TRANSLATION OF THE PROCEEDINGS AND RESOLUTIONS OF THE 76TH SESSION OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF BHUTAN HELD FROM THE FIFTH DAY OF THE FIFTH MONTH TO THE SEVENTH DAY OF THE SIXTH MONTH OF THE MALE EARTH TIGER YEAR (JUNE 29TH TO JULY 30TH, 1998) I. OPENING CEREMONY The 76th Session of the National Assembly of Bhutan commenced on the Fifth Day of the auspicious Fifth Month of the Male Earth Tiger Year corresponding to 29th June 1998 with the arrival of His Majesty the King in the traditional Chipdrel ceremony followed by the performance of the auspicious Zhugdrel Phunsum Tsogpai Tendrel. In his opening address, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Dasho Kinzang Dorji, welcomed His Majesty the King, the representatives of the Dratshang and Rabdeys, the government representatives, people’s representatives (Chimis) and the candidates who had come from the Dzongkhags for the election of six new Royal Advisory Councillors. The Speaker also extended a warm Tashi Delek and welcomed the new Chimis and representatives of the Dratshang and the government. He reminded them of their important responsibilities as members of the National Assembly and emphasized the need for them to participate sincerely and thoughtfully in the decision-making process of the country. The Speaker informed the members that despite a late start on the path of modern development, Bhutan is today regarded as a ‘success story’, a country that has developed and achieved remarkable success within a very short span of time. Bhutan had achieved unprecedented development and progress without eroding the values of its age-old culture and traditions. This has been possible only because of the wise and farsighted leadership of our beloved monarchs. Except for a few sages, able to see into the future, no one could have imagined the tremendous pace of socio-economic development that has taken place in Bhutan today. The Speaker added that the socio-economic development that Bhutan has achieved surpassed all expectations and all the members are well aware of the peace and prosperity that the people have enjoyed. He pointed out that such remarkable progress has been possible only because of His Majesty’s wise and far-sighted leadership. As everyone is aware, His Majesty the King had to ascend the golden throne and take on the full responsibility of governing the country when he was only 16 years old. In the 26 years of his reign His Majesty has always kept the interest of the country foremost in his mind and led the country into an era of even greater peace and happiness. Above all, His Majesty has further strengthened the sovereignty and security of the country for the benefit of future Bhutanese generations. The Speaker informed the house that Bhutan has been able to meet its recurrent expenditures from its internal revenue for the last three years and also has a hard currency reserve which can meet its import requirements for two years. Few developing countries have achieved such economic success. This has been possible, despite many problems, solely because of His Majesty’s deep commitment and continued efforts to ensure peace and prosperity for the Bhutanese people. All members of the house should, therefore, offer their sincere appreciation and heartfelt gratitude to His Majesty the King. The Speaker also pointed out that Bhutan is one of the least taxed countries in the world and the tax paid by the people is only a token amount. In short, one cannot help but realize with deep appreciation that the people of the Palden Drukpa have never enjoyed as much peace, happiness and prosperity as they do today . The Speaker also reminded the members that His Majesty has successfully thwarted the repeated attempts by the ngolops and their supporters, motivated by selfish desires and vested interests, to harm the Tsa-Wa-Sum. In the process, His Majesty has further strengthened the security and the sovereignty of the country. The National Assembly, in its previous sessions, had deliberated at length on the threat from ngolops to the security of the country and many points of view from the people had also been submitted in the course of the deliberations. Due to the collective good fortune of the Bhutanese people, His Majesty the King had taken the full responsibility of solving the ngolop problem and because of his wise actions the ngolops could not achieve their objectives and have been unable to harm the peace and stability of the country. The Speaker informed the house that the 76th Session of the National Assembly will begin with the reading out of His Majesty the King’s Kasho to the Speaker, a copy of which would be distributed to the members. He reminded the members that His Majesty the King had always worked single-mindedly to promote the welfare of the country, and had also been a constant source of inspiration and guidance to the members of the National Assembly. Pointing out that the command of His Majesty the