .The bidder should deposit Nu.200.00 as registration fee to during the submission of bids. 4. Bids must be delivered to the office of Gup, Gewog Administration, Semjong Tsirang Dzongkhag on or before 10.30AM on 02/02/2016. Electronic bidding shall not be permitted. Late bids will be rejected. Bid will be opened physically in presence of the bidder’s representatives who choose to attend in person at Gewog Office on the same day of submission on the dated 02/02/2016 at 11.00 AM. 5. All bids shall be accompanied by bid security of Nu.25000.00 in favour of Gup Semjong, Tsirang and should valid 30 days beyond the bid validity. Gup Gewog Administration Semjong: Tsirang Respect, Educate, Nurture and Empower Women (RENEW) P.O. Box 1404 Lower Motithang, Thimphu RENEW/MFP/2016/284 VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT RENEW is pleased to announce the vacancy for the post of Field Officers in microfinance project. The place of posting will be either at Dagana, Bumthang, Trongsa, Trashigang, Tsirang, and Samtse. Criteria: i. XII passed with min 60% and above. ii. Creativity, flexibility and highly motivated. Requirements: i. Curriculum Vitae ii. Copy of CID card iii. Copy of academic transcript (X&XII) iv. Security clearance certificate v. Medical fitness certificate vi. No objection certificate from current employer (if currently employed) Interested candidates fulfilling the above criteria may submit their applications along with the documents latest by January 30/1/ 2016 Shortlisted candidates will be informed through phone for the selection for interview. Further information, please contact at 02-335077during office hour. State Trading Corporation of Bhutan Ltd. STCB/HRAS/3/2015/171 ANNOUNCEMENT State Trading Corporation of Bhutan Limited invites applications from eligible candidates interested in taking up the position of Deputy General Manager. For details on criteria and other information, please visit STCB website www.stcb.bt or contact DGM, HRAS at toll free #194 during office hours. Management dealing you For any design work contact us Editorial: +975-2-339906 Email: [email protected] Marketing: +975-2-339904 / 17994447 Email: [email protected] Fax: 339882 AD Business Bhutan, jan 16, ‘16 Royal Government of Bhutan Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan Thimphu RMA/ADM-44/2015-16/2508 NOTICE INVITING TENDER The Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan invites sealed bids from the interested Bhutanese National contractors having valid trade licence and registered with CDB for the construction of the security outpost. A complete set of bidding document can be purchased by the eligible bidders on payment of Nu.300.00 (non-refundable) from the Adm. & Finance Department from January 18 to February 7, 2016 during office hours. The bids must be delivered to the office Director, Adm. & Finance Department on or before 12:00 noon on February 8, 2016 and will be opened on same date at 2:30pm. Director Adm. & Finance Department Royal Government of Bhutan Phuentsholing Thromde NATIONAL COMPETETIVE BIDDING (NCB) PT/ADM-(06)/2015-2016/2794 INVITATIONS OF BIDS (IOB) The Phuentsholing Thromde is pleased to invite bids from the eligible class “L” (Large) category of contractors registered with Construction Development Board (CDB) under W3 category for the following works; : Extension of Thromde Office Building, Phuentsholing Thromde. The Tender document is under sale from 18/01/2016 till 16/02/2016 during office hours; the submission of Tender is on 17/02/2016 till 12:00 Noon and will be open on same day at 2:30 PM. For details & and further information please visit www.pcc.bt or www.cdb.gov.bt.or contact procurement section at 05-251018/05251915/05-252169 during office hours. Executive Secretary The Textile Museum Thimphu, Bhutan Ref: TM/DoC/MoHCA/ADM/2015/-162 NOTICE INVITING TENDER The Textile Museum, DoC, MoHCA invites sealed item rate from eligible Trader /Enterprises bidders registered for execution of following works: Sl.No Name of Work 1 Furniture’s & Fixtures for Craft Gallery. Chubachhu, Thimphu Category Contract EMD(NU) Cost of Period document (Nu) Traders 2Month 100000/- 500/- Sale of Tender 8/01/2016 Date of Date & Time submission of Opening 08/02/2016 08/02/2016 at 2:30pm The EMD must be delivered in favour of Chief Curator, The Textile Museum. For further information, please contact the Administrative Officer at Phone No # 321516/321518 during office Hours. (Tshering Uden Penjor) Chief Curator ADVERTISE WITH Kuzuzangpo The Inflight Magazine for Bhutan Airlines la r SALES & CLIENT MANAGEMENT MARKETING MANAGER DAWA DEMA -77456774 MARKETING EXECUTIVE Sonam DENKAR - 77619898 & KHANDU OM - 17441203 OFFICE no. +975-2-339904 fax no. +975-2-339882 Email: [email protected] dealing you NATION’S FIRST FINANCIAL NEWSPAPER AD Business Bhutan, jan 16, ‘16 Business Bhutan