Staff reporter

The Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC) will appoint acting secretaries for the health ministry, education ministry, and finance ministry.

The director general of traditional medicine department, Pemba Wangchuk will be the acting secretary under the health ministry as an acting secretary.

The director of Department of Regional Cooperation under the foreign affairs ministry, Tshewang Chophel Dorji will be the acting secretary for the education ministry.

A finance specialist, who is also a member of the fifth pay commission, Leki Wangmo will be the acting secretary for finance ministry.

A press release from the commission yesterday stated that the acting secretaries will be appointed based on the contributions made in the past few months, leading their teams to work on public service transformation and displaying the competencies outlined above.

“After at least one year in their acting secretary positions, they may be recommended for appointment as secretaries, should they be assessed to have met the requirements expected of government secretaries,” the commission stated.

The RCSC also stated that the commission has been working on a succession plan for government secretaries. “Senior civil servants in these positions must be able to bear the heavy responsibility to lead Bhutan into the future and be held accountable for national outcomes.”

It added that as issues have become increasingly interconnected, the country needs a combination of leaders who are experts in their fields, as well as those who can dig deep into their past experience and networks to provide fresh perspectives.

“The RCSC considers holders of the position to be change agents, have a growth mindset and excellent people managers as critical attributes,” the press release stated. With the growth mindset, the commission stated, the senior civil servants have to continuously improve themselves and learn to be better, and inspire those around them to similarly do so.

As change agents, the senior civil servants need to be ones who can lead and drive the transformation agenda for the civil service and the nation, the press release stated.

It stated that as excellent managers, there was a need to have strong leadership capabilities to lead, influence, challenge and encourage their teams and counterparts in this challenging transformation journey.