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Contrasting living standard of the Dutch and Bhutan's Prime Ministers

. 14 Feb 18, Holland.  The Prime Minister of the Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan seems to be so scared of actual and perceived threats that he invested more than 3 million of the local currency in security arrangements for his new penthouse.


This was revealed by the Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay himself, during a press conference on 12th February. He reacted to a statement by the leader of the opposition party Druk Puensum Tshogpa; Dr. Pema Gyamtsho, agitatedly released a week earlier. Gyamtsho demanded a thorough investigation into the alleged misuse of public resources by the PM for the development of his private residence in the outskirts of capital city Thimphu. 'The use of public resources for private benefits', he said, 'is a serious form of corruption.


The perimeter of Prime Minister Tobgay’s residential area is protected by concrete walls of nine feet high. They are fitted with CCTV cameras and sophisticated security warning systems. Armed police forces guard the area continuously. The minister had commanded them to come up with a risk assessment. Based upon actual and perceived threats, they had to install complex security arrangements. At the same time, perhaps hypocritically, the Prime Minister told the state’s news bulletin Kuensel that ‘in a country like Bhutan, security should not be a concern’.

The government built a colony of extremely expansive residential villas or penthouses for the cabinet ministers in the Lhengay Densa area. But there is no obligation for the ministers to reside in this area. That's the reason why Tshering Tobgay chose to fortify his privately owned estate, complete with luxury arrangements in the name of security. The opposition party saw this as corruption, as public funds seemed to be misused. And what will happen with the expensive security installations when the tenure of the Prime Minister ends?. The former Prime Minister Jigme Yoeser Thinlay had similarly fortified his residence seemingly using the public fund, that 1 Million was invested for his kitchen and toilet alone.

In Bhutan’s controlled democracy, the powers of the opposition are limited. Nevertheless, it is good that it's allowed to raise its voice forcefully. After the opposition party had blamed Tobgay with misusing public resources, the government was compelled to involve the Auditing Authority and to prompt him to reimburse the funds. The question that remains: which perceived and actual threats endanger the life of the Prime Minister in this country of Gross National Happiness?

The Prime Minister didn't hesitate to threaten the opposition party to sue with charges of defamation, should the alleged corruption complaints prove to be fallacious, the Kuensel reported on 13th February yesterday. At the same time, the newspaper it mentioned that Tobgay had reimbursed the incurred expenses of his security arrangements. In fact, this seems to prove his guilt of misusing public funds.

In The Netherlands, a country though smaller than Bhutan and has more than 20 times the population of Bhutan, Minister President Mark Rutte used to live in a penthouse he rented. Recently it became known that he had signed for the purchase of that house though worth 1.3 million Euros in Benoordenhout. Installing security measures here, comparable to those of Bhutan’s Prime Minister has not become an issue. No opposition party would ever need to raise the issue of corruption. So, are the Bhutanese in the land of so called 'Gross National Happiness' feel happy and  safe as the Dutch?





(This article was first published in the RFG magazine. 

by: nanda Gautam. Holland

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Location: Gaki Lam, Thimphu, Bhutan

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