january 16, ‘16 p16 mybiz international/ Local succeSs stories Thimphu Comics launches Bhutanese comic book Pema Seldon from Thimphu Thimphu Comics, one of the first comic studios in Bhutan owned by Pema Tshering and his team launched its first comic book “Garpa: The Attendant” on Thursday at Voluntary Artists’ Studio Thimphu (VAST). The comic book tells a fictional story based on the legendary character of Garpa Lunghi Khorlo, who was a messenger during one of the early Penlop’s time. The character was believed to run as fast as the “wheels of the wind.” “We have been working on this book for almost two years. It is not the first comic book from Bhutan, but perhaps one of the first which has been privately funded and produced, without any official support. We are all very excited,” said Pema Tshering. Pema Tshering better known by his pen name Tintin, has been working as an artist and illustrator for more than 10 years. He learnt art under the guidance of Asha Kama, the founder of VAST, and the other founders. He started as a founding member of VAST when he was just 13 years old. He worked on many different projects, sometimes his own, and sometimes commissioned. An ardent comic book reader, he was named Tintin because as a child he resembled the comic book character Tintin. “I love comics, and grew up reading them. I loved all the comic stories from Japan, USA, and around the world,” says the 30- year-old Tintin who also does paintings, illustrations, logo designs, and have recently started to explore sculpture as well. As a comic lover, he believes comics are a powerful medium of storytelling. “I felt the need for local comics that could tell stories of our own heroes and legends. We have so many stories, but we sometimes forget or never even know them as they lack a modern medium,” he said. Pema Tshering an artist found many Bhutanese stories that have rich visual potential and he wanted to create a platform for local artists to explore this. He and his team are publishing the first round of 1,000 copies. “If these sell well, we will publish more,” he said. With 100 pages, the book will be sold at Nu 500 per copy and it will be available in bookstores across Bhutan. To publish the comic book has not been an easy task for them; they faced funding challenges but it didn’t stop them from forging their way ahead. They raised money using an online campaign on Indigogo. “We did try to get some official funds, but it didn’t work out. However the support we got through this campaign was very touching and appreciated. There were many people we never even met, from around the world who supported the comic. And within Bhutan there were many individuals who contributed, and this support has made this publication possible,” he said. Since this kind of comic book has not been produced in Bhutan before, they had to form their own creative process and model and trained themselves. They are a team which is self-taught and learnt as they worked. This was another challenge they faced. According to Pema Tshering, artists in Bhutan need a lot more support. Young artists are full of energy and vision, and need gainful opportunities to channel their artistic endeavors. “VAST has been a huge platform for young artists, and continues to grow, and I think if more support comes to VAST, then we are already on the right path,” he said. The next step for the team is to keep producing comics through their comic studio, Thimphu Comics. “We have a great team, and we also hope to expand our team, and give more opportunities to young artists and illustrators. Thimphu Comics team hopes to start a comic culture in the country,” he said. p17 dealing nation Business Bhutan january 16, ‘16 Plans to map chortens to prevent vandalism It is estimated that there are more than 10,000 chortens across the country Yenten Thinley from Thimphu The Department of Culture under the Ministry of Home and Culture Affairs and the National Land Commission would be working together to map all the chortens that dot the country’s landscape. As of now, it is estimated that there are over 10,000 chortens across the country. Speaking to Business Bhutan, the Chief Architect at the Department of Culture, Nagtsho Dorji said, “We will be working together with Land Commission to map the chortens and by end of this year; we should be able to figure out how many chortens are there across the country”. She said since many chortens are located in farflung areas and some are abandoned because of which they are prone to vandalism. “Despite the existence of strict laws, chorten vandalism has become a social issue. Culprits have become bold and materialistic,” she added. Little knowledge exists on nangtens as there are no proper documentations. “Different ideas were proposed to deal with the issues of vandalism like covering the nangtens with cement and iron but