The government and the private sector have equal responsibility to help the country get away from the current economic situation. That was the message of the Prime Minister to the business community as they met yesterday.
“The responsibility of government is to frame policies, strengthen the security of the country and deliver services to the people. When it comes to the economic development of the country, the responsibility lies with the private sector,” said Lyonchhoen Jigmi Y. Thinley.
Various issues were tabled during the day-long discussion. The president of the Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, BCCI, Tobgyal Dorji, said initially there was huge impact on the private sectors from the measures taken by the government. He said some of the industries in the country were not able to import sufficient raw materials or pay wages to non-national labourers due to rupee shortage in the country.
However, he added it is an opportunity for the private sectors to promote export and look for import substitutions.
The meeting also saw discussion on the measures to curb the rupee shortage in the country. Promotion of the agricultural products through commercial farming and focusing on high-end Indian tourism were some of them.
The Hotel Association of Bhutan, HAB, requested the government to waive-off the restriction imposed on requirement of rooms for 3 and 4 star hotels. Lyonchen said that it is important to have a ceiling on the number of rooms in hotels.
“The ceiling of the rooms was decided by the Tourism Council. If we don’t have a ceiling, five star hotels with 300 to 400 rooms will come up and it will be difficult for the Bhutanese to build and run five stars hotels on their own. The investments for such hotels will come from outside and the profit will also be reaped by the outsiders,” said Lyonchhoen.
The HAB also requested government to ease the restriction on the import on beverages and drinks of International brands. Lyonchhoen said that high end hotels will be allowed to import. “If we want high quality tourists, the services we offer should also be of high quality. In keeping with this the government will allow only hotels that are 3 star and above to import international brands of drinks and beverages.”
The owner of the Zimdra Automobiles, Ugen Tshechup Dorji expressed concerns that if the ban on the import of vehicle continues, car dealers in the country will lose their business. The government made it clear that the restriction on the import of vehicles, alcohol and furniture will continue.
