Upload
others
View
4
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Local Government Act, 2009 aims to improve public service delivery
UN newsletter Bhutan
Volume: II, Issue 3
October, 2010
Volume IV, Issue 4 November, 2010
he Local
Government Act
of the Kingdom of
Bhutan, 2009 has been
enacted after His
Majesty the King,
Jigme Khesar Namgyal
Wangchuck granted a
royal assent to the new
law in early 2010.
The new law, which
replaces the Local
Government Act 2007,
is aimed to improve
efficiency and
effectiveness of the
local governments in
Bhutan by reducing
conflicts that often
occurred in the
absence of clear Terms of References (ToRs) for
officials in the past. Likewise, with proper coordination
mechanism between staff of various agencies at local
government levels put in place, public service delivery
is expected to be more efficient and effective in
addressing the needs of the people at the grassroots
level.
The Local Government Act of the Kingdom of Bhutan,
2009 is comprehensive as compared to its predecessor
in that it covers all forms of local governments including
municipalities. Previously, there was a separate act
called the Thromde Act, 2007 catering to municipalities.
It also streamlines the powers and functions of various
levels of local governments and their officials. It
articulates powers and functions of Gups, Mangmis,
Tshogpas, Chupens, Dzongdags, and Gewogs
Administrative Officers in much more detail than the
Local Government Act of Bhutan, 2007.
This has been possible because the re-established
Department of Local Governance (DLG) in the Ministry
of Home and Cultural Affairs took up the most
challenging task in 2009 of drafting a new Local
Government Act to replace the previous law that
became obsolete with the introduction of democratic
reforms in 2008.
UNDP provided support to a multi-sectoral team
facilitated by the DLG to review the various provisions
of the Local Government Act 2007 in order to address
the need of the changed governance system in the
country. During the course of the review, consultations
were held with both elected and non-elected officials of
local governments. The officials of central agencies
such as the Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB) and
the Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC) were also
consulted to acquire their expertise. (Contd... Page 3)
Dzongkhag Tshogdu (District Council) discusses Local Government Act and Rules and Regulations, 2009.
T
1
Published by United Nations Resident Coordinator‟s Office UN House, Samten Lam Thimphu : Tel: + 975 2 322424 URL: http://www.unct.org.bt 2
UN n e w s l e t t e r B h u t a n
Volume II, Issue 3 October, 2010
Volume IV, Issue 4 November, 2010
With its recent transformation from absolute to constitutional monarchy and the formation of
the first elected parliamentary bodies under the new Constitution, Bhutan is one of the youngest democracies in the world today. Over the past few years, Bhutan has initiated a number of important reforms; paving the way for a decentralized democratic governance system.
The United Nations Country Team in Bhutan has and continues to support these efforts of the Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB). Particularly, the United Nations System‟s support has been instrumental in strengthening the capacity of the democratic institutions, including all three branches of the government and enhancing decentralized service delivery.
Transparency and accountability is at the very core of democratic and good governance, while good governance is a pre-condition to achieving development goals and changing people‟s lives in positive ways. Therefore, other areas of UN System‟s support to Bhutan include increasing accountability and transparency through a revised national Anti-corruption Amendment Bill 2010 in line with the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC); assisting free and fair parliamentary and local elections; institutional strengthening of the parliament; and strengthening the e-governance concept for more efficient service delivery to isolated communities, as well as marginalized and vulnerable groups.
Apart from support to strengthen free and fair media and civil society organizations, gender mainstreaming and protection of women and children at all levels have also been priority areas
of the UN Country Team.
The United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) provides the structure through which the UN System in Bhutan extends its assistance in the area of democratic and good governance.
Together with other development partners, we are proud to be associated with the significant achievements Bhutan has made in improving its administrative system. Establishment of National Assembly Committees for Human Rights, Women and Children and Youth and Sports, and the Social and Cultural Affairs Committee of the National Council are also noteworthy results in Bhutan‟s endeavor to enhance and mainstream important cross-cutting social issues in the governance structure.
The challenge ahead, now, is to strengthen these institutions further and expand services, particularly to those who live below the poverty line at the grassroots level. Women and men alike and young people need to have access to information and communication technology, if possible within their own Gewogs, so that they are better informed and can benefit from the e-governance policy and services.
