The Kashag (Cabinet)
The Kashag (Cabinet) is the highest executive office of the Central Tibetan Administration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Under the guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Kashag runs and fulfills all its executive and administrative responsibilities.
In accordance to the Charter of Tibetan Government in Exile, the seven members Kashag, is headed by a Kalon Tripa (Prime Minister). Kalon Tripa is directly elected by exile Tibetan populace. Kalon Tripa, in turn nominates his other seven Kalons and seeks the Parliament's approval. The term of the Kashag is for five years.
Kashag Secretariat
A Secretary (Cabinet Secretary) heads the Kashag Secretariat. The Secretariat provides the Kashag with secretarial and administrative services. All decision made in the Kashag are implemented through the respective departments and concerned offices. The Kashag Secretariat has two sub offices namely: The office of planning Commission and Kashag Contingency section.
Sections of Kashag Secretariat
Kashag Secretariat is divided into six sections
- 1. Kashag meeting( Cabinet Meeting) section.
- 2. Parliament liaisons and planning supervision Section
- 3. Travel Document section
- 4. Audit scrutiny and follow up section
- 5. Dolgyal affairs scrutiny section
- 6. Administrative section.
1. Kashag meeting (Cabinet Meeting) section.
According to the administrative rule the Kashag meets twice in a week. The Cabinet Secretary and his assistant prepares the agenda for every meetings concerning matters of political, social, health and finance on the basis of files received from the different departments and individual petitions for seeking clearance, advice and approval from the Kashag. All discussions and resolutions passed are put in the minutes file and proceedings audio recorded. The decisions made in the Kashag are forwarded to the concerned Departments for implementation.
2. Parliament Liaison and planning supervision section.
This section drafts reply to the queries raised during the Parliament session and that of the Standing Committee of the Parliament. It also co-ordinates in drafting reply from concerned Departments to questions raised in tour reports of members of Parliament. This section assist in drafting official bills of Departments to be tabled in the Parliament session.
3. Travel Document Section.
This section scrutinise all Tibetan applicants seeking to visit abroad as individual, non-governmental meeting, family visit, study, and family re-unification based on exile Tibetan government's policy of issuing Travel Document sanction.
4. Audit Report scrutiny section.
The section scrutinise the overall audit report of Departments and its branch offices and thereby report any objections to Kashag. After Kashag's clearance appropriate actions are followed with Audit Office or with concerned departments.
It also gives official tour sanctions put forward by departments and their branch offices after careful study of the Rules and Regulation governing them. The section also handles all interim budget sanction requests and after careful study recommends the same to Standing Committee of Tibetan Parliament, and there after circulates the sanction budget to concerned Departments.
5. Dolgyal affairs scrutiny section
This section keeps record of researched documents related to Dolgyal and updates it from time to time. It researches on any new developments related to Dolgyal and reports it to the Kashag.
6. Administrative section -
The Administrative section is further sub divided into 5 sub-sections:
- a) Personal Assistant to Kalon Tripa
- b) Staff appointment and placement section
- c) Accounts section
- d) Main office section
- e) Sino-Tibet Dialogue (Task force section)
a) Personal Assistant to Kalon Tripa
The personal Assistant brings to the attention of Kalon Tripa daily letters and petitions addressed to him and assist in drafting replies. He keeps daily diary of Kalon Tripa and also prepares the tentative program of official visits of Kalon Tripa and reports it to the Private office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and sends the copy of tour program for information to the speaker of Tibetan Parliament and concerned Departments.
He reports to the Kalon Tripa all letters by Departments whose charge is temporarily under Kalon Tripa and co-ordinates with regard to its follow-up. He keeps all confidential documents related to Kalon Tripa.
b) Staff appointment and placement section
This section keeps records of all the officials of the Central Tibetan Administration concerning new recruitments, transfers, promotions, leaves and resignations. It recommends application for retirements, extension of retirements, re-appointments, contractual appointments, deputations and all special appointments to the Public Service Commission. It also keeps record of overall sanction posts and does timely up date of record due to staff re-shuffle. It responses to all staff petitions and keeps record of individual staff service profile.
c) Accounts Section
This section keeps recurring, special and earmarked accounts of Cabinet Secretariat and its two sub units namely: The Planning Council and Kashag Contingency section. It also prepares annual draft budget of the office in consultation with Cabinet Secretary and keeps Kashag's special accounts. It maintains the leave records of all Kalons and staff members including its two sub units. It keeps record of all office inventories and looks after its maintenance and replacements. It also helps in arranging of all the Kashag's official receptions.
d) Main Office Section
This section handles all incoming and outgoing letters of the office and records in its respective registers. The letters are finally indexed and filed by this section. It maintains all official documents of the office. It also supervises and receives all visitors to Kashag and the office. It handles all incoming and outgoing calls of the office.
Personal Assistant to the Secretary assists him in drafting all letters dictated by him and helps in referring the concerned files and maintaining it.
e) Sino-Tibet Dialogue section
This section keeps record of all documents related to Sino-Tibet dialogue process. It arranges the meetings of Task Force committee members. It compiles and does necessary translations of the documents as per directions from Kalon Tripa.
The Kashag Secretariat's two sub-sections: -
The office of Planning Commission
This sub-section of the Cabinet Secretariat was established in order to assist the Central Tibetan Administration in formulating the plans of various Departments. It helps in integrating various plans according to human, physical and economic resource development needs in Tibetan community. Although it has a separate office complex with its own staffs, but the accounts and administration is directly handled by the Cabinet Secretariat.
Kashag Contingency Section
This section has three sub units namely: 1) Documenting (History recording) unit, 2) Contingency unit and 3) Ad- hoc placement unit. Documenting (History recording unit) is a permanent unit. It compiles document on Tibetan struggle and reconstruction post 1959 period of Tibetan Government in exile. Contingency unit is normally assigned on special and urgent tasks. Ad hoc placement unit is a unit for interim placements.
(source: tibet.net)