The number of building projects in Yangon fell from 600 to 400 per month between November and December, according to the Building Department under the Yangon City Development Committee.
“The rate dropped in these two months. We had to permit only 400 projects last month,” said an official from the department.
Many people blame the sluggish market and lowering demand for apartments for the drop.
“The property market is rather inactive. I expect demand will get higher again along with the shift in government next year,” said Myo Myint, a building contractor in Yangon. (Courtesy Eleven Myanmar)
Thursday, December 24, 2015
For migrants, the legal route brings few benefits: report
The formal channels funneling Myanmar labourers overseas are often proving just as corrupt, fee-inducing and negligent of the workers’ rights as the illicit smuggling networks. Workers embarking on the government-sanctioned route may even be worse off, according to research and interviews compiled by European non-profits Finnwatch and Swedwatch.
In Thailand’s poultry industry, Myanmar workers who waited through delays and jumped through all the proper legal hurdles to obtain their jobs are still encountering rights abuses that mirror their undocumented counterparts, the research found. The conditions and extortion are so dire they approximate forced labour, yet the groups who brokered the employment were government-backed recruiters.
The researchers detailed the conditions in six Thai poultry factories owned by four companies: Charoen Pokphand Foods, Laemthong, Centaco and Saha Farms Group. At each of the factories the majority of the workers were Myanmar and had gone through the legal system signed into place through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Bangkok and Nay Pyi Taw. Authorised recruitment agencies Today Top Star, Arbourfield Co Ltd, and Yun Nadi Oo and Associates facilitated the employment process, but according to the report, they diverged wildly from the accredited system. (Courtesy of MMTimes)
In Thailand’s poultry industry, Myanmar workers who waited through delays and jumped through all the proper legal hurdles to obtain their jobs are still encountering rights abuses that mirror their undocumented counterparts, the research found. The conditions and extortion are so dire they approximate forced labour, yet the groups who brokered the employment were government-backed recruiters.
The researchers detailed the conditions in six Thai poultry factories owned by four companies: Charoen Pokphand Foods, Laemthong, Centaco and Saha Farms Group. At each of the factories the majority of the workers were Myanmar and had gone through the legal system signed into place through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Bangkok and Nay Pyi Taw. Authorised recruitment agencies Today Top Star, Arbourfield Co Ltd, and Yun Nadi Oo and Associates facilitated the employment process, but according to the report, they diverged wildly from the accredited system. (Courtesy of MMTimes)
Government Invites Wa, Mongla Groups to Peace Dialogue
RANGOON — The government has invited leaders of the Wa and Mongla special regions to attend the Union Peace Conference scheduled to convene on Jan. 12, an invitation that de facto applies to the United Wa State Army (UWSA), Burma’s largest ethnic armed group, and the National Democratic Alliance Army.
Thein Zaw, vice chairman of the government’s Union Peacemaking Working Committee (UPWC), urged leaders of the Wa to take part in Burma’s peace process as government negotiators met with them in Pangsang, the Shan State headquarters of the UWSA, on Saturday.
“We’d like to invite Wa ethnic leaders to take part in the peace process of the Union. The door to the Union Peace Conference and NCA [nationwide ceasefire agreement] is always kept open,” government newspapers quoted Thein Zaw as saying in state-run newspapers on Tuesday.
The UWSA is a non-signatory to Burma’s so-called nationwide ceasefire agreement, which was signed by the government and eight non-state armed groups on Oct. 15.
Lt-Gen Yar Pyae of the Burma Army accompanied the government negotiators and stressed the need for national reconciliation and national reconsolidation on the occasion, echoing Thein Zaw’s comments about an open door for the Wa. (Courtesy of Irrawaddy)
Thein Zaw, vice chairman of the government’s Union Peacemaking Working Committee (UPWC), urged leaders of the Wa to take part in Burma’s peace process as government negotiators met with them in Pangsang, the Shan State headquarters of the UWSA, on Saturday.
“We’d like to invite Wa ethnic leaders to take part in the peace process of the Union. The door to the Union Peace Conference and NCA [nationwide ceasefire agreement] is always kept open,” government newspapers quoted Thein Zaw as saying in state-run newspapers on Tuesday.
The UWSA is a non-signatory to Burma’s so-called nationwide ceasefire agreement, which was signed by the government and eight non-state armed groups on Oct. 15.
Lt-Gen Yar Pyae of the Burma Army accompanied the government negotiators and stressed the need for national reconciliation and national reconsolidation on the occasion, echoing Thein Zaw’s comments about an open door for the Wa. (Courtesy of Irrawaddy)
NGO raps ‘brazen bid for presidential immunity’
Myanmar’s parliament should reject a proposed law that would shield former presidents from prosecution for crimes committed during their terms in office, Human Rights Watch said on December 23.
Published in the state-run newspaper on December 21, the Former Presidents Security Bill grants immunity to former heads of state “from any prosecution for actions during his term.” Outlined in article 10, this provision would protect former presidents from domestic prosecution for even the most serious crimes committed while in office, including war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“The Former Presidents Security Bill is a brazen attempt to shoehorn immunity from prosecution into the president’s retirement package,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The immunity provision should be stripped from the proposed law so that President Thein Sein and future Burmese presidents remain accountable for any crimes they commit.”
