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In his State of the Nation Address yesterday, the Prime Minister highlighted Bhutanese emigration in search of better opportunities as the most pressing issue facing the country today. To date, approximately 64,000 Bhutanese have emigrated, mostly to Australia. This is an astounding 9% of our total population.
The impact of such large-scale immigration is far-reaching. We are already facing a severe shortage of labor in all walks of life. A large number of key talents in our human resources – teachers, doctors, experts, engineers, lawyers, media professionals and bankers – have left the country for greener pastures.
Over the past few years, we have experienced the worst brain drain in our history, with thousands of professionals in key industries leaving the country. The impact of this mass immigration and the resulting brain drain is quite evident.
Many of our institutions are struggling to fill critical positions that require specialized expertise and experience. This vacuum is increasing workloads and undermining the efficiency of our public institutions. Take our hospitals, for example. These vital public health services are short-staffed and on the verge of collapse.
More worrying is the widespread disillusionment and despair among Bhutanese youth. The lack of opportunities at home has forced many young people to seek opportunities abroad. Bhutanese are leaving their families and selling their land and properties in their hometowns. More and more Bhutanese are seeking permanent residency abroad.
The reality is frightening. However, the worst is yet to come.
What we are experiencing now is only the most immediate impact of large-scale immigration. In the long run, immigration will have a greater, deeper and even irreversible impact on our culture, language, identity and national sovereignty. As a small landlocked country with a population of less than one million, this will shake the foundation of our country.
His Majesty the King envisioned the Gallep Mindful City (GMC) to propel our country into the future at an unprecedented pace. The visionary GMC will be a panacea for all our existing economic woes. But it will take some time to achieve this goal and fully enjoy the fruits of the GMC. That is why we need immediate interventions now – including quick solutions, short-term policy decisions and effective governance. The post-pandemic economic recovery has been quite slow. Our hopes for a speedy economic recovery rest on the Nu 15 billion economic stimulus package. This vital stimulus money must be spent meaningfully, wisely and quickly. Moreover, the private sector, which has been touted as our growth engine for decades, needs to be revived and become a vital partner in our country’s economic transformation efforts.
If economic recovery and expansion are the only solution to address and hopefully reverse current immigration trends, there is a lot of work to be done. That is where the government comes in. That is where the prime minister must walk the talk.
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