Deputy Minister B.Bolor-Erdene resigns at own request
On Wednesday, Cabinet accepted Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Communications B.Bolor-Erdene’s resignation.
B.Bolor-Erdene expressed through her social media account that she submitted her letter of resignation due to “organized political attacks”. In particular, some netizens criticized her statement made at the Future Investment Initiative 2021 Conference. At that time, she was the chairwoman of the Communications and Information Technology Authority (CITA). Some people blamed her for “insulting” the elderly who were educated in the Soviet Union and for failing to properly express the country’s position at the international conference.
During the conference, B.Bolor-Erdene expressed, “People working in the front level [of civil service] are older people. They were educated in Russia. Therefore, they were hugely influenced by the Soviet Union. These workers have a very Russian way of thinking and working. But 75 percent of the Mongolian population is aged under 40. I think it is a young nation with a very good history.”
After being lashed out by netizens, she tried to explain that the conference and its guests talked about how the new generation works and what challenges they face. “The question was directly aimed at young people and individuals. I answered that the differences between the younger generation and the older generation of government workers became clearer amid the pandemic. I regret that a group of people mistranslated a few seconds of my rather long and detailed answer,” she said.
Chief Cabinet Secretary D. Amarbayasgalan noted, “B.Bolor-Erdene expressed that she cannot continue her work due to misunderstandings growing among the people. Cabinet dismissed her but some ministers viewed it as appropriate to employ her in the future, taking into account that she brought the E-Mongolia system to current level.”
B.Bolor-Erdene also said, “It is true that NextGen Government is contradicting the old system. I understand that change does not come without pain. With the support and participation of my industry and many people, I spent all my energy on developing the E-Mongolia platform, turning my agency into a ministry and expanding this industry. I apologize for my mistakes.”
“In the past few days, I have felt the impact of ‘organized political attacks’, disinformation and ‘corrupt’ system. When there is money and power, anyone can be accused in an organized manner. But as long as the corruption of this old system continues, we will never see the change we want. I submitted my request to resign. But that doesn’t mean I’ve given up on this 30-year-old system. On the contrary, I will continue to fight with more young people.”
In 2020, she was appointed as the chairwoman of CITS and when the Ministry of Digital Development and Communications was newly established, she became the state secretary. Soon after, she was appointed as its deputy minister.