GOVERNMENT GOING TRANSPARENT NOW?

Our government came under attack for banning live TV from the national assembly hall last year and for initiating performance audit of BBS when it refused or rather could not cover a session of the parliament when asked to do so. The speaker was quoted saying "BBS dhi zhung gi inna gyer gi inna" insinuating that if it is financed by the government, it should do as told and questioning the independence of media in the country.
This is an editorial from Bhutan Today about transparency in government.Transparency in government is, perhaps, one of the most important requirements in a democracy. Let us hear Bhutan Today's perspectives on this:

January 14, 2010 · Filed Under editorial

So, now the government wants to be more open to the media. Or it seems so. It depends on how committed they are.

In fact, before the democratic government came into place, the cabinet secretariat had come out with the weekly briefings on major decisions taken by the gov?ernment. We did have one or two sittings in the Cabinet Secretariat. Then, the whole arrangement fizzled out.

When we asked the cabinet office for any information, they didn’t have the appropriate information, because they are not fed with the appropriate answers. Nor were there any one responsible for coordinating the flow of information. Perhaps, lack of cooperation from the rel?evant ministry/department had most likely constrained them in their work.

We don’t blame the people in the cabinet office. They have to do their own routine work and at the same time field the reporters. And reporters can and do come out with the weirdest questions.

The move to hold press briefings every Wednesday was supposed to be an example when the new demo?cratic government sat on the saddle. That was part of the government’s effort to be transparent.

Of course when the new government came into power, for some reason it fizzled out. The caretaker government bowed out and it was all up to the new one to do something about it. The continuity stopped there.

Now the government wants to continue with the system. The cabinet meets every Tuesday and the media would be informed of the outcome by late Tuesday or Wednesday morning at the latest. That is a laudable effort.

Now that PMO has appointed someone to handle this PR side of the government, we do expect something more than what we were handed out in the past.

If transparency is to be as transparent as promised, it is time that the government set up a conduit that will ensure it. As is often said, the government officials are not approachable. We always have to approach the spokesperson. The point is that even when we contact the spokespersons, s/he is never able to provide the full information as the person doesn’t know what is hap?pening about a particular project. When we contact the project manager or the person in-charge, we are told to contact the spokesperson. So we end up in a wild goose chase.

The Prime Minister and the ministers, combined together, have to run a government. They are a busy bunch of VIPs. Many reporters felt that many of the ministers are accessible. Such accessibility is mostly based on personal contact. That is understandable. One has to build confidence in your sources.

There might be as many annoying reporters as there are brusque and unapproachable ministers, or for that matter ministry secretaries and departmental directors. If we continue with the blame game, we will only tire ourselves pointing the finger at each other.

The best solution would be to understand each other’ problems and render assistance wherever possible. No one is asking for some one to bend over backwards. We are each doing our work.

Accompanying the Prime Minister or a minister on some important visit abroad has also come as an issue. Now the question is who should go and who shouldn’t? What should be the selection criteria?

This is at present not the important issue. The issue is transparency. If every one follows that principle, if not everything, at least, most problems would be solved.