King is heavier than the mountains and more precious than gold, the Speaker called upon the members to give special attention to the precious Kasho issued by His Majesty the King. They must fully understand the content and implications of the Kasho, and setting aside all self-interest, deliberate on the Kasho in keeping with the noble visions of His Majesty, to safeguard both the present and future interests of the country. In conclusion, the Speaker reminded the members that they are the chosen representatives of their constituencies with the mandate to represent the Dratshang, Rabdeys, the government and the people in the highest national forum in the country. The Speaker urged the members to take active part in the deliberations and express their views frankly, always keeping in mind the interest and well-being of the country. After the opening address, the 76th Session of the National Assembly commenced with the reading of His Majesty the King’s Kasho to the Speaker. Copies of the Kasho were then distributed to the members. ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF KASHO ISSUED TO THE SPEAKER OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY. This is to apprise the Speaker of the Tshogdu Chhenmo that a matter of great importance, for the present as well as the future well-being and security of our country, needs to be discussed and decided by the Tshogdu Chhenmo during its forthcoming 76th Session. Over the past twenty six years of my reign I have, above everything else in my life, always put the interest and well-being of the country and people first. I have constantly strived, through the full endeavour of body, speech and mind, to bring progress and prosperity to the Bhutanese people and to safeguard the national interest and security of our country, the glorious Palden Drukpa. We can draw much satisfaction that during this period Bhutan has achieved rapid socio-economic development, which has brought about a better quality of life for our people, and its status as a sovereign, independent country has also been greatly strengthened. It has also been my endeavour to encourage and prepare our people to participate actively and fully in the decision making process of our country. To this end a policy of decentralization was launched and Dzongkhag Yargay Tshogchungs were established in all our Dzongkhags in 1981. This policy was given a further impetus in 1991 with the establishment of Geog Yargay Tshogchungs in all 202 geogs. Today, our country is progressing well on the path of socio-economic development and the people are also playing an increasingly active role, through the Dzongkhag Yargay Tshogchungs and the Geog Yargay Tshogchungs, in the formulation and implementation of development programmes and in bringing forward issues of national concern for discussion in the Tshogdu Chhenmo. The time has now come to promote even greater people’s participation in the decision making process. Our country must be ensured to always have a system of government which enjoys the mandate of the people, provides clean and efficient governance, and also has an inbuilt mechanism of checks and balance to safeguard our national interest and security. As an important step towards achieving this goal, the Lhengyel Shungtshog should now be restructured into an elected Council of Ministers that is vested with full executive powers to provide efficient and effective governance of our country Therefore, keeping in mind both the present and future interest and well-being of our country, I would like to request the honourable members of the Tshogdu Chhenmo to discuss and take a decision on the following important issues during the 76th Session of the Tshogdu Chhenmo. 1. All cabinet ministers should henceforth be elected by the Tshogdu Chhenmo with the first election of cabinet ministers to take place during the 76th session. 2. A decision should be taken on the role and responsibilities of the Lhengyel Shungtshog. 3. The Tshogdu Chhenmo should have a mechanism to move a vote of confidence in His Majesty the Druk Gyalpo. Having given considerable thought to these important issues, I would like to share my views on them with the honourable members of the Tshogdu Chhenmo so that this matter of great national importance can be fruitfully discussed and unanimously decided during the 76th Session. The honourable members may wish to consider my thoughts and views, given below, as a guideline for our deliberations on the restructuring of the Lhengyel Shungtshog and the devolution of full executive powers of governance to an elected Council of Ministers. The Lhengyel Shungtshog should henceforth comprise of elected ministers and the members of the Royal Advisory Council. At the present juncture, while Bhutan has many qualified and capable officials most of them are still very young and do not have enough seniority, in keeping with our tradition and culture, to stand as candidates for the post of cabinet minister.