Government Secretaries superannuate

Following Three Government Secretaries superannuate…

1. Dr. Dorji Wangchuk, Secretary, Ministry of Health superannuates…

Dasho (Dr.) Dorji Wangchuk, Hon’ble Secretary for Ministry of Health, superannuated from the civil service on 15 May, 2016 after 31 years of dedicated service to the Tsa-Wa-Sum.

Dr. Dorji Wangchuk began his career as a doctor in Tashigang hospital. In his 31 years of service, he has served in various capacities and all over Bhutan, as doctor in Tashigang and Samdrup Jongkhar Dzongkhags, and then Medical Superintendent in Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital, then as a Director for two of the biggest departments in the Ministry of Health; Department of Medical Services and the Department of Public Health before being appointed as the Secretary to the Ministry of Health on 1 November, 2014.

As a young doctor joining the service, Dr. recalls that the most important aspirations of the officers of their time were to give their best to the service of the Tsa-Wa-Sum. Therefore, he considers having had the opportunity to serve long years both in Tashigang and Samdrup Jongkhar, which was then some of the remote Dzongkhags, as one of the most fulfilling time of his career.He also considers the services he rendered during his tenure as a part of the medical team when the nation faced the difficult anti-national and the ULFA/BODO problems, as his main achievement.

On being asked what he would like to see improved in the civil service, Dr. said civil service could be more dynamic, focus on the bigger picture and ensure that it remains apolitical. He said that it is also important to ensure the morale of the civil service, in general, should be managed well so that civil servants both young and senior are motivated to give in their best.

As an advice for young civil servants, Dr. mentioned that they must at all times ensure comradeship amongst themselves, strive towards achieving national goals and not be complacent, strive towards enhancing the credibility of the civil servants and above all, strive to serve the Tsa-Wa-Sum with utmost sincerity and dedication.

The Royal Civil Service Commission, on behalf of the civil service of Bhutan, takes this opportunity to thank Dr. Dorji Wangchuk for his commitment and contribution to the Royal Government of Bhutan.

We heartily congratulate Dr. Dorji for his successful 31 years of dedicated service to the Tsa-Wa-Sum and wish him and his family a very happy and peaceful life ahead.

With sincere appreciation and deep gratitude…

2. Lam Dorji, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance superannuates

Dasho Lam Dorji, Hon’ble Secretary to the Ministry of Finance superannuated as the Government Secretary on 8 June, 2016 after 41 years and 3 months of dedicated service to the Tsa-Wa-Sum.

He began his career in 1975 as an Assistant Accountant in the Ministry of Finance and was promoted as Section Officer on 1 July, 1980 and then promoted to the post of Director on 16 August, 1999. He served as the Director until 2006 for various departments under the Ministry of Finance. On 1 July, 2006, he was appointed as the Secretary of Planning Commission now the Gross National Happiness Commission. On 13 March, 2008, he was appointed as the Government Secretary for the Ministry of Finance.

The Royal Civil Service Commission, on behalf of the civil service of Bhutan, takes this opportunity to thank Secretary for his commitment and contribution to the Royal Government of Bhutan. We heartily congratulate him for his more than 41 years of dedicated service to the Tsa-Wa-Sum and we wish him and his family a very happy and peaceful life ahead.

With sincere appreciation and deep gratitude…

3. Tenzin Dhendup, Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests superannuates

Dasho Tenzin Dhendup, Hon’ble Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests superannuated from the civil service on 7 July, 2016 after 35 years and 5 months of dedicated service to the Tsa-Wa-Sum.

He began his career as a Trainee Officer in Warm Water Fishery Centre (WWFC), Gelephu on 1 February, 1981. He served in various capacities as Assistant Fishery Officer and Project Director in WWFC, Gelephu, after which he was transferred to Department of Research and Development. On 26 January, 2000 he was promoted as the Director for Department of Agriculture and Livestock, Ministry of Agriculture & Forests. On 21 May, 2014, he was appointed as the Government Secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests.

As a young and a proud graduate then, his expectation was to get a proper job in the government and contribute to overall development of the country. On being asked about his greatest achievements in the civil service, he said his contributions in Fishery Programs, Agriculture Programmes, and Livestock Programmes were memorable and worth cherishing for life. He mentions that he had the honour to work under the guidance of Her Majesty the Queen Mother in conducting flower exhibitions in Paro.

