Nine oral questions were raised to the Cabinet Ministers - four each to the Hon’ble Prime Minister and to the Minister for Works and Human Settlement and one to the Minister for Information and Communications.

The Prime Minister was questioned on the country’s economic situation and the government’s strategies to improve it, the Government’s plan to solve the issue of the absence of a trade route and related issues faced by the  Jomotsangkha Drungkhag, and on government’s plan to address the impact of the suspension of loans by the financial institutions. 

Regarding the country’s economy, the Prime Minister stated that the country’s GDP growth rate is 5% compared to the international GDP growth rate of 3.5% now. However, the country is experiencing a negative trade balance since the import is more than the export. The Prime Minister informed that to improve the economy, the government is now focusing on human capacity building, the substitution of imports, enhancement of communication, and prioritizations of ICT. On the suspended education loans by the financial institutions, the Prime Minister clarified that the Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) had the authority and that the government has already shared the concern to expedite the matter. The government can facilitate support for the RMA.

The Minister for Works and Human Settlement was questioned on the commencement date of the black topping of the highway that passes through Khar and Tsebar, request to allow the construction of three-storied houses within the Gewog office premises, update on the status of the budget and Cabinet’s decision on construction of the  18km road connecting Khomshar in Zhemgang and Wama in Mongar Dzongkhag and the status of the government’s pledge to construct a shorter route from Mongar Shelrichhu to Gyelpoizhing Nganglam highway.

On the request to allow the construction of three storied houses within the Gewog office premises, the Minister for Works and Human Settlement submitted that the decision to allow only two storied buildings came from the then Dzongkhag Tshogdu. The Minister said that the  Dzongkhag Tshogdu could submit a request to change the existing rule and the Ministry can look into it in collaboration with the Local Government, Dzongkhag Tshogdu, and the Ministry of Works and Human Settlement. 

The Minister for Information and Communications answering the question on the status of the Digital Drukyul Project informed that the overall status of the project is at 72% as of now.  He also provided details on the eight major projects under the Digital Drukyul Project as National Digital Identity which is 77% completed, Government Initiative Network at 97%, ICT Capacity Building at 86%, Integrated Citizen Services which is 96% nearing completion, Digital School which is 84% completed, Integrated Business Licensing System, Electronic Business Information System, and Bhutan Integrated Taxation System. 

Question Hour is conducted every Tuesday and Friday morning.