It is equally important to strengthen the rule of law and promote human rights and child rights at all levels; and to foster a better representation of women at all levels of governance institutions, including the parliamentary bodies. The UN Country Team remains committed to work with governmental and non-governmental organizations and with development partners in supporting the Royal Government and people of Bhutan.
Claire Van der Vaeren Resident Coordinator, UN System in Bhutan
Editorial
UN n e w s l e t t e r B h u t a n
Published by United Nations Resident Coordinator‟s Office UN House, Samten Lam Thimphu : Tel: + 975 2 322424 URL: http://www.unct.org.bt 3
Volume II, Issue 3 October, 2010
Volume IV, Issue 4 November, 2010
Local Government Act
2009…(Contd from Pg 1)
The reviewed text was
submitted as the Local
Government Bill of
Kingdom of Bhutan,
2009 to the Parliament.
The bill was extensively
discussed at a joint
session of the National
Assembly and the
National Council in July
2009, and eventually a
special joint session of
the Parliament passed
the bill in September
2009.
In order to operationalize
the Act as soon as
possible, the DLG then
initiated drafting of the
Local Government Rules
and Regulations, 2009
with support provided by
UNDP. After a draft of
the Local Government
Rules and Regulations
were prepared, the DLG
discussed it with the
members of Dzongkhag
Tshogdus (District
Councils) of all 20
districts.
A three-day symposium
was also organized for
the Gewog
Administrative Officers in
May 2010, to discuss the
draft Rules and
Regulations. During
these consultative
meetings and the
symposium, the
participants were also
briefed on the Local
Government Act of the
Kingdom of Bhutan,
2009.
Building upon what is
already articulated in the
Act, the draft Local
Government Rules and
Regulations detail out
these functions and
powers further.
Administrative and
financial procedures
related to functioning of
local governments are
described in great
details. Monitoring and
evaluation as well as
other reporting
requirements are also
articulated in detail.
Although the Local
Government Act of the
Kingdom of Bhutan,
2009 has been enacted
recently and the Local
Government Rules and
Regulations are still in
draft form, these
documents clearly spell
out the powers and
functions of local
governments and their
officials. This will help
ensure better public
service delivery in
Bhutan.
Karma Galey, Department of
Local Governance.
The Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB) has
amended its Anti-corruption Act 2006 (ACA) in line
with the National Anti-Corruption Strategy Framework
and the United Nations Convention against
Corruption (UNCAC), to which Bhutan is a signatory.
The „Anti-corruption Amendment Bill 2010‟ once it
becomes an Act, will be a vehicle to implement most
of the findings and recommendations of the UNCAC
Self-Assessment Report that was carried out by the
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) of Bhutan in
about the last 18 months. It will particularly facilitate
the implementation of the findings related to the
criminalization and law enforcement issues identified
in the UNCAC Self-Assessment Report.
The Bill was adopted by the National Council in its
last session, and it is expected to be tabled before the
National Assembly in its upcoming session.
The UNCAC was chosen as a logical reference
framework to amend the ACA 2006 as it is widely
accepted as the comprehensive international
governance framework that seeks to address
corruption; not only through law enforcement, but also
through prevention, international cooperation and
asset recovery.
The main aim of the Anti-corruption Amendment Bill
2010 is to address various emerging challenges in the
field of law and practice, particularly with regard to
prevention and fight against corruption; and to
consolidate the Act and other anti-corruption related
laws and regulations of Bhutan. The ACA 2006 was
amended in close collaboration with the Good
Governance Committee of the National Council and
the Office of the Attorney General.
This is not all. The UNCAC Self-Assessment offers a
wide-range of anti-corruption measures. The
comprehensive UNCAC Self-Assessment Report
presents systematic comparisons of Bhutan‟s
legislations, regulations, policies and institutional
infrastructures with the UNCAC standards and also
highlights the key measures required to meet those
standards. (Contd... Page 4)
Bhutan’s Anti-corruption Amendment Bill 2010: A vehicle to implement UNCAC
Self-Assessment
Published by United Nations Resident Coordinator‟s Office UN House, Samten Lam Thimphu : Tel: + 975 2 322424 URL: http://www.unct.org.bt 4
UN n e w s l e t t e r B h u t a n
Volume II, Issue 3 October, 2010
Volume IV, Issue 4 November, 2010
In 2008, the National Assembly instructed to the RGoB to expedite the
review and consolidation of the ACA and other anti-corruption related
laws and regulations. The National Council followed suit by passing a
similar resolution in 2009.
