The government completed its 120 days on March 7. Prime Minister during meet the press session shared that from the 25 pledges in 120 days, the government fulfilled most of the pledges. He said, the 120 days is to kick-start and begin and not to complete the pledges.
The government officially took over the cabinet on November 7 last year.
The government stated that except for a few, it has kept almost all 25 pledges and the rest are being pursued. Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering informed that considering the relevance of the pledges, the pledges have been divided among the ministries.
“We have been focusing on doing what is right and not just what is popular. And 120-day pledge, we identified some 25 events mainly to give us the drive should we win the election and form the government. We wanted a reason for us to be pushing from day one.”
From the 25 pledges, the government established a tourism development board and private sector development board, instituted a fourth pay commission, removed the cut-off point for class X, did away with Saturday classes in schools and met with taxi tshogpa to address issues facing them.
Foreign Minister Dr Tandi Dorji said while the progress may not seem concrete but they worked as they pledged.
“It’s all about initiating. So by our count, we have more or less addressed all 25 pledges. Whether it is fully functional or not, some of them are in process. But there is no doubt that this government has worked very hard on ensuring that all these pledges are fulfilled.”
Meanwhile, the government has mandated the Gross National Happiness Commission (GNHC) to come up with a draft of the country’s long term vision. Dialogue has started to establish a dedicated water agency that will ensure drinking water and irrigation for all by 2021.
The prime minister’s office will have a flagship program for stray dogs and waste management. The home ministry is working on establishing tshogpa’s office in the gewogs. However, only tshogpas who lives far away from the gewog offices would get the office.
There will be no examinations for classes PP-III from next year and for classes four and five, it would be removed from the following years. However, the common exam for class six remains. And beginning this year, teachers will be trained for formative assessment of students.
Agriculture, Labour and Education Ministries are working on the sonam gongphel project. Prime Minister said there would be at least one farming cooperative in every gewog to cater to the needs of everyone. He added, from the 25 pledges, the government will prioritize water and sonam gongphel projects.
“These two projects are what I am more excited about and of national concern. The biggest problem we have is unemployment and the best avenue to solve this problem is through agriculture. We can also do away with importing food items,” Prime minister said.
The government is also reviewing policies on national youth and recruitment of domestic workers.