Similarly, he had the privilege to coordinate the setup of Ludrong Memorial Garden at Langjophakha and the Guinness World Record Plantation at Kuenselphodrang. Furthermore, he was involved in coordinating the Biking Trail around Thimphu as well. Considering higher level of motivation amongst the civil servants as key factor, he emphasised on the importance of ‘dedication’ and ‘sincerity’ in the civil service. “Be dedicated and sincere in serving the king, the country and the people.” Further, he urges all civil servants to appreciate work we do in serving the Royal Government.

The Royal Civil Service Commission, on behalf of the civil service of Bhutan, takes this opportunity to thank Secretary Tenzin for his commitment and contribution to the Royal Government of Bhutan. We heartily congratulate him for his more than 35 years of dedicated service to the Tsa-Wa-Sum and wish him and his family a very happy and peaceful life ahead.

With sincere appreciation and deep gratitude…

Following four Government Secretaries completed tenure as the Government Secretaries…

1. Sangay Zam, Secretary for Ministry of Education completes Government Secretary tenure.

Dasho Sangay Zam, Hon’ble Secretary for the Ministry of Education successfully completed her tenure as the Government Secretary on 30 June, 2016 after 33 years of dedicated service to the Tsa-Wa-Sum.

Dasho Sangay started her career in 1983 as a Trainee Officer in the Department of Revenue and Customs (DRC), Ministry of Finance. Following that, she served in various capacities in the same Ministry as Accounts Officer, Assistant Director, and the Director of DRC. And then on 1 August, 2007 Aum Sangay was appointed as the Secretary to the Royal Government for the Ministry of Education.

On being asked of her expectations and aspirations when she joined the civil service, she said that, like any other aspiring graduates, she had lots of expectations, of which one was to create difference in the system that would enrich the lives of people. And on being asked of her greatest achievement during her service, she mentioned that it would not be right to take individual credit and so as a team, she considers having the opportunity to frame tax legislation and the Personal Income Tax systems, which were critical reforms in meeting the national goal of self-reliance as one of her greater contributions that she could make during her service. In addition to that, she also considers having had the opportunity to be able to focus on instituting and reforming systems, structures and policies that formed bedrock of any sustainable institution at the Ministry of Education, as one of her contribution during her service. She however reiterated that all these systemic changes were possible only through collective effort.

When asked on the improvement she would like to see in the civil service, Aum Sangay remarked that civil service comprises of complex and diverse group of people and that there would always be challenge to meet everyone’s expectations. Therefore, it is more critical to have robust systems in place, which empowers civil servants with explicit accountability and minimal regulation.

Finally, as an advise to the young civil servants, she highlighted the need for young civil servants to be more professional. She stressed on the important role of civil servants in providing objective and professional feedback without fear and prejudice. Further, she urged the civil servants to be guided by principles and beliefs in delivering duties and responsibilities in the larger interest of the nation.

Aum Sangay mentioned that she is extremely fortunate for getting the opportunity to serve the Tsa-Wa-Sum in various capacities. She would continue to actively contribute towards the development of the country in whatever small ways after completion of her tenure as the government Secretary and as a civil servant.

The Royal Civil Service Commission, on behalf of the civil service of Bhutan, takes this opportunity to thank Aum Sangay for her commitment and contribution to the Royal Government of Bhutan. We heartily congratulate Aum for her successful 33 years of dedicated service to the Tsa-Wa-Sum and wish her and her family a very happy and peaceful life ahead.

With sincere appreciation and deep gratitude…

2. Pema Wangda, Secretary for Ministry of Labour & Human Resources completes Government Secretary tenure.

Dasho Pema Wangda, Hon’ble Secretary for the Ministry of Labour & Human Resources completed his tenure as the Government Secretary as of 30 June, 2016 after 34 years of dedicated service to the Tsa-Wa-Sum.

Secretary Pema began his career as a Trainee Officer with the Royal Civil Service Commission in 1982. Then, in RCSC, he served in various positions as Employment Officer, Under Secretary, Deputy Secretary till he was appointed as the Director for Department of Labour, Ministry of Labour & Human Resources in 2002. On 1 July, 2011, he was appointed as the Secretary for the Ministry of Labour & Human Resources.