Following this, the ACC held a stakeholder consultation workshop on the
amendment of the ACA in 2009.
With support of UNDP Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific and the
UNDP Country Office, representatives of the ACC, OAG and media
participated in the third Asia-Pacific Integrity in Action Community of
Practice Workshop in February 2010 in Bangkok.
A 19-member team of technical experts from a wide-range of fields was
formed in 2009. The team was lead by ACC.
In February 2010, a workshop was organized for the team to understand
the Self-Assessment methodology and to familiarize themselves with the
UNCAC provisions.
The team worked on a full time basis during March-April 2010 to write the
UNCAC Self- Assessment Report in a consultative manner.
The team presented its report to the Good Governance Committee of the
National Council.
A stakeholder consultation was conducted by the international experts
from the Basel Institute on Governance , Switzerland in May 2010.
The findings of the Report were validated in a workshop in September-
October 2010.
Other recommendations in the
Report therefore, will be
implemented through the draft
Implementation Matrix that has
been formulated by the
technical team of experts,
formed in 2009.
The matrix outlines specific
reforms with responsible
agencies and time frame. It was
discussed in a validation
workshop in September-
October and will be finalized
after soliciting concerned
stakeholders‟ comments and
incorporating them. The ACC is
planning to work closely with
the Cabinet Secretariat for
monitoring the implementation
of the Report.
With legal, regulatory and
administrative measures in
place pursuant to the Self-
Assessment Report, RGoB will
be better equipped to fight
against corruption which will in
many ways translate its policy
of “zero tolerance” for corruption
into tangible results.
Choining Dorji, Chief Legal Officer, ACC
and he can be reached at
After sustaining horrendous treatment for 14 years,
Devika (name changed) is now gathering new hope in
her life. She came to Respect, Educate, Nurture and
Empower Women (RENEW) with her three young
children seeking support because she could not continue
to live with her abusive husband.
The mother and the children are now being rehabilitated
at the RENEW shelter home. Devika had got married
when she was 17. She was married to a man who was
20 years older than her. After sometime of the wedding,
her alcoholic husband started abusing her physically. He
used to brutally beat her up. In 2007, Devika lost the
vision of her right eye as a result of her husband‟s
assault.
Being battered and hospitalization became a routine to
Devika for years. In 2008, the RENEW volunteers found
her unconscious, lying on the street of Gelephu. The
volunteers took her to the hospital for treatment; and as
she was slowly recovering, her husband as in the past,
managed to take her back.
Her husband however, did not stop abusing her. In
2009,Devika could not tolerate when her husband
attacked her with an axe. This time, with support from
RENEW, she filed a case against her husband at the
Validation workshop to finalize the UNCAC Self-Assessment Report.
Anti-corruption Act 2006 Amendment and
the UNCAC Self-Assessment: When and What?
UN n e w s l e t t e r B h u t a n
Published by United Nations Resident Coordinator‟s Office UN House, Samten Lam Thimphu : Tel: + 975 2 322424 URL: http://www.unct.org.bt 5
Volume II, Issue 3 October, 2010
Volume IV, Issue 4 November, 2010
After sustaining horrendous treatment for 14 years,
Devika (name changed) is now gathering new hope in
her life. She came to Respect, Educate, Nurture and
Empower Women (RENEW) with her three young
children seeking support because she could not continue
to live with her abusive husband.
The mother and the children are now being rehabilitated
at the RENEW shelter home. Devika had got married
when she was 17. She was married to a man who was
20 years older than her. After sometime of the wedding,
her alcoholic husband started abusing her physically. He
used to brutally beat her up. In 2007, Devika lost the
vision of her right eye as a result of her husband‟s
assault.
Being battered and hospitalization became a routine to
Devika for years. In 2008, the RENEW volunteers found
her unconscious, lying on the street of Gelephu. The
volunteers took her to the hospital for treatment; and as
she was slowly recovering, her husband as in the past,
managed to take her back.
Her husband however, did not stop abusing her. In
2009,Devika could not tolerate when her husband
attacked her with an axe. This time, with support from
RENEW, she filed a case against her husband at the
Domestic violence victim recuperates after years of suffering
Consultative planning of RENEW volunteers on Gender Based Violence
Bhutan is only a signatory to the
UNCAC. Therefore, the UNCAC
Self-Assessment is not a part of
reporting obligations under the
implementation review
mechanisms. It is rather meant to
feed the findings and
recommendations into the Anti-
Corruption Amendment Bill 2010.
