Local government serves as the closest level of administration to the people, playing a crucial role in delivering public services. Recognising the importance of equipping local government leaders with the necessary skills and capabilities for effective administration, a comprehensive professional development programme was organised. This programme, designed for leaders from 13 districts was organised in Tsirang. The three-week long training concluded yesterday.
80 gups from central, southern, and western regions attended the second cohort professional development training jointly organised by the Department of Local Governance and Disaster Management and the Royal Institute of Management.
The local government leaders are trained on planning, monitoring, and prioritisation of development activities. The gups were also oriented on the community contracting procedures, procurement systems, and community engagement platforms among others.
The local government leaders said the training was beneficial.
“Without experience, moments of self-doubt arise when we execute developmental activities. However, now we are well versed in planning processes. So, hereafter we can plan and execute any developmental activities without any setbacks and in a transparent manner,” said Dawa Tshering, Wangdue Phodrang’s Sephu Gup.
“In general, I learned that more than the power we are conferred with, local leaders have to shoulder are roles and responsibilities well. So, hereafter, we should not only be taking pride in our power but also focus on taking extra initiatives to take our gewogs to greater heights,” said Singye Wangchuk, Zhemgang’s Nangkor Gup.
“Meeting fellow gups from the 13 districts itself was a new learning experience. This was possible through experience-sharing sessions on developmental activities carried out in respective gewogs,” said Sangay Lhamo, Paro’s Shaba Gup.
“We have learned how to prioritise developmental activities and allocate budget properly. Moreover, until today we have been planning only for five years but now we learned that it is important for us to plan for at least ten years or we have to think of long-term plans,” said Nanda Lal Kharel, Tsirang’s Tsirang Toed Gup.
However, some participants said, the training is beneficial but it is bit late for them since they have already completed almost half of their five-year term. The deputy chief programme officer from the Department of Local Governance and Disaster Management said, it requires a lot of studies and preparations to conduct such important training. The official said, the department has been working for the last two years for the training.
“We are hopeful that after going back to their respective gewogs, they would be able to share whatever lessons, knowledge, and skills learned in the training to the particular gewogs. And they should be able to conduct gewog-based capacity building activities and send a report within two months from now and after six months from now, we are planning to conduct impact assessments to see whether this particular training has created impact on service delivery,” said Sonam Tshenley, Deputy Chief Programme Officer of Department of Local Governance and Disaster Management.
The department conducted the training for the first cohort of gups of seven eastern districts in 2022 in Trashigang.
Pema Tshewang, Tsirang
Edited by Kipchu
