|
Introduction
Over the last two years EAI has been working with civil society organizations in Myanmar as a part of the “Strengthening Civil Society in Myanmar” program, which builds off of the previous “Building Civil Society Capacity in Myanmar through Budget Monitoring” project. As part of this program, seven Myanmar partner organizations, Sandhi Governance Institute, the Open Myanmar Initiative, the Yangon School of Political Science, Yone Kyi Yar Knowledge Propagation Society, Salween Institute for Public Policy, Another Development, and Naushawng Development Institute, conducted research on current policy issues in Myanmar. Each organization focused on a different aspect of government policy and investigated the current status and potential changes that could be made to improve the nation’s governance.
Sandhi Governance Institute researched the changes in budget execution in the Myanmar national legislature before and after the new administration. The Open Myanmar Initiative focused on the role of committees in the assessment of the government budget. The Yangon School of Political Science explored the policy and administration of constituent development funds in the Yangon region. Yone Kyi Yar looked at the tender process for construction projects in Mandalay. Salween Institute for Public Policy examined the implementation and impact of the Yangon City Development Committee’s new policy on street vending. Another Development assessed the impact of community-based tourism initiatives in the areas of Myaing and Thandaunggyi, and Naushawng Development Institute studied national education policy regarding Kachin students who live in areas controlled by the Kachin Independence Organization. All of these reports are valuable as they represent one of the first steps in revealing the current state of governance in Myanmar and will assist civil society and other stakeholders in improving governance and creating good policy.
Quotes from the Paper
“Nevertheless, compared to Myanmar’s previous governments, budget execution has improved greatly… According to the township officers, people are using social media sites such as Facebook to reveal corruption among government officials and staff. Naturally, this habit helps to reduce corrupt behavior. The township officers interviewed also feel that accountability and transparency are important to improving the credibility of the government.”- Sandhi Governance Institute
“Regarding the committee system, OMI finds that a link between the budget assessment teams and the existing house committees, which run throughout the entire year, is lacking. As a result, there seems to be a lack of scrutiny regarding the government’s implementation of the budget by different ministries. This lack of scrutiny or oversight places the role of the existing committee system into question.” – Open Myanmar Initiative
“Although Myanmar’s CDF Law and Procedure tries to shield against corruption and the misuse of the CDF by MPs and Committee Members, it should also include more detailed provisions for forming committees and outlining the responsibilities of those committees and of committee members.” – Yangon School of Political Science
“…certain private firms are prohibited access to information about procurement, many civil servants are unqualified or lack knowledge about the process, public offices lack computers, payment systems are burdensome and outdated, and so on. At the same time, there is a rising demand from the public for the government to deliver effective healthcare, education and infrastructure services. Public sector reform has become crucial for the NLD. However, Myanmar lacks systemic knowledge or research that can guide effective reform.” – Yone Kyi Yar
“A majority of street vendors surveyed stated that the YCDC also needs to review its relocation plan because some street vendors are getting more space by giving bribes to the authorities. As a result, there is a lack of equality among street vendors who are working in the new places and sometimes it leads to quarrelling and arguing among street vendors.” – Salween Institute for Public Policy
“The CBT initiatives of Myaing and Thandaunggyi are seen to be in line with almost all of the CBT principles set by ASEAN, but neither of the initiatives seems to be paying much attention to linking their existing CBT developments to the local and regional economic growth. The degree to which national and local governments work together to create an ideal niche for Myanmar in supporting the growth of tourism and in particular its value chain could be strengthened.”- Another Development
“Despite their importance, health and education issues have not been part of the discussion during the peace process. More progress has to be made regarding education and health in order to raise these issues in the peace process and political dialogue…. Otherwise, many Kachin students, especially those from KIO-controlled areas, will continue to face difficulties joining schools in government-controlled areas, losing their dreams as they are left behind.” –Naushawng Development Institute
Authors
|