due to humidity the nangtens are prone to decay and nangtens are the main essence of a chorten,” said the Chief Architect. In 2015, 48 chortens were vandalized and three Lhakhangs burgled. One of the suggestions was to install CCTV around chortens and the other was to have security guards to guard the chortens. ‘Both are likely to be possible,” said Nagtsho Dorji. Although the police did not reveal exact figures of vandalized chortens, a total of 2,684 chortens across the country were proposed for renovation, of which 1,631 have already been renovated. The remaining chortens would be renovated by mid of January this year. Trashigang dzongkhag had proposed the highest number of chortens for renovation with 847 chortens, of which 827 chortens have already been renovated. Mongar and Lhuntse proposed 485 and 172 chortens for renovation respectively. 175 chortens have been renovated in Mongar so far while all chortens in Lhuntse have been renovated. The renovation of chortens in Zhemgang (50), Punakha (67), Wangdue Phodrang (139), Trongsa (87), Haa (68), Samdrup Jongkhar (50), Gasa (110) and Chukha (36), has not started yet. The Assistant Architect of Division for Conservation of Heritage Sites, Department of Culture, Sangay Kinga, said the renovation work could not be started because of lack of finance. Renovation works on chortens started following prime minister’s order in 11 November 2014. Rongthong Dairy Group doing tidy business The dairy group has seen a rise in members with only 12 in 2012 to 32 as of 2015 Tshering Dorji from Trashigang Rongthung dairy group is one of the several cooperatives in Trashigang that is doing pretty well since its inception three years back. The dairy group has seen a rise in members with only 12 in 2012 to 32 as of 2015. The group which usually supplies milk to Kanglung residents is running successfully, according to the chairperson of the Rongthung dairy group, Sangtu. He said that the group has plans to supply milk to Trashigang and expand to nearby places when it generates more income and the right marketing ploys are in place. Right now, limited supply of milk is hampering the business. The dairy group collects about 80l of milk during winter and in summer he collects about 120l to 130l of milk and supplies it to his customers in Kanglung. In winter, the number of customers decreases as most of them comprise Sherubtse students and lecturers who go home on vacation so he also makes butter and cheese from surplus milk. Sangtu said that the dairy group maintains high levels of hygiene in their working place. “The regional livestock official in Kanglung visits our dairy group office to check the standards of milk; they also check on the cattle thrice a year.” He feels that the government has helped the group members a lot in their efforts but to encourage more people to do such kind of business, the government should provide additional incentives like financial assistance. “Initiatives like this will help curtail rural to urban migration” Sangtu said adding that to sustain the business the members are collecting a seed amount of Nu. 150 annually. However, Rongthung dairy group is in need of a well-secured building for their operations as it has suffered several cases of robbery. The dairy group pays Nu.28 per liter while collecting milk and sells it at Nu.40 per liter. Nu.1 per liter is set aside for the group as contribution fees and the rest of the profit makes up the salaries for the workers and chairperson while also contributing to maintenance charges. market, Stock & weather Business Bhutan january 16, ‘16 STOCK indexes weather forecast Trading days - Mon | Wed | Fri 21 Listed Companies as on 15th Januaary 2016 16th January 2016 SYMBOL O H L C V BBPL 10 10 10 10 1000 BCCL 75 75 75 75 300 BFAL 60 60 60 60 0 BNBL 29 29 29 29 2520 BPCL 10 10 10 10 0 BTCL 40 40 40 40 3200 DFAL 24 24 24 24 7000 DPNB 20.61 22 20.5 20.5 4940 DPOP 20 20 20 20 0 DSCL 30 30 30 30 0 DWAL 38 38 38 38 10000 EBCC 40 40 40 40 1000 JMCL 71 71 71 71 450 KCL 12 12 12 12 4320 PCAL 57 60 60 60 1500 RICB 37.6 40 40 40 7500 STCB 20 17.2 17.2 17.2 85500 TBL 13 14 14 14 410 BIL 21.75 22 22 22 13680 DPL 19 19 19 19 330 GBRL 12 12 12 12 5000 BBPLBCCLBFALBNBLBPCLBTCLDFAL- Bhutan Board Products Limited Bhutan Carbide & Chemicals Limited Bhutan Ferro Alloys Limited Bhutan National Bank Limited Bhutan Polymers Company Limited Bhutan Tourism Corporation Limited Druk Ferro Alloys Limited DPNBDPOPDWALEBBCJMCLKCLPCAL- Druk PNB Bank Limited Druk Plaster And Chemicals Limited Druk Wang Alloys Limited S.D. Eastern Bhutan Coal Company Limited Jigme Mining Corporation Limited Kuensel Corporation Limited Penden Cement Authority Limited OHLC (O-Open | H- High | L- Low | C- Close | V- Vol) DSCLRICBLSTCBLTBLBILDPLGBRL- Druk Satair Corporation Limited Royal Insurance Corporation of Bhutan Limited State Trading Corporation