As numbed as I am by events of the recent past, an inconspicuous news report in the Kuensel issue of 2nd July, 2022 has been nagging me for days. It simply won’t go away. But I am helpless - my weather-beaten antennae are tuned to ring alarm bells when something out of the ordinary occurs. And, certainly, a drop in inward remittance of over 50% is alarming - in fact terrifying - both in scale and in scope. And why in 2022? I began to examine the matter from all angles - to try and understand what may be causing it.
What is the cause behind more than 50% drop in inward remittances?
The exodus of human capital out of the country has been a source of some worry. The primary concern has been that the country is getting shorn of young and able-bodied youth. But the positive side to the malice has been that the country has recorded inward remittances in the billions. The none-resident Bhutanese have been sending money back home, they have been buying properties and building homes, funding the education of their siblings and generally supporting their families and relatives live an easeful life - through their hard work and earnings abroad. This has been all hunky-dory so far.
In my reading, this trend was indication that Bhutan mattered to them, that their families mattered to them and even more important – it indicated that they would come back home some day - to bask in the accomplishments of their many years of toil in a foreign land.
But now we have to begin to worry: what exactly is causing the drop in remittances – by as much as over 50%?
Is there a dramatic shift in thinking?
Have they decided to park their earnings in the host countries of their domicile, instead of sending it back home?
Are they buying properties outside – instead of in the country of their birth?
Have they decided to take roots and raise families in a foreign land, and not come back to Bhutan?
Or, if none of the above are reasons behind the fall in remittances, have the none-resident Bhutanese found some other channels that are more lucrative than the official channels - to send their earnings back home?
The choice of whether livelihood matters more than life is a choice they have made – but as far as I am concerned, we want the Bhutanese back – we are already so precious few.
I hope the government will institute a study as to why this potentially dangerous trend has taken place. And I pray that this is a one off happenstance - that the trend will reverse in the coming months.
As I see there is now sponsoring of family members from home to Australia. This will require substantial amount of money within Australia as the newcomers need to pay college fees. I think the trend in increased remittance will pick up once these thousands of newcomers stand on their own feet and start earning enough to send home.
ReplyDeleteThe other possibility is that some hardworking Bhutanese could have lost their jobs during Covid, which is immediately followed by high inflation worldwide. And now the world is heading towards another worse economic recession. For all these, one has to be cautious with the savings to survive the rainy day on a foreign land.
While the author has already mentioned all factors that contributed to the decline in remittances. Covid has created more jobs esp in Australia, nowadays people get job very Easily unlike pre covid times. Bhutanese could able to penetrate Great Wall of high paying skilled jobs for the first time during covid times, and making mind boggling amount of money. But sadly our banking system didn’t able to provide prompt facilities to send just $100 on time. Reserve Bank of India playing a big hurdle role bouncing back every day millions of Bhutanese Aussie dollar back to Australian bank account as if we were like Russia knock out of SWIFt banking system. Governor of Reserve bank of bhutan came to Australia on holiday and doesn’t know what is happening and that’s system we have back home. As a result, 100 of Bhutanese end yo buying properties here where system are so efficient, 1000 of Bhutanese end up resorting with business people to send dollar to Bangkok, China and other parts for the good and services. Best of luck Bhutan.
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DeleteRemittances through unofficial channels is the old trick rampantly practised world over for decades and aussie Bhutanese seems to have learnt the trade... good
ReplyDeleteIt is said hawala transfer transactions far exceeds the banks by hundredfold or even more... and it is both cheaper and reliable
Yes it a big thing to worry and find out the reason behind. In Bhutan we don’t get opportunities to grow like in abroad, our money value is now down the drain , our expenses are always higher then what we earn, banks charges us higher intrest den others, in short difficult to make a living and now ppl started settling aboard is a choice they made with the insecurity that we have in Bhutan .
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