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Waa Haa Haa
By Nita Bhalla,
NEW DELHI
(TrustLaw) - Myanmar is eager to make big changes to lift itself out of
poverty, a senior U.N. official said, but the country should avoid
repeating the mistakes of other developing nations with large mineral
wealth and steer clear of "sweetheart deals".Resource-rich, yet largely impoverished Myanmar is emerging from almost half a century of military rule and international isolation after polls in November 2010 led to a democratically elected civilian government.
Following a recent visit to the former Burma, Ajay Chibber, assistant administrator of the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP), told TrustLaw the government of President Thein Sein was eager to open up to the world, but warned of the perils of rushing in.
"There is enormous private sector interest despite the (international) sanctions, there are businesses and people coming in droves and the worry is that there will be these sweetheart deals," he said on the sidelines of a conference in Delhi earlier this month.
"Sweetheart deals" are mutually favourable agreements, often between companies and government officials, which can be prone to corruption.
"The government needs support in getting the right regulatory framework, getting the right procedures in place - such as environmental assessments - basic things like that before contracts are being signed," Chibber, who manages UNDP's Asia-Pacific region, said.
With its abundant forests, gas and oil reserves and a fledgling consumer market of 50 million people, hopes are high amongst potential investors and western donors - buoyed by moves like democratic reforms and the freeing of political prisoners.
"Due to slow development, Myanmar still has enormous resources and mineral wealth. We've seen many countries mess that one up and the resource boom becomes a resource curse. So Myanmar has the opportunity to avoid some of those mistakes," Chibber said.
"MAKE HASTE SLOWLY"
Myanmar was one of Asia's richest countries early in the 20th century, but is now one of the world's poorest after 49 years of often brutal rule by its military rulers. A third of its estimated 60 million people live on less than a dollar a day.
Hundreds of thousands have been displaced by fighting between the military and rebel groups. The military and other armed groups have confiscated land to extract natural resources or build infrastructure and committed serious abuses including forcing people into labour and recruiting child soldiers.
The government hopes an April by-election, in which once-banned opposition leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is running, could see further easing of longtime sanctions imposed by the United States, European Union and other western nations over concerns over human rights abuses.
"It's a historic moment for the country and I think the government has also realised that they will have to make a lot of changes in order to move forward on GDP growth, but also on human development," Chibber said.
The government is starting from a clean slate in terms of its development, albeit a little later than others in Asia, he added. "I think there are some huge advantages in being a late comer."
He said the country's under-developed agriculture which is essentially organic - pesticide and fertiliser free - meant it is already in a good position to provide high value quality products such as coffee and wine for export.
Similarly, the Buddhist country has vast potential for tourism with its array of monasteries and temples and natural heritage, he said. Myanmar is in a good position to put in place strong laws to protect its environment from the kind of mass unregulated tourism seen in many other developing countries, he added.
"One of the pieces of advice I gave them was 'Make haste slowly' because they are in such a rush to catch up."
(Editing by Alex Whiting)
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/03/01/interview-reforming-myanmar-should-avoid-idINDEE8200IA20120301?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=southAsiaNews&rpc=401
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