The draft law consists of 14 clauses that outline the government’s commitment to support retired presidents, such as lifetime funding for a bodyguard and other personal security measures. (Courtesy of Mizzima)
Published in the state-run newspaper on December 21, the Former Presidents Security Bill grants immunity to former heads of state “from any prosecution for actions during his term.” Outlined in article 10, this provision would protect former presidents from domestic prosecution for even the most serious crimes committed while in office, including war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“The Former Presidents Security Bill is a brazen attempt to shoehorn immunity from prosecution into the president’s retirement package,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The immunity provision should be stripped from the proposed law so that President Thein Sein and future Burmese presidents remain accountable for any crimes they commit.”
The draft law consists of 14 clauses that outline the government’s commitment to support retired presidents, such as lifetime funding for a bodyguard and other personal security measures. (Courtesy of Mizzima)
Myanmar cardinal stresses peace and justice in Christmas message
Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon has called on people of goodwill to work for peace and justice in Myanmar in the aftermath of November elections.
"This is a great time to be in this country. By reconciling with one another, forgetting all the past darkness of hatred, we can make Christ's message of peace possible to all people of goodwill," Cardinal Bo said in his Christmas message released on Dec. 22.
Cardinal Bo said that after many years of expectation it is natural to look for quick results, but that democracy is a process "not a drama that ends with a night of celebration."
Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy swept Nov. 8 polls against the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party that took power in 2010 following five decades of military rule.
Cardinal Bo congratulated the people of Myanmar for conducting a peaceful election.
"It is our duty to build a nation without war and want. With goodwill we can and we will do that," he said. (Courtesy of ucanews.com)
"This is a great time to be in this country. By reconciling with one another, forgetting all the past darkness of hatred, we can make Christ's message of peace possible to all people of goodwill," Cardinal Bo said in his Christmas message released on Dec. 22.
Cardinal Bo said that after many years of expectation it is natural to look for quick results, but that democracy is a process "not a drama that ends with a night of celebration."
Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy swept Nov. 8 polls against the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party that took power in 2010 following five decades of military rule.
Cardinal Bo congratulated the people of Myanmar for conducting a peaceful election.
"It is our duty to build a nation without war and want. With goodwill we can and we will do that," he said. (Courtesy of ucanews.com)
INGOs push disaster risk education in Myanmar
Children can be “agents of change”. This is the message behind the efforts of a number of NGOs tasked with raising awareness of the dangers posed by earthquakes and other natural disasters, and how to react in an emergency.
NGOs say there is a need for greater awareness on disaster risk, including the risks posed by earthquakes, particularly in urban areas, and one way of doing this is by integrating Disaster Risk Reduction or DRR into the education system.
DRR in education has multiple benefits including helping to keep children safe in schools – for example, if there is an earthquake during school hours - but also in building the capacity of children to be “agents of change” in spreading disaster awareness and preparedness messages to other children, parents and their wider communities. In simple terms, using children can have a multiplier effect, allowing a message to be sent out exponentially.
Plan Myanmar, the Myanmar branch of Plan International, is one of many organizations in Myanmar and under the DPRE Working Group that is reaching out to children to spread the need to be prepared for disasters. The NGO is currently working with 96 schools to carry out school-based DRR activities. (Courtesy of Mizzima)
NGOs say there is a need for greater awareness on disaster risk, including the risks posed by earthquakes, particularly in urban areas, and one way of doing this is by integrating Disaster Risk Reduction or DRR into the education system.
DRR in education has multiple benefits including helping to keep children safe in schools – for example, if there is an earthquake during school hours - but also in building the capacity of children to be “agents of change” in spreading disaster awareness and preparedness messages to other children, parents and their wider communities. In simple terms, using children can have a multiplier effect, allowing a message to be sent out exponentially.
Plan Myanmar, the Myanmar branch of Plan International, is one of many organizations in Myanmar and under the DPRE Working Group that is reaching out to children to spread the need to be prepared for disasters. The NGO is currently working with 96 schools to carry out school-based DRR activities. (Courtesy of Mizzima)
Border dispute delays Myanmar-China tourist gateway
Vice president U Sai Mauk Kham paid his third visit to the site, in Muse Central Economic Zone, on December 19 to check on progress.
“The two governments are negotiating to demarcate the border line. I hope agreement will soon be reached,” he said, adding that attempts to build the gate in 2004 and 2011 had foundered over disagreements concerning the exact border line.
“We don’t want any more delay, so the Union government is trying to find a way to resolve the matter. We hope the regional government will play its part too,” said the vice president.
Extensive cross-border trade already passes through three gates, namely Nandaw, Sin Phyu and Mant Wane.
“We allowed for a 10-metre space on either side of the border line [for discussion purposes], but the Chinese side breached that rule,” said U Ngwe Soe, project director of New Starlight construction company, which is building the gate. “We have built the gate on our side, for the benefit of international tourists wishing to come and go. This would require us to sign an agreement with China, so that tourists passing through from China can enter Myanmar and other countries through the gate.” (Courtesy of MMTimes)
“The two governments are negotiating to demarcate the border line. I hope agreement will soon be reached,” he said, adding that attempts to build the gate in 2004 and 2011 had foundered over disagreements concerning the exact border line.
“We don’t want any more delay, so the Union government is trying to find a way to resolve the matter. We hope the regional government will play its part too,” said the vice president.
Extensive cross-border trade already passes through three gates, namely Nandaw, Sin Phyu and Mant Wane.
“We allowed for a 10-metre space on either side of the border line [for discussion purposes], but the Chinese side breached that rule,” said U Ngwe Soe, project director of New Starlight construction company, which is building the gate. “We have built the gate on our side, for the benefit of international tourists wishing to come and go. This would require us to sign an agreement with China, so that tourists passing through from China can enter Myanmar and other countries through the gate.” (Courtesy of MMTimes)
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