Bhutan‟s UNCAC Self-Assessment
took an article-by-article approach,
rather than a thematic approach
which focuses only on selected
priority areas, as the components of
an anti-corruption system are
interconnected and should be
considered jointly to provide a
complete picture of reform
requirements.
In doing so, it broadly followed the
Guidance Note of United Nations
Office on Drug
and Crime
(UNODC).
Bhutan will
implement all
the measures
provided for in
the UNCAC
because all
those measures
are useful in the
fight against
corruption.
The UNCAC Self-Assessment
Report highlights how Bhutan has
complied fully with a number of
measures required by UNCAC. For
example, the ACC has been
established and Bhutanese laws
criminalize most of the offences
specified in the UNCAC chapter III.
However, the Report also
underscores that there are several
measures that Bhutan needs to put
in place. The country has not
implemented many requirements of
UNCAC chapters IV and V, which
provides for measures related to
international cooperation and asset
recovery.
Validation workshop to finalize the UNCAC Self-Assessment Report
Bhutan’s UNCAC Self-Assessment
Published by United Nations Resident Coordinator‟s Office UN House, Samten Lam Thimphu : Tel: + 975 2 322424 URL: http://www.unct.org.bt 6
UN n e w s l e t t e r B h u t a n
Volume II, Issue 3 October, 2010
Volume IV, Issue 4 November, 2010
Royal Bhutan Police. The man was arrested and
penalized under section 158, Penal Code of Bhutan.
“I finally got justice. Now I will work for my children, I
am happy in here (RENEW shelter home),” says
Devika.
Like Devika, there
are many
Bhutanese women,
who silently suffer
similar assault and
abuse for many
years. Consider
this: 862 victims
were rehabilitated
and provided
services by
RENEW in the past six years.
“The domestic violence continues to be a non-issue in
Bhutanese society because it is often treated as
private and internal matter of a family,” says Pema at
the RENEW. In addition, women in remote districts
are unaware of their rights and also do not know how
and from where to seek support when they face such
abuse.
Therefore, the UN System support is focused in the
area of advocacy and capacity building of the
institutions, including National Commission for
Women and Children (NCWC) and the RENEW for
elimination of violence against women. The RENEW
has established a network with the Royal Bhutan
Police in order to
reach and provide
immediate support
to domestic and
gender-based
violence survivors.
However, there is a
need to implement
laws to protect
women by adopting
Domestic Violence Act as well as amend appropriate
clauses of the Nationality Law for ensuring equal civil
rights to individuals regardless of their gender. The
implementation of these new Acts, which upholds the
spirit of Bhutan‟s Constitution, will also help the
country in meeting its obligations to the related
international laws.
Dr. Meenakshi Rai, Coordinator, RENEW and Rinzi Pem,
Governance Unit, UNDP. They can be reached at
[email protected] and [email protected] respectively.
RENEW conducts Gender Based Violence awareness programme in Thimphu.
Domestic Violence:
It is a pattern of assaultive
and coercive behaviors,
including physical, sexual,
psychological attacks, as
well as economic coercion
between family or household
members.
Gender Based Violence:
The roots of gender-based
violence (GBV) lie in power
inequities based on gender
roles. Violence may be
p h y s i c a l , s e x u a l ,
psychological, economic or
socio-cultural, perpetrated in
private or in public settings.
UN n e w s l e t t e r B h u t a n
Published by United Nations Resident Coordinator‟s Office UN House, Samten Lam Thimphu : Tel: + 975 2 322424 URL: http://www.unct.org.bt 7
Volume II, Issue 3 October, 2010
Volume IV, Issue 4 November, 2010
Making education compulsory would put an end to child
labour in Bhutan. This was one of the recommendations
made by participants of a two-day stake-holders
consultation workshop on Child labour in Bhutan.
Organised by the National Commission for Women and
Children (NCWC) from October 5 to 6, 2010, the
consultation meeting was attended by over 40
participants from the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of
Labour and Human Resources, Royal Bhutan Police,
national and international NGOs and the media houses.
Parliamentarians, lawyers, staff of UNICEF Bangladesh
and India offices and 10 students from various high
schools in Thimphu also attended the meeting.
The Labour and Employment Act 2007 allows children
between the ages of 13 to 17 years to work under certain
conditions, such
as not
working more
than 8 hours
and not being
exposed to
working
conditions that
are hazardous
to the health.