The Executive Management Division, RCSC sought an interview with the outgoing Secretary. On being asked what were his expectations when he joined the civil service and have those expectations been met, he responded saying, “when I joined the RCSC in 1982, after one year of national service with a monthly allowance of Nu. 200, I was very excited to receive Nu. 410 per month with free housing. However, I was so engrossed in making a decent living with that I hardly had time to think of my future or future prospects. As I climbed up the ladder of the bureaucracy my ambitions grew and I expected to become at least a head of a department. I never dreamt of becoming a Secretary because I honestly thought such posts were off limit to a person like me who came from a very humble family background. I would like to offer my most humble gratitude to His Majesty the King and Royal Government for entrusting me with the position of Secretary, MoLHR. Therefore, my achievement has exceeded my expectations”.

On being asked what would he consider the greatest achievement in his service, he said, having had the opportunity to join the RCSC on the same day it was being established, he was provided with many opportunities to apply his knowledge and skills. As a trainee officer in grade 12, he was entrusted with the responsibility of introducing the Civil Service Officers Selection System, now BCSE. Later, he was also given the opportunity to chair the committee to review the BCSE and the present system is the result of the concerted effort made by the committee over six months. Further, he was also given the opportunity to draft recruitment and training rules in late 1980’s and early 90’s which were the foundations of the present BCSR. He also had the honour of chairing the drafting committee to draft the Civil Service Act, 2010.

He was transferred from the RCSC in 2000 to set up National Employment Board, then the Department of Employment and Labour and ultimately the MoLHR. He had the honour of drafting the MoLHR Master Plan based on which the Ministry is structured and is functioning today. His greatest achievement in the Ministry other than making the Ministry a functional was institutionalising a labour administration system that is suitable for Bhutan and the enactment of the Labour and Employment Act. These are considered as his achievements and humble contributions to the Nation.

Some of the areas he would like to see improved were the reforms the present Commission is initiating are laudable. In addition, there is serious need to look at the distribution of civil servants. Many civil servants, especially at the support level have become redundant as the structure was designed to suit the technology in the 1990’s. With wide use of ICT, many positions at the support level are no longer required and therefore, support staff in these positions have hardly any work. At the same time many professional positions, which are critical to the delivery of public services and meeting plan targets are unfilled because the Commission believes that the civil service is too bloated. The Commission may wish to look at the history of streamlining the civil service through golden handshake that was used to weed out redundant and non-performing civil servants in 1980’s and 90’s.

Finally as an advice to young civil servants, he said, “every year during the NGOP I used to tell the graduates that if they wanted to commit themselves to serve the people they should join the civil service and if they wanted to make money they should look for opportunities elsewhere. I would give the same advice to the young civil service. If they are committed to serve the people with utmost dedication and sincerity they will be rewarded with their non-financial dreams and honour. The Commission has a great responsibility in shaping the future of this country through the civil servants. I wish the Commission and its officers and staff all the best”.

As a final word, he said, “As I leave the civil service after 34 years, I would like to offer my most humble gratitude to His Majesty the King and the Royal Government for first educating me and then with the honour to serve the Tsa- Wa-Sum as a civil servant. I tried to serve the Tsa-Wa-Sum to the best of my ability and will continue to do so as a private citizen till my last breath”.

The Royal Civil Service Commission, on behalf of the civil service of Bhutan, takes this opportunity to thank Secretary Pema for his commitment and contribution to the Royal Government of Bhutan.

We heartily congratulate Secretary for his more than 34 years of dedicated service to the Tsa-Wa-Sum and wish him and his family a very happy and peaceful life ahead.

With sincere appreciation and deep gratitude…

3. Dasho (Dr) Sonam Tenzin,Secretary for Ministry of Home & Cultural Affairs completes Government Secretary tenure.

Dasho (Dr.) Sonam Tenzin, Hon’ble Secretary for the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs successfully completed his tenure as the Government Secretary on the 30 June, 2016 after more than 33 years of dedicated service to the Tsa-Wa-Sum.

With a hope to be a useful civil servant to the Royal Government of Bhutan, Dasho Sonam began his career as a Medical Doctor on 12 August, 1983 in Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital. He served as the Medical Doctor until 31 August, 1992 and then was appointed as the Dzongdag for Sarpang Dzongkhag on 1 September, 1992 and as the Dzongdag for Tashigang Dzongkhag on 15 September, 1998. He later became Director General of Department of Immigration and Director General of Department of Local Governance, Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs.

He served as the Government Secretary for the Ministry of Labour and Human Resources, Ministry of Works and Human Settlement and finally as the Government Secretary for the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs.

Dasho (Dr.) Sonam has displayed the highest level of integrity, sincerity and professionalism throughout his career. In this honour, Dasho was conferred red scarf on 17 December, 1997 by the Fourth Druk Gyalpo.

