The Local leaders of Zhemgang are not very happy with the percentage of salary raise given to them. They voiced their grievances at a meeting with the Finance Minister, recently.
“During the election campaign, the government stated clearly that the salary of the local government leaders would be doubled. Today, in reality, the salary has been revised only by 39 percent,” said Zhemgang Dzongkhag Tshogdu’s Chairperson, Dorji Wangchuk.
The Chairperson said they deserve little more than that considering the situation they work in. “For all the work we do, all we get is the monthly salary.”
The Finance Minister, Namgay Dorji, said it is difficult to please everyone. Lyonpo Namgay Dorji said they did promise a 100 percent salary raise for the local government during the campaign.“It is difficult to fulfill all your expectations but we thought an increase from about 13,000 to about 20,000 is not bad.”
Zhemgang’s Dzongkhag Tshogdu Chairperson also voiced grievances over the Local Government Entitlement Bill.
“While the National Assembly has passed the Local Government Entitlement Bill, the National Council has not. He said many promises were made during the election campaigns but are not translating into actions. “This is very demotivating. I am afraid it would adversely impact our efficiency.”
The meeting was attended by the civil servants of Zhemgang as well.