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Go by the book

18 December 2009

The National Assembly’s decision to raise the salary of MPs provoked public outrage. Understandably so. The parliament, and the National Assembly for that matter, does not have the powers to fix salaries for MPs and secretaries. It is the duty of an autonomous pay commission as provided for by the constitution.

The constitution clearly says that the pay commission shall recommend to the government revisions in salaries, allowances and benefits of public servants, which include parliamentarians, with due regard to the economy of the kingdom. The constitution allows parliament to discuss salaries and allowances only after the pay commission’s recommendations have been reviewed by Lhengye Zhungtshog.

MPs argue that their salary raise is based on the pay commission’s recommendation of 40 to 77 percent pay hike for MPs last December. That is not justified because, upon the government’s review, the 30 percent pay raise had been discussed and endorsed by the parliament. That closed the chapter for the first pay hike for the politicians. What we are debating right now is the second pay hike. And this needs to follow the same procedure – form the pay commission, get its recommendations, put them to Lhengye Zhungtshog, and let the government’s decision come to the parliament for discussion. Skipping this procedure is tantamount to breach of constitutional provisions. It is especially important for the first democratic government to do everything by the book.

If the National Assembly goes by the book, the pay commission has to be formed. And the constitution mandates the pay commission to recommend revisions ‘with due regard to the economy of the kingdom’. And the economy of the kingdom, which is already not robust enough to lift a bulk of the population out of poverty, is battered by a series of disasters. In this light, the pay commission would not have recommended a hefty raise. Did our MPs picture the whole thing and sought the shortcut? We can never say.

But something is amiss with them. Only a few weeks back, the National Assembly vehemently objected to the sitting fee paid for the DHI board of directors, describing it as ‘exorbitantly high’. Some of the members argued, almost  patriotically, that our country was too poor to afford such a high sitting fee. Now, when the money smiles on themselves, their ‘huge responsibility’ counts more than the poor country. Now the question bounces back on them: can our country afford it?

Our MPs also argue that they are ‘struggling’ to meet their expenses. So they need a salary raise. Everybody is struggling, and by the same token, every public servant needs a salary raise. At a time when the role of all branches of public service is crucial, MPs cannot inflate their role to demand more.

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Posted by Bhutan Observer · Filed Under Editorial 

Comments

2 Responses to “Go by the book”

  1. Thinlay Tenzin on December 21st, 2009 9:21 am

    The achievements of the Government (MPs). First it is fixation of pay followed by Kamney & patang, then vehicle, then chauffer and finally a raise. Is this the achievement of Democracy in Bhutan?

  2. T Palden on December 29th, 2009 10:43 am

    good exercise of the media rights.grt job…

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