Bhutan's Acession to WTO

As Bhutan prepares to be the part of the World trade Organization (WTO), the Prime Minister talked to the Bhutanese Media. The following is the excerpt from Bhutan Broadcasting Service online.

Even the Cabinet remains divided on WTO

March 26: Should Bhutan join or not join the World Trade Organisation (WTO)? That is one of the pertinent questions looming large for quite some time now among the policy makers, academicians, intelligentsia, and the general public. Some say Bhutan should. Some say it is too early. Even the Cabinet Ministers remain divided on this tricky issue. “Many of our Cabinet Members are also supportive of joining the WTO, the Ministry of Economic Affairs is supportive of joining the WTO but there are a few of us, thankfully, who still think we need more questions not only answers, we need answers to questions,” said the Prime Minister Lyonchhen Jigmi Y. Thinley. He was speaking to the Bhutanese media on Wednesday. Lyonchhen said that everybody wanted Bhutan to join WTO and even the WTO wanted Bhutan to join. “Do we really know enough about WTO? What is it that we will be loosing if we don't join WTO as opposed to what it is that we will really be gaining? Have we quantified those areas? How will our farmers really be protected? How will our nascent industry be really protected? How will acceding to the WTO really reconcile with our pursuit of GNH,” questions the Prime Minister, adding that the WTO is all about agreeing on set of rules and regulations for the manufacturing and the movement of goods and services and bringing down all kinds of borders. “It impacts on sovereignty as well.” Lyonchhen said that there are more questions than answers at the moment.  “There really is not so much of a cost in waiting. We are not going to loose anything by waiting to be sure but if we go ahead it may be difficult for us to opt out,” Lyonchhen Jigmi Y Thinley said.

Bhutan's Acession to WTO

As Bhutan prepares to be the part of the World trade Organization (WTO), the Prime Minister talked to the Bhutanese Media. The following is the excerpt from Bhutan Broadcasting Service online.

Even the Cabinet remains divided on WTO

March 26: Should Bhutan join or not join the World Trade Organisation

The obligations of life in city

 As journey continues with my life, there are more obligations to fulfill. When I was in the school to college days, my obligation was to pass exams, qualify for college and come out with a degree. When I completed my degree, I was obliged to pass and qualify for the civil servants, so that I become somebody in the society and make my parents proud of me. I was able to fulfill these
obligations without much problem by the god’s graces and wishes from everyone.

Now I am in a job and my obligation is different. The first one is to stand on my own feet. I have siblings still studying and as an elder, I am obliged to help them and assist my parents both financially and logistically.

But the first assignment for me is to get settled myself.  To do that, I have to find a house, procure necessities to start with. These necessities include the kitchen utensils to bedroom needs to few basic leisure items like television, stereo etc. One of the most difficult tasks is to find a house at reasonable price as I open my new chapter.

Finding a house in a city like Thimphu is almost impossible. With the huge rural-urban migration and more people coming to the capital for better life makes our life even harsher. The smallest apartment with a single room at the attic of any building cost not less than Nu. 3000. Most of these attics lack the basic amenities like proper restroom, continuous water supply, decent kitchen and proper ventilation in the apartment. But tenant have no other means than to reside. The Charles Darwin’s theory of survival of fittest is applied here. If we are not competent we are bound to be eliminated from the group. The process of natural selection starts here and screens the unwanted ones and keeps that best suited and adapted to the environment. Many people today describe that finding a wife in Thimphu is far easier than finding a small apartment. That is true as far as people living here are concerned.  

The Tenancy Act of Kingdom of Bhutan 2004 has been there for the last six years and it is still in the dormancy and it has never been enforced. It is a white elephant for the tenants. No house owner gives a damn to it because they can always find another one to occupy their apartment. So for these people there is no need to compromise and listen to their tenants or need of such Act.

Once we get house, then it is the turn for the shopkeepers and vegetable venders to hammer us. Most of these people are rude and client unfriendly besides overcharging their customers with a lot of lame excuses.

All these make our life more complex and harsh vibe to lead a happy life. In short, the essence of Gross National Happiness loses its charm in this context. The age old tradition of hospitality and the essence of extended family are getting slowly diluted and degraded. The people are now becoming more materialistic. In the process, the life in a city is perplexed in predicament. In other words, the greed and selfish grows more and more strong as we continue to live in the world of urban. These are some of the most prominent impacts of modernization and urbanization.

No matter what is the condition of the life, we have no other alternative path than to take the one travelled by everyone. That is the fact of life and everyone who falls on this path is ought to follow the rest of the life. So shall I have to because I am made to travel the same path and overcome the struggle to lead a decent life.

The obligations of life in city

 As journey continues with my life, there are more obligations to fulfill. When I was in the school to college days, my obligation was to pass exams, qualify for college and come out with a degree. When I completed my degree, I was obliged to pass and qualify for the civil servants, so that I become somebody in the society and make my parents proud of me. I was able to fulfill these