of Bhutan Limited T Bank Limited Bhutan Insurance Limited Dungsam Polymers Limited GIC-Bhutan Re Limited SOURCE: ROYAL SECURITIES EXCHANGE OF BHUTAN p18 Thimphu Max: 16 °C Min: -1 °C Chhukha Max: 15 °C Min: 4 °C Paro Max: 12 °C Min: -2 °C Trashigang Max: 18 °C Min: 5 °C Haa Max: 11 °C Min: -6 °C Monggar Max: 17 °C Min: 6 °C Gasa Max: 10 °C Min: -5 °C T/Yangtse Max: 15 °C Min: 2 °C Bumthang Max: 12 °C Min: -3 °C Lhuentse Max: 21 °C Min: 8 °C Trongsa Max: 14 °C Min: -1 °C Sarpang Max: 23 °C Min: 12 °C Wangdue Max: 19 °C Min: 4 °C S/Jongkhar Max: 20 °C Min: 9 °C Punakha Max: 20 °C Min: 8 °C Samtse Max: 21 °C Min: 10 °C Dagana Max: 14 °C Min: 2 °C Pemagatshel Max: 16 °C Min: 6 °C Zhemgang Max: 13 °C Min: 5 °C Phuentsholing Max: 24 °C Min: 11 °C Source: Meteorology Division, DHMS, MoEA, Hotline : 339673 Local Market Prices Phuentsholing Auction Prices Commodity Unit Maximum Minimum White Potato (Small) kg 12.70 6.00 Red Potato (Small) kg 25.95 22.40 White Potato (Medium) kg 20.00 2.20 Red Potato (Medium) Kg 23.60 17.60 Potato (White) kg 7.60 4.20 Potato (Red) Kg 24.05 22.50 International Prices Global Commodity Price Commodity Unit Price Orange Kg 43.21 Barley Kg 9.10 Wheat Kg 13.33 Maize Kg 12.12 Rice Kg 26.17 Commodity Unit Price Orange Kg 24.85 Apple Kg 50.75 Rice Kg 20.25 Maize Kg 14.00 Wheat Kg Indian Commodity Price 17.00 SOURCE: DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL MARKETING AND COOPERATIVES p19 dealing nation Business Bhutan january 16, ‘16 from page one Central bank region alone followed by Phuentsholing region (2, 518), Gelephu region (592), Samdrup Jongkhar region (234) and Mongar region (337). According to the National Accounts Statistics 2015, the number of vehicles imported over the years has gradually increased from 54, 943 in 2010 to 69, 602 in 2014, registering 26.7% increase. There was also a corresponding increase in the import of fuel. On an average, fuel import grew by around 9.19% from 2011 to 2014. Of the total import, diesel constituted about 80%. Speaking to Business Bhutan, RMA Governor Dasho Penjore said as everybody, the central bank is also concerned over the increasing rate of import of vehicle since it will have a huge impact on the INR reserve as well as consumption of the general public. “It is a mere concern but it has nothing to do with policy change,” said the Governor. However the RMA is closely monitoring the growth in imports and also watching how the banks are lending in the transport sector. The central bank also plans to conduct a study on the impact of increasing vehicle imports on INR reserve and based on the observations from the study, RMA will impose some measures if there are unusual trends. The RMA Governor however said it would be difficult to stop people from buying cars because it has become a necessity, unless the government comes up with alternative transport system that is efficient. “People’s need has to be met and people’s need cannot be contained by fiscal or monetary measures. In fact it will create more distortion,” added Dasho Penjore. “People will buy any way even if they have to pay tax.” Since all the banks adhere to sector limits, the central bank hasn’t seen any reason to impose policy restrictions. “At the same time, banks should be mindful of the debt how much they can lend in the transport sector and they should be mindful of default cases in the transport sector,” said the Governor. He added that the central bank is letting the banks function on their own and make their own prudent judgment on how much they should lend and how much they should invest in the portfolio. “As long as banks are giving loans to purchase Indian cars, there is no question of not availing rupee. We have to provide rupees since we have free trade agreement with India,” said Dasho Penjore. Last year, the banks gave out a substantial amount of transport loans. Bhutan National Bank (BNB) sanctioned vehicle loans for heavy, light, and commercial vehicles for 954 accounts worth Nu 483M last year. In 2014, Bank of Bhutan (BoB) financed transport loans for noncommercial vehicles for 30 accounts worth around Nu 20.5M in 2014. Similarly for 25 commercial vehicle loans amounting to Nu 51M and 20 vehicle loans to government employee amounting to Nu 5.9M were sanctioned in 2014. From January till March last year, BoB financed transport loans for noncommercial vehicle for 15 accounts amounting to Nu 6mn. BoB sanctioned three commercial vehicle loans amounting to Nu 2.5M and Nu 8.8M vehicle loans to 14 government employees. The Chief Executive Officer of Druk Punjab National Bank, Mr. Mukesh Dave, said last year the bank financed only about six to seven transport loans. “We do not sanction transport loans of quota for the third party,” he said. He refused to reveal the figures. Bhutan Development Bank Limited financed Nu 486M worth of transport loans