Adopts Key Bills and review reports

Thinley Namgay

The 34th Session of the National Council (NC), which began on November 14, concluded yesterday with the closing remarks by the Chairperson Sangay Dorji, offering of zhabtoen (life-long prayers) for His Majesty the King.

Sangay Dorji expressed gratitude of the house for His Majesty the King for always working tirelessly for the benefit of the country and the people. 

One of the key highlights of his closing remarks was on the Gyalsung Programme, initiated by His Majesty the King. He noted that the first cohort of Gyalsung, comprising 2,001 youths, had completed their training from four Gyalsung Centres without any obstacles, which he mentioned, is a gift from the throne.

He said Gyalsung training brought tremendous benefits for youth in both their mental and physical behaviours, paving the way for a brighter future for the country.

Sangay Dorji also expressed gratitude for  His Holiness Je Khenpo, rinpoches, lams, truelkus, monks, and nuns for conducting rituals for the country and all sentient beings.

During the 34th session, the House adopted the National Assembly (Amendment) Bill of Bhutan 2024, the Cattle Tax Exemption Bill of Bhutan 2024, the Alternative Dispute Resolution (Amendment) Bill of Bhutan 2024, and the Air Service Agreement between the Royal Government of Bhutan and the Government of the State of Kuwait. 

The NC also adopted review reports on Rural Credit Access in Bhutan, the Anti-Corruption Commission’s Annual Report 2023-2024, the State of Media, and the Education-related Legislations of Bhutan.

However, the House rejected the Marriage (Amendment) Bill of Bhutan 2024, which was passed in the first session of the Fourth Parliament of the National Assembly and forwarded to the NC for further review.

The follow-up on the resolutions of the 33rd Session, including the state of persons with disabilities, the review report on satong and goongtong, and compensation policies for human-wildlife conflict and crop damage due to natural calamities, were presented and discussed by the members.

An interim report on the state of tourism was also presented to the House.

The House held a question-and-answer session with Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and Finance Minister Lekey Dorji.

The Finance Minister was questioned on the reported embezzlement of over Nu 9 million (M) in 2023 and the measures taken by the ministry to address shortcomings in monitoring systems and strengthen the RMA’s capacity to prevent future financial fraud

Lyonpo said that the Anti-Corruption Commission’s Annual Report for 2022-2023 reported 13 corruption cases related to financial misconduct, primarily due to bribery and abuse of function.

The Minister also said that to prevent embezzlement and financial fraud, the RMA is conducting both onsite and offsite monitoring of financial institutions.

Moreover, on December 7, 2023, the Prudential Regulation 2004 was revised to mandate financial institutions to report incidents within 24 hours.

The Prime Minister was quizzed on topics related to the Economic Stimulus Plan (ESP), such as initiatives taken by the government to ensure Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) actively provide collateral-free loans to achieve the ESP’s objectives, measures in place to mitigate risks faced by PFIs, and total funds lent to PFIs.

The Prime Minister informed the House that out of Nu 15 billion (B) committed under India’s support, Nu 5B had been received. He added that FIs disbursed loans, which were later reimbursed by the government.

Out of 1,473 applications for ESP loans, 262 were approved, resulting in loans worth Nu 398M. Moreover, Nu 70M was allocated to the Royal Monetary Authority to support distressed borrowers, bringing the total disbursed amount to Nu 1.468B.

At the joint session, the Public Accounts Committee presented its review report on the Performance Audit of the Operations of the State Mining Corporation Limited (SMCL).

To address issues related to SMCL, the Committee recommended that the government conduct comprehensive mapping and prospecting of minerals in the country, expedite the construction of the Dewathang-Nganglam road, consider a railway link to Pugli, and develop a long-term mining extension plan with a comprehensive land acquisition and resettlement strategy for affected communities, among others.