Therefore, the
participants
recommended
that employers having such workers should voluntarily
declare it to the Ministry of Labour and Human
Resources.
Such declaration would help the Ministry to monitor and
protect such child workers from exploitation. This could
also enable the Ministry to encourage the children to
either join school or avail opportunities such as
vocational trainings.
The 10 students who attended the meeting also
recommended that a youth initiated nation-wide
campaign titled “Each One Teach One to stop Child
Labour” should be organized to sensitize the general
public on the consequences of child labour.
Compulsory Education to end Child Labour
“
”
Published by United Nations Resident Coordinator‟s Office UN House, Samten Lam Thimphu : Tel: + 975 2 322424 URL: http://www.unct.org.bt 8
UN n e w s l e t t e r B h u t a n
Volume II, Issue 3 October, 2010
Volume IV, Issue 4 November, 2010
“We are concerned for those of our age who do not have,
like us, the opportunity to attend school or have access
to vocational trainings, leisure and adequate rest,” said
one of the students.
With financial and
technical support from
UNICEF, the
consultation workshop
was organized to learn
from the experiences of
Bangladesh and India
in tackling child labour.
It was also aimed to
establish a clear status
and trend of child labour in Bhutan.
The workshop also helped identify relevant partners to
develop strategies and to agree on a road map for
addressing the child labour issue.
Annick Lacits, Child Protection Specialist, Enabling Environment for Child Protection Programme, UNICEF Bhutan. She can be
reached at [email protected]
In 2009 the National Commission of Women and
Children, with UNICEF support, conducted a survey
on the situation of 585 child labourers in Bhutan.
According to the study, 36%
of the children worked in the
service sector, 34 % in
industries and 30% in
agriculture. Their age ranged
from 6 to 18 years.
About 44% of the child
workers in the service sector
were girls of which about half
were domestic servants.
A majority of the children worked more than 8 hours a
day and about 20% of them more than 12 hours.
A High Level Sensitization
Workshop on Gender
Mainstreaming was organized in
July jointly by the National
Commission for Women and
Children (NCWC) and the UN
System in Bhutan.
The three-day workshop aimed to
discuss key issues identified in the
National Plan of Action for Gender
and to sensitize the different
segments of the Royal Government
of Bhutan (RGOB) on Gender
mainstreaming in the country.
It was also expected to appraise
participants on the challenges
posed by the Convention on
Elimination of all forms of
Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW) Observations and
Universal Periodic Review of
Human Rights.
Members of the National Assembly
and National Council;
representatives of the constitutional
bodies; secretaries of various
ministries of the Royal Government
of Bhutan (RGoB); commissioners
and director generals; directors and
chief planning officers; and
representatives of key NGOs
attended the three-day event.
In his inaugural address, the
Honourable Prime Minister of
Bhutan, Jigme Y Thinley, outlined
the commitment, challenges and
aspirations of the RGoB to
promote, protect and monitor the
rights of women and children.
He called upon all branches of the
RGoB to do everything possible to
fulfill its obligations towards the
International Human Rights
instruments, and commended the
NCWC for taking the lead in
securing the rights of women and
children in the country.
The Prime Minister assured that his
Government will continue to provide
the fullest support to the NCWC,
including the space and resources.
High Level Sensitization on Gender Mainstreaming
Despite all the good
things that exist in our
culture, our laws and our
development policies and
programmes, we do know
that women continue to be
the primary victims of
domestic violence, poverty
and that they suffer from
various forms of comparative
disadvantages,
Honorable Prime Minister,
Jigme Y Thinley.
“
“
”
UN n e w s l e t t e r B h u t a n
Published by United Nations Resident Coordinator‟s Office UN House, Samten Lam Thimphu : Tel: + 975 2 322424 URL: http://www.unct.org.bt 9
Volume II, Issue 3 October, 2010
Volume IV, Issue 4 November, 2010
Likewise, the UN Resident
Coordinator, Ms. Claire Van der
Vaeren highlighted the progress
made by Bhutan in promoting and
protecting the rights of women and
children.
She lauded RGoB‟s commitment to
gender mainstreaming and called
for a more focused approach to
address the key gender concerns,
particularly in the areas indicated in
the National Plan of Action for
Gender and the concluding
observations of CEDAW.