to 1,277 accounts while T-Bank financed Nu 48.53M worth of loans to 87 accounts last year. the common forum for the upcoming thromde elections as expected. “We have been conducting awareness programs like voter education programs to inform people. It is their duty as well as their right to come and participate for the larger interest of the nation,” he said. However, Sonam Tobgay said people will come to vote during the poll day because they feel it will have repercussions at the end of the day. The President of Bhutan Kuen-Nyam party, Sonam Tobgay, said low voter turnout for the common forum may result in people voting for less competent candidates. However, he said understanding elections is uncertain and most prefer to remain non-committal. “The Thimphu Thrompon election can be made more exciting if the municipal authority is granted more autonomy in the area of fiscal sources and volumes of proceeds but other thromdes have a very low tax base and will be centrally driven,” he said. A media consultant feels that during the local government elections in 2011, voters attributed less significance to the local government elections as compared with the parliamentary elections and this could be the reason for low voter turnout. There are more players in terms of political candidates and supporters for the parliamentary elections so naturally, it draws more people participation as opposed to a lone thrompon or thuemi candidate and a handful of supporters they attract. However, some feel election apathy could be exclusive to Thimphu since the incumbent is seen as a strong contender likely to beat the polls. News is already out in places like Bumthang that there are a good number of aspiring thrompon candidates coming forward for the elections to be held in the coming months. Seeing that Bhutanese women voter participation and representation in political bodies has always been comparatively lower to men, the Director of Bhutan Networking for Empowering Women, Phuntshok Chhoden, said women make up 50-51% of the population but their representation in the highest decision making bodies in the country is extremely low at the moment. In the Parliament of Bhutan, there are six women representatives and only four of them were elected by the people of Bhutan. Likewise, in the 2011 Local Government election, only one female Gup or Chairperson was elected alongside 204 male Gups. The overall representation of women in LGs stands at 7%(104/1,454). Phuntshok Chhoden feels leadership roles have always been played by men and society is used to it. “Women have always stayed home and been the homemaker and never launched themselves in the public arena either as active participants or as leaders. With time and experience, men have gleaned the required knowledge, skills and confidence which women lack especially confidence which holds them back from participating to gain the necessary skills and knowledge!,” she said. Prevailing mindsets are also such that people have less confidence and faith in women which further discourages women with low self image from coming forward. Combined with low literacy levels among women, limited mobility, poor exposure and heavy work burden due to the reproductive and domestic responsibilities, women are handicapped as compared to men. “Through concerted efforts of everyone to educate, empower, nurture and groom women to take on leadership roles in society, changes will take place,” she said. Panbang MP Dorji Wangdi said, “the Election Commission should strategize better and work harder to enthuse the public for better public participation”. from page one poor voter turnout which is 50.76% of the total registered voters. For tshogpas, the total registered voters were 7,137 and the voter turnout was 3,630; 50.8% of the total registered voters. Officiating Director for the Department of Electoral Registration and Delimitation, Sonam Tobgay, said the reason for the low public participation could be voter apathy. He said voters feel that they do not have direct benefits from the whole electoral process and therefore they are disinterested. “We are also facing financial challenges. We are not getting enough budget from the government for voter education. The government feels it is not very important to stress on voter education,” said Sonam Tobgay. However, he said it is the people’s right to vote and attend common forums. He also said that despite their communication to the general public, somehow people did not turn up for Publisher: Business Bhutan Pvt. Ltd. | P.O.Box:1190, Changzamtok, Thimphu, Bhutan | Reg. no: U20090914TH10235 | Chief Editor: Kinley Tshering | Managing Editor: Peky Samal Editorial: +975-2-339906 Email: [email protected] | Marketing: +975-2-339904 / 17994447 Email: [email protected] Fax: 339882 | Finance: 3+975-2-339905 | Circulation: 17766554 | Printer: Lhazeen Printers