| English | Dzongkha | Monday, September 16, 2019 |
The government has assured to bring down the fiscal deficit of 7% to 3 % by the end of their tenure. They added that the country’s economy is stable at the moment for the pay revision. The statement comes following the Opposition Party’s comments that they do not agree with this pay revision and have questioned its sustainability.
The government says the decision to shift the focus from Zhemgang to Sarpang in the Tourism Flagship Programme was taken as it will have greater benefits to nearby dzongkhags including Zhemgang. They said the decision made was never along the lines of politics as claimed by the Opposition.
The Opposition Party says the government’s decision of removing Zhemgang Dzongkhag from tourism flagship programme has undermined the whole planning and budgetary process of the parliament. This was shared during a press conference today.
The opposition leader Pema Gyamtsho (PhD) said the government went ahead with the pay revision despite the economic indicators being negative. He shared this during the press conference today. The Druk Phuensum Tshogpa( DPT) said it is not wise to make the move at a time when the country is facing a budget deficit besides having a huge external debt. .
The National Council yesterday unanimously adopted the Pay Revision Bill of Bhutan 2019 along with six general recommendations proposed by the Ad-hoc Committee.
The number of regional tourists visiting Bhutan has almost doubled in the past couple of years. From 132,594 visitors in 2016, the number went up to 222,904 regional tourists that visited the country last year.
The Finance Minister before passing the Pay Revision bill today shared his concern on not looking into the Constitution and Parliamentary Entitlement Act before passing the pay revision of the National Assembly Speaker and Supreme Court’s Chief Justice yesterday.
The opposition says the government’s pay revision proposal risks widening the gap further. According to the press release, the opposition highlighted seven risks they observed with the government’s recommendations on the pay revision.
Even after much deliberation, the National Assembly could not reach a consensus on the age of consent at 16 yesterday. As per the Penal Code Amendment Act of Bhutan 2011, the age of consent for sexual acts is 18 years of age.
Last month the government appointed a private individual as Press Secretary for Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for a contract term of three years. Panbang’s Member of the Parliament, Dorji Wangdi said that there is a conflict of interest since the appointee worked with Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa during the election campaign.