Questioning pledges

By Sangay Rabten, Thimphu

With the objective of narrowingĀ the gap, Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa (DNT) promised several free services to the people if they come to the power. In campaign for theĀ general round, DNT candidatesĀ are doing their bestĀ making pledges to woo votersĀ giving prime focus inĀ eastern region, from whereĀ DNT got fewer votes duringĀ the primary round.Ā DPT candidate of HaaĀ Sombeykha constituency,Ā Rinzin Wangchuk sought
clarifications on DNT’s freeĀ services like free Wi-Fi andĀ Sung-joen app, introducingĀ daily wages in the rural areasĀ during the initial monthsĀ of child birth and free accessĀ of 24Ɨ7 to all online dataĀ within the country duringĀ the public debate held onĀ 26 September. He said free services will undermine theĀ country’s self-reliant economyĀ long-term goal. He questionedĀ Dorji Wangmo, howĀ DNT will manage with allĀ these free services?
Dorji Wangmo replied, ā€œManifesto of DNT is wellĀ researched and acceptedĀ by Election Commission ofĀ Bhutan (ECB).ā€ She saidĀ that ECB may not have acceptedĀ DNT manifesto if itĀ has defects. She also said
that by the judging the trendĀ of DPT’s opposing pledgesĀ of DNT seems that they areĀ worried if DNT may come toĀ the power.Ā DNT candidate of Gangzur _Minjey constituency,Ā Kuenga Dorji said that the
party is already ready withĀ free Wi-Fi and can be doneĀ in 120 days if given theĀ chance. He said, ā€œFree Wi-Fi means both free intranetĀ and internet which internationalĀ bandwidth can be directlyĀ connected to intranetĀ using economy of scale paidĀ by government as subsidy.ā€Ā He said that governmentĀ will pay for the internationalĀ bandwidth which may costĀ around half a billion ngultrumsĀ per year.

Facebook,Ā Google and YouTube can beĀ accessed through free Wi-Fi.Ā Kuenga Dorji said thatĀ Suung-joen app which isĀ exactly like WeChat can beĀ used anywhere in BhutanĀ and from anywhere in theĀ world. People outside BhutanĀ need to pay for Sung-joenĀ app usage. DNT’s pledgesĀ explain that free W-Fi accessĀ points will be establishedĀ and allow free hosting of localĀ contents. ā€œBhutan’s ruggedĀ geography makes digitalĀ divide a serious concern
and therefore free Wi-Fi willĀ enhances the ICT and narrowĀ the digital divide,ā€ heĀ added.
Rinzin Wangchuk told toĀ Bhutan Today that it was aĀ concern for the country andĀ pledges of political parties should be judged for theĀ long-term reliability. ā€œThereĀ need to be check and balance,ā€Ā he said

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