Coinciding with Lord Buddha’s Parinirvana, the newly elected members of the National Council (NC) will receive the dhar (ceremonial scarf) from The Druk Gyalpo today.

Deputy chairperson of the House and member from Samdrupjongkhar, Jigme Wangchuk, said that individual members have identified locations to host reception programmes after the ceremony. 

“After the dhar ceremony, individual members will move to their locations. Anyone can attend the reception hosted by the members,” he said.  

He said that except for the chairperson, the locations were identified by the individual members.

The members have invited their relatives and friends to attend their celebration reception at various locations in Thimphu after receiving the dhar.

The NC secretariat has conducted an orientation programmes to enable members to carry out their job. 

Fifteen members of the 25-member house are new. Eight are serving their second term, while two, the deputy chairperson and eminent member Tashi Wangmo, have begun their third term. 

The orientation programmes, he said, were especially held for new members to understand the functioning of the house. However, he added that it was also helpful for old members who got the opportunity to seek clarifications on certain issues.    

According to the secretariat, the members also attended a three-day workshop on the fundamentals of macroeconomics and the national budget from May 20 and 23 in Paro. 

The members were briefed by the World Bank’s country director for Bhutan, Qimiao Fan, among other speakers. He not only provided a broad overview of the economic opportunities and challenges facing Bhutan but also shared his perspectives on global economic and technological developments that will impact Bhutan in the coming years.

The members also attended talks on macroeconomic coordination, public expenditure management system, and the fundamentals of macroeconomics and economic policies from experts.

The secretariat also conducted a two-day orientation programme for the members on May 16 and 17 in Thimphu.

The members have also been informed during the orientation programme about the guidelines for ex-country travel, the upper house’s media strategy, privileges and entitlements and screening procedure of constituency issues.

According to the secretariat, the members have been sensitised on administrative, managerial, and rules of procedure for plenary meetings.

MB Subba

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