Stand by me, dear prime minister

The Prime Minister’s Grievance Cell continue to receive cases, some pathetic and a few hilarious
April 26, 2009: At least a few people in Bhutan strongly believe that there is no better guarantor in the country than the prime minister himself. Of the hundreds of people who approach the Prime Minister’s Grievance Cell, 15 of them wanted Lyonchen Jigmi Y. Thinley to be their loan guarantor. “We haven’t ruled them out, we have asked the BDFC to help them get a loan according to the existing rules taking their property as mortgage,” said a grievance cell official.
Another curious case that reached the Cell is that of a dzongrab who requested for a one year service extension as senior dzongrab.
A former driver from Trashiyangtse, who was allegedly involved in the sale of dashboards and car parts, came to request to reinstate him as a driver in the ministry of health.
He was referred to the health secretary.
An old childless man from Paro, with no job to rely on and no land or property to claim as his own, visited the Cell looking torn and tattered from within.
As the only one in a big family in the civil service, he had taken a loan under his name for the family. After distributing the family property to his siblings, he became a loan defaulter. Having given five days to service his loan by the court, he approached the Cell.
Respecting the independence of the judiciary, there was very little that the grievance cell could do. So, an official took a loan in his name to clear the man’s loan and helped him get a job as a caretaker in a private apple orchard.
Since its inception in April 2008, the Cell has received 697 cases, of which 363 were addressed and another 334 cases are being looked into.
Looking into a broad six categories of cases, issues related to security clearance certificate, census and naturalization topped the list with about 253 cases. An official from the Cell said the cases have been referred to concerned agencies.
Several BDFCL loan defaulters have also approached the grievance cell who have been given clear deadlines by the court.
“We respect the independence of the judiciary but we don’t ignore them (the defaulters) completely,” said an official.
Going one step ahead, the grievance cell discusses the issue with the defaulters and employs their children who are school dropouts in the private sector. The Cell then makes arrangements to repay the loan in installments through the company the children work for.
Around 170 unemployed people have registered with the Cell till date. Of which, 105 cases were solved and another 74 cases are being looked into. The Cell also received nine cases requesting early bail from prisons.