When asked about his contributions and achievements, he said that his greatest achievement is having completed his service successfully. Further, on being asked what he would like to see improved in the civil services, he said, that we should have a system that cannot be interfered, a system that is strong and institutionalised so that it can withstand interference from anywhere in any form. Further, he also feels that the bureaucracy must be the first choice of employment for all young people like it used to be long time ago.

As an advice to the young civil servants, Dasho emphasises on the importance of ‘hard work’ and ‘dedication’ to the Tsa Wa Sum and upholding our sovereignty and security. “We should all work towards promoting and preserving them”. Above all, Dasho reminds us to prioritise Monarchy and Dharma to ensure peace and stability of the nation.

The Royal Civil Service Commission, on behalf of the civil service of Bhutan, takes this opportunity to thank Dasho Sonam for his commitment and contribution to the Royal Government of Bhutan. We heartily congratulate Dasho for his more than 33 years of dedicated service to the Tsa-Wa-Sum and wish him and his family a very happy and peaceful life ahead.

With sincere appreciation and deep gratitude…

3. Dasho Kinley Dorji, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Communications completed his tenure as the Government Secretary.

Dasho Kinley Dorji, Hon’ble Secretary, Ministry of Information & Communications has successfully completed his tenure as the Government Secretary as of 30 June, 2016 after 38 years of dedicated service to the Tsa-Wa-Sum.

Dasho Kinley began his career as the Reporter for Kuensel Corporation on 1 July, 1978. Serving in various capacities as the Editor and Managing Director for Kuensel Corporation, Dasho Kinley was appointed as the Secretary for Ministry of Information & Communications with effect from February 2009.

Dasho kinley was also awarded prestigious red scarf by His Majesty 4^th Druk Gyalpo on 9 December, 2006 for his dedicated service to the Tsa-Wa-Sum.

The Executive Management Division, RCSC sought an interview with the outgoing Secretary. On being asked what his expectations were when he joined the civil service and whether those expectations have been met, he said “Like most civil servants, I did not have any specific expectations when I joined. I joined to serve the Tsa-Wa-Sum, not knowing what that really meant. But, like others in the professional arenas, my responsibility was quite clear. As the first Bhutanese to study journalism, it was natural that I had to help start the first newspaper by upgrading the existing government bulletin, Kuensel. Then we all grew with the civil service. After the initial focus on infrastructure and the social services, we developed the information sector with the media, telecom, information communication technology, the new media, and now social media. The government initiated the development of most sectors, by introducing them as departments, and then corporatising them, and then privatizing them. So we are a part of an ongoing process, not a project that gets completed”.

Further, when asked on what his greatest achievement was, he responded saying, “I belong to a generation that was destined to professionalize the civil service which had already made the transition from the Royal Court to a modernized government system. There was much to be done and I saw it as the work of a team rather than personal achievements. There were some decisions that were easy to make and they had huge impact and visibility. Some were excruciating but hardly visible. Working in the Bhutanese media for most of my official career I carry the sense that we were also pushing the boundaries of thought and speech. We still are as the times keep changing”

Some of the areas he would like to see improved are: “The attitude. An embarrassing experience I recall was sending a team of ICT professionals from outside to train officials in a dzongkhag. They refused to attend because there was no DSA. So we are now saying “If you don’t pay me, I am not going to let myself be trained”. Then the complacency that seems to be a part of the civil service culture. It’s a 9 to 5 job with frequent breaks in between. And it is the only opportunity for many Bhutanese to travel. It’s okay to shop during a training or study tour, but do we bring any knowledge back along with the TV set? The fear of taking risks that leads to excessive bureaucracy and delayed bureaucracy. In the past year, the secretaries who were retiring were repeatedly warned: “Be careful. You have only a few months left. Don’t risk losing your retirement benefits”.

“Civil servants need to look at ourselves, not as a privileged class, but professionals fortunate enough to be serving the people”

As an advice to young civil servants, he said, be aware of and respect society outside the civil service. Also, that there are opportunities outside the civil service.

The Royal Civil Service Commission, on behalf of the civil service of Bhutan, takes this opportunity to thank Dasho Kinley for his commitment and contribution to the Royal Government of Bhutan. We heartily congratulate him for his more than 38 years of dedicated service to the Tsa-Wa-Sum and wish him and his family a very happy and peaceful life ahead.

With sincere appreciation and deep gratitude…

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