Some members of the National Council questioned the Finance Minister as to why the Framework Agreement between Bhutan and the European Investment Bank (EIB) was tabled as an Urgent Bill in the current session. The Finance Minister introduced the Framework Agreement as an urgent bill to the National Council today.
The Finance Minister said that signing the framework agreement will give Bhutan access to new concessional financing opportunities to meet the increasing developmental financing needs. Lyonpo said it will also give the country more financing options after graduation from the Least Developed Countries’ category.
However, some members asked if the government is planning to borrow money from the European Investment Bank to cover up the deficit by tabling the framework agreement as an urgent bill.
“The Finance Minister said the government is worried about the fiscal surplus, not the deficit. So my concern is if the government is not facing a worst-case scenario, then why should the EIB framework be an urgent bill this time?” asked Ugyen Namgay, the Member of Parliament (MP) of National Council from Haa.
“Is the government taking advantage of the five years’ grace period to burden the next government since the government need not pay within the five years?” Gasa’s MP Dorji Khandu asked.
However, Finance Minister Namgay Tshering said it’s not to make up the deficit for the 2021-2022 financial year. Lyonpo also said there is an immediate need to cover the expenses incurred due to the pandemic.
“In terms of growth, the country suffered Nu 4bn due to the COVID-19. So in order to stabilize the economy, we need to invest around Nu 4bn besides the capital budget investment,” Lyonpo said.
The Finance Minister added that the Framework Agreement was deliberated in the parliament in 2015 but was objected by the National Council reasoning that it was not consistent with the country’s external commercial borrowing guidelines and might undermine Bhutan’s sovereignty.
The House will continue the deliberation tomorrow.
Tshering Zam & Phub Gyem