She shed light on how Gender
Responsive Budgeting could help
maintain optimal focus on making
resource-allocations more gender
sensitive and suggested that the
RGoB consider this approach going
forward.
“Making the budget gender
responsive is the most sensitive
yardstick to translate political
commitment into concrete action for
gender equality and women‟s
empowerment,” said the Resident
Coordinator. She expressed UN
System‟s commitment to provide
necessary support by reinforcing
the capacity of the NCWC, GNHC
and the Ministry of Finance.
During the three-day workshop, the
participants concluded that there
was a need for the NCWC and the
UN System to collaborate further
and organize a similar workshop on
gender equality and women‟s
empowerment for related
committees of the parliament.
Likewise, it was also suggested to
hold a national consultation of the
Gender Focal Points to reinforce
the institutional mechanism and to
define areas of focus for gender
mainstreaming.
The Non-Formal Education Division
was identified as one of the key
institutions that could play a crucial
role in mainstreaming gender
concerns and establishing
mechanism for increasing
awareness.
Rinzi Pem, Governance Unit, UNDP and
Mamta Katwal, Solution Exchange
UNRCO. They can be reached at
r i n z i . p e m @ u n d p . o r g a n d
Published by United Nations Resident Coordinator‟s Office UN House, Samten Lam Thimphu : Tel: + 975 2 322424 URL: http://www.unct.org.bt 10
UN n e w s l e t t e r B h u t a n
Volume II, Issue 3 October, 2010
Volume IV, Issue 4 November, 2010
The Gross National Happiness
Commission (GNHC) of Bhutan
operationalized the Planning and
Monitoring System (PlaMS) from
the beginning of the fiscal year
2009-2010.
The PlaMS is a web-based
software tool developed by
GNHC to aid planning,
monitoring and also evaluation of
programmes of Bhutan‟s periodic
development plans.
The PlaMs operationalizes and
supports the national monitoring
and evaluation policy framework
provided in the National
Monitoring and Evaluation
Manual, and it is in line with the
result-based management (RBM)
concept and principles.
The PlaMS, therefore, will
gradually replace the manual
reporting of development
progress by all the sectors and
organizations of the Royal
Government of Bhutan (RGoB).
The PlaMs has three main
functional modules- Five-Year
Planning, Annual Work Plan and
Budget and Progress Reporting.
Consistent with the five-year
planning and implementation
process, these three main
functions of the system enable
users in all sector ministries,
autonomous agencies and local
governments (municipalities,
districts and blocks) to plan,
implement and track
implementation progress of their
development programmes
across all the result levels of a
programme such as outcome,
output, activity and sub-activity.
Reports at frequency of weekly,
monthly, quarterly, semi-annually
or annually can be generated at
different result levels of
programme implementation for
use by all the stakeholders.
The system is accessible from
any location with Internet
connectivity.
However, a username protected
by password must be obtained
from the system‟s administrator
to access the system.
All Government agencies have
been given access to the
system. The Uniform Resource
Locator (URL) address of PlaMs
is http://www.gnhc.gov.bt/
plams
The PlaMS will be one of the first
web-based national planning and
monitoring systems in the region.
Chencho, Manager, PlaMS, Gross
National Happiness Commission.
for effective development management and e-governance
Decision makers: The
Honourable Prime Minister,
cabinet ministers, and senior
government officials can use the
system for informed decision
making and tracking development
programmes.
Planners: Policy and Planning
Division (PPD) officials in different
ministries and agencies,
Dzongkhag Planning Officers and
Gewog Administrative Officers
can use the system for results
oriented development planning.
Implementers: Staff in the
ministries, agencies and
Dzongkhags can use it for
information management,
planning and monitoring.
Development partners: RGoB‟s
development partners will not
need to set up their own reporting
systems for progress tracking.
They can use PlaMS for
Users at Community Information Centres in Tsakaling, Mongar
PlaMs for all involved in
development programme
management
UN n e w s l e t t e r B h u t a n
Published by United Nations Resident Coordinator‟s Office UN House, Samten Lam Thimphu : Tel: + 975 2 322424 URL: http://www.unct.org.bt 11
Volume II, Issue 3 October, 2010
Volume IV, Issue 4 November, 2010
With the introduction of Community
Information Centres (CICs) in six
remote Gewogs, people living in
these rural communities in Bhutan
now are well connected with the
rest of the world.
