Volume: II, Issue 3 October, 2010 newsletter · Volume II, Issue 3 October, 2010 Volume IV, Issue 4 November, 2010 In 2008, the National Assembly instructed to the RGoB to expedite

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


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





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





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

[email protected]

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?





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





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.





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

“

”





“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.

“

“

”





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

[email protected].





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





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

“





(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

[email protected]

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.

Documents

Volume: II, Issue 3 October, 2010 newsletter · Volume II, Issue 3 October, 2010 Volume IV, Issue 4 November, 2010 In 2008, the National Assembly instructed to the RGoB to expedite