𝐕𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐆𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐠 𝐀𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲

… 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒎 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒗𝒂𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒈, 𝑪𝑪 𝒆𝒙𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔, 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒈𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔

By Kezang Choden

Several gewogs across Bhutan continue to face significant operational challenges due to prolonged vacancies in key administrative positions. Gewog Administrative Officers (GAOs), Community Center (CC) Executives, drivers, and caretakers remain unassigned in many gewogs, severely hampering service delivery and grassroots development.
Despite repeated appeals to relevant agencies, the problem persists. Local leaders express mounting frustration, saying that their concerns have gone unheard for months, even years. Without GAOs, essential tasks such as coordinating plans, executing budgets, and managing development activities are delayed or left incomplete. The lack of drivers and caretakers further strains operations, forcing Gups and Mangmis to take on multiple roles outside their responsibilities.
Community Centers, which serve as digital gateways for rural populations to access public services, are also rendered non-functional in the absence of trained CC Executives. Local leaders warn that the continued neglect not only undermines rural development and decentralization efforts but risks eroding public trust in local governance.
Shingkhar Gewog in Zhemgang Dzongkhag has been without a GAO since January 2024, despite multiple appeals for intervention. Gup Tshering Lhendup expressed disappointment over the prolonged absence, citing significant disruption to day-to-day administrative tasks.
“We have continuously requested the relevant agencies to appoint a GAO for our gewog, but to this day, no action has been taken,” said Gup Tshering. “While there may be other gewogs without GAOs, I believe none have gone this long without one.”

According to him, the lack of a GAO has delayed document processing, disrupted coordination with higher offices, and slowed the organization of development activities. With administrative workloads now falling on the Gup and Mangmi, the strain on gewog leadership continues to mount.

GAOs play a central role in supporting local leaders with planning, budgeting, and record-keeping. Their absence not only affects internal operations but also weakens overall service delivery at the grassroots level. Both residents and gewog officials have called for swift intervention to restore administrative functionality in Shingkhar.
Home Affairs Minister Lyonpo Tshering confirmed that 18 gewogs nationwide currently lack GAOs, with some vacancies extending beyond a year. Recognizing the critical need, the Ministry had earlier requested the Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC) to prioritize recruitment- especially for gewogs in remote and border areas, given their strategic importance.

Due to the shortage of regular GAOs, the RCSC recently approved contract-based recruitment. “We announced the 18 vacancies and received 551 applications. From that, we have shortlisted 180 candidates, with 10 applicants per post to ensure quality,” said Lyonpo.

He added that interviews will be held soon, followed by an orientation program. The new GAOs will then be deployed to all 18 vacant gewogs. A standby list is also being prepared to address future vacancies. For instance, Gakiling Gewog in Haa became vacant after the current round of announcements.

Lyonpo assured that all 205 gewogs in the country would be staffed with GAOs by the end of May 2025.
In Wangduephodrang’s Athang Gewog, the Community Center has remained non-functional for nearly two years due to the absence of a CC Executive. Over 1,200 residents are currently deprived of digital public services.

According to Gup Dawa Gyeltshen, the gewog administration has had to shoulder the center’s responsibilities on top of their regular work. “The CC is managed by the gewog administration, which is already burdened with other duties,” he said. “People still need help with tasks like online applications, document printing, and access to e-services.”
He added that repeated requests to the relevant authorities have gone unanswered, causing further delays in service delivery. As government services become increasingly digitized, the lack of a dedicated operator is proving to be a growing barrier for rural communities.

CCs are designed to facilitate essential services such as census updates, online forms, and financial transactions. Residents of Athang hope that their center will soon be fully staffed to ease challenges and improve access.
Minister Tshering acknowledged that about 13 gewogs, including Athang, are currently without CC Executives. While 187 gewogs have fully staffed CCs, Athang is temporarily served by the Daga Community Center, located nearby across the Punatsangchhu River.

Despite the gap, he noted that significant strides have been made to strengthen community centers. Following the merger of the National CSI Development Bank with BDBL in October 2023, the 17th Lhengye Zhungtshog Session in June 2024 approved the transfer of all CCs under the purview of Gewog Administrations.
“The Cabinet Secretariat, in coordination with the Ministry of Finance, is working closely with the RCSC on formal integration and absorption of CC Executives into the civil service,” said Lyonpo.

The government is now developing a comprehensive framework covering pay re-fixation, career mapping, roles and responsibilities, standard operating procedures, and operational guidelines for CCs and their staff. Recruitment for vacant positions will be conducted on a case-by-case basis once the framework is finalized in the coming weeks.
New CC Executives will be recruited under a consolidated contract at the O4A level, per the Bhutan Civil Service Rules and Regulations 2023. All recruits will undergo orientation in administrative work, Dzongkha Unicode, communication, and grievance redressal to ensure efficient local governance.

Bongo Gewog in Chukha Dzongkhag has been operating without a driver for almost a year and without a caretaker for the past five months. The absence of basic support staff has created serious logistical and operational hurdles.
Mangmi Khandu said the lack of a driver has limited the gewog’s ability to respond to emergencies and conduct official travel. “We face problems, especially during emergencies and field visits. Without a driver, it becomes hard to respond on time,” he said.

The lack of a caretaker has added another layer of strain. Gewog staff have had to take turns handling cleaning and maintenance duties, which has affected regular administrative work. “All staff are doing the caretaker’s work on rotation. It disrupts our core responsibilities,” Khandu added.

He urged the authorities to fill the vacancies as soon as possible to ensure smooth operation of the gewog administration. The situation in Bongo highlights the importance of timely recruitment and adequate resourcing for rural governance.

While Bongo’s challenges are clear, officials suggest that such gewogs may not have informed their respective Dzongkhag Administrations about the vacancies. Recruitment of drivers and caretakers was decentralized several years ago, placing responsibility on the Dzongkhags.

As per current protocol, a gewog with a budgetary government (BG) vehicle can request the Dzongkhag to recruit a driver. For caretakers, approval from the RCSC is required- though each gewog already has an approved position.
“The Ministry is not interfering in decentralized matters,” said Lyonpo, reaffirming that it is up to Dzongkhag Administrations to act on such staffing needs.

Across the country, gewogs remain the frontline units of governance, tasked with implementing policies, facilitating development, and providing services to rural populations. The continued absence of key staff in several gewogs is not just an administrative concern- it’s a developmental and social one.

Local leaders are calling for urgent attention to these persistent human resource gaps. They warn that if unresolved, the issue could deepen inequality between urban and rural areas, stall local development, and shake public confidence in decentralized governance.

With new recruitments underway and institutional reforms in motion, there is hope that change is coming. But until then, gewogs like Shingkhar, Athang, and Bongo continue to bear the brunt of administrative inertia- at the cost of progress.