They do not have to travel for days
to get to their Dzongkhag
headquarters to avail necessary
services and information. The CICs
provide an important opportunity in
bridging the information gap
between urban and rural
populations.
The CICs have been established in
Buli in Zhemgang, and in Tsakaling,
Chali, Yadi, Dremitse and Balam in
Mongar by the Department of
Information and Technology (DIT)
with support from the United
Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), Bhutan.
A CIC is a complete facility that
serves as a communication and
information platform for the people
in the rural areas.
The CICs are designed to provide
rural communities with affordable
and relevant access to a wide array
of basic IT services such as
telephone, fax, computers and
internet.
Furthermore, the CICs can function
as a place where the information
from line ministries on new
directives regarding their policies
and programs are disseminated,
where the communities can avail
government services and where
workshops and trainings can be
conducted.
This facility not only benefits the
people of the six communities but it
also benefits the people residing
outside Bhutan who now have the
opportunity to connect more easily
with their family and friends in the
remote areas.
According to the Community
Information Centre Roadmap, the
Royal Government of Bhutan
Community Information Centres connect rural communities in six remote Gewogs
I am residing outside
the country but now I am able
to get connected with my
parents in my home village in
Zhemgang district through
Internet. I chat with my sister
and get all the news of my
village. Without this facility I
would be totally cut off from my
parents and my village,
a Bhutanese student studying
in India.
Users at Community Information Centres in Tsakaling, Mongar
“
Published by United Nations Resident Coordinator‟s Office UN House, Samten Lam Thimphu : Tel: + 975 2 322424 URL: http://www.unct.org.bt 12
UN n e w s l e t t e r B h u t a n
Volume II, Issue 3 October, 2010
Volume IV, Issue 4 November, 2010
(RGoB) envisions to establish at
least one CIC in each of the 205
Gewogs by June 2011. The CICs are
expected to serve as the front-end
delivery points for the provision of
services by the Government, the
private sector and NGOs/CSOs to
the rural people.
However, several challenges need to
be addressed before expanding the
CIC services to all Gewogs. For
example, the effectiveness and the
usage of the Centres will rely on the
availability of internet connectivity
and power supply; but establishing
the necessary Information
Communication Technology (ICT)
infrastructure throughout Bhutan‟s
mountainous terrain to every Gewog
is costly.
In addition, it is essential to raise
awareness on the use and existence
of the CIC facilities as there is limited
awareness and knowledge on the
ICT possibilities in the selected
communities. The e-governance
project team of the Department of
Information and Technology has
already conducted workshops in
targeted 6 Gewogs in this regard.
Lachuman Acharya, DIT and Maartje Mol,
Governance Unit, UNDP. They can be
reached at [email protected] and
The e-governance project aims
at increasing harmonization of
efforts from various
government bodies to improve
service delivery mechanisms.
An integrated delivery
mechanism, the „e-platform‟
provides a space for
government organizations to
deliver their services online.
The introduction of the e-
platform in 2009 has already
played an important role in the
provision of services, including
rural firewood permits, audit
clearance, security clearance and
raising public awareness on e-
services from the government to
people.
The use of the integrated
mechanism is not only expected to
increase the efficiency and
effectiveness of
public service
delivery, but will
also enhance
transparency and
accountability in
government‟s daily
work.
The e-governance
has a tremendous
potential as a
mechanism for
furthering good
governance and
democratic
participation, which is at the core
of effective public service delivery.
The main objective of the
development of a common e-
platform system is to allow the
agencies under the Royal
Government of Bhutan (RGoB) to
bring their services online with
minimal effort.
The system integrates all the
common components and
processes involved in delivering
any approval-based service to the
rural communities in a speedy
manner. Any government agency
can use the e-platform to
automate their manual processes
and bring them online.
The common e-platform offers pre
-built modules required by all e-
services by default: user
management, application
registration, online document
submission, multi-level verification
process, application status
tracking, and complaint
mechanisms with an inbuilt
security mechanism, while
following the national data
standards. The agencies,
therefore, can easily deploy e-
services for online approvals.
As a pilot project, the DIT has
developed an online forestry
service using the common e-
platform. Now citizens in rural
areas can apply online for their
permits for firewood, flag poles,
fencing poles, and bamboo from
the nearby Gup office and have
their permits issued faster, without
travelling for many days.
e-governance for improved service delivery
mechanism
Members accessing service from Community
Information Centre at Chali, Mongar.
Community Information Centre at Dremitse, Mongar.