Dechen Dolkar

After more than a decade in limbo, the government will finally transfer Community Service Centres (CSCs) to the gewog administrations.

Launched in 2011, the operation and management of CSCs were under the Bhutan Post Corporation. In 2015, the management was handed over to the Bhutan Development Bank Limited (BDBL), and in 2020, it was transferred to the National CSI Bank. Following the merger of the National CSI Bank with BDBL last year, BDBL has been in charge of CSCs, as an interim measure.

The government’s decision to entrust the management of CSCs to BDBL was to bolster their functionality by integrating financial services with public services, including government-to-citizen (G2C) services. The duration of BDBL’s stewardship remains undetermined, with operators transitioning as contract employees.

The ownership of CSCs was initially intended to transition from the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunication to the Department of Local Government. Despite multiple discussions, the issue remained unresolved.

It was mentioned that BDBL required government’s subsidy of Nu 230M to manage the CSCs.

The overarching goal of CSCs is to reduce poverty, empower communities, and improve the quality of life in rural areas.

Currently, there are over 350 online services available through 17 government and autonomous agencies in Bhutan. According to the Bhutan Living Standard Survey 2022 by NSB, the literacy rate stands at approximately 70 percent, suggesting that around 228,974 people, constituting about 30 percent of the population, are illiterate. Additionally, about 60 percent of households, amounting to 100,000 out of 164,331 households, are located in rural areas.

During the recent National Assembly question-answer session, Tashi Tenzin, an MP representing Radhi Sakteng, highlighted the anticipated expansion of online services due to advancements in ICT and the government’s initiative to digitize all services. He asked the government about its strategies to resolve uncertainties regarding the management and administration of these services.

Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay said that the government would continue utilising CSC services under Gewog Administrations’ charge. “CSCs will be supported by a dedicated office within the PMO that handles maintenance and provides technical support.”

Since July 2020, centre operators have been regularised following their appeal to the Prime Minister in 2019.

The Ministry of Finance is paying the salaries of the operators. Their salary ranges from Nu 11,230 to Nu 12,095 per month.

However, there is no separate budget for procuring computers, printers, and stationery; only pay and allowances are allocated.

CSCs currently function with minimal service charges from the people.

There are currently 202 CSCs in the country, with three gewogs that lack centre facilities. Candidates are unwilling to work in Lunana and Naro gewogs; Chang Gewog Centre in Thimphu was merged with Thromde.

Of the total CSCs, 20 centers have been without operators for more than three years. In these gewogs, community members have to travel to other gewog centers to avail services, which they claim consumes a lot of time.

People primarily use CSC services for birth registration, death certificates, family tree documentation, rural timber allocation, and rural house construction approval.

Naro Gup Gyem Tshering said that the gewog could not provide online services promptly without a CSC, leading to delays. “Sometimes, the gewog administration officer provides the services when there is electricity.”

He added that frequent power outages force officials to travel to the dzongkhag to facilitate online services. “We also need CSCs like other dzongkhags to provide prompt online services to people.”

Haa’s Gakiling Gup, Wang Tshering, noted that CSCs benefit the community with increasing online services. “If the CSCs are transferred to gewog administration, the services would be faster and prompt as we will be working under one umbrella.”

Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay shared about the ongoing discussions with the GovTech aimed at improving public service delivery.

Plans are also underway to introduce Integrated Service Centers for Thromde, beginning in the capital city with future expansions to every dzongkhag.