6 News THE MYANMAR TIMES JULY 8- 14, 2013
6 News THE MYANMAR TIMES JULY 8- 14, 2013
Govt auctions off prized state-run hotels
EI EI THU
91. eieithu @ gmail. com
SOME of the country’ s most prized state-run hotel properties have quietly been tendered to private Myanmar firms by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.
These include Thiri Myaing Hotel in Pyin Oo Lwin, which was formerly known as Candacraig and is set on 7 acres of gardens. Built in 1904, it was a chummery house for the Bombay Burmah Trading Company during the colonial period and hosted Eric Blair, who would later find fame as the writer George Orwell.
Two other colonial-era hotels in Pyin Oo Lwin, Gandamar Myaing Hotel – formerly known as Croxton – and Nan Myaing Hotel – formerly Craddock Court – were also included in the tender, which was announced in the state-run Kyemon( Mirror) newspaper on May 30 and closed on June 25.
Other properties included Chaungtha New Beach Hotel, Mrauk Oo Hotel and New Kengtung Hotel. No bids above the floor price were received for two hotels in the tender – Pyin Oo Lwin Guesthouse and Kyaukse Guesthouse – owned by the Ministry of Construction.
The tender attracted little attention and a number of industry sources contacted were unaware it had even taken place.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism provided the
Pyin Oo Lwin’ s Thiri Myaing Hotel, formerly known as Candacraig, was tendered on June 25. Photo: Si Thu Lwin
names of the winning bidders but not the names of their companies, the price paid, length of the contracts or tender conditions. The spokesperson also declined to say how many companies participated in the tender, whether foreign companies were eligible to take part and, if so, whether any submitted bids.
The winners of the tender were: U Than Zaw Htay( Thiri Myaing Hotel); Daw Ban Moe( Nan Myaing Hotel); U Tun Tun Win( Gandamar Myaing Hotel); U Zar Ni Aung( Chaungtha New Beach Hotel); U Ye Tun Kyaw( Mrauk Oo Hotel); and U Nandar Hla Myint( New Kengtung Hotel).
An official from the Myanmar Investment Commission said it had no information on the tender.
The Myanmar Times contacted the six tendered hotels and senior staff at five of them said they were also unaware of the tender.
However, the hotel manager at Mrauk Oo Hotel said the tender had been won by Natural Force Company, which agreed to pay the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism K166.5 million( about US $ 170,000) a year for 15 years.
The manager said the ministry conducted the tender because the state-run hotels were losing money. He said that the hotel’ s 17 staff will leave when the property is handed over to Natural Force Company, with seven to retire and 10 to be transferred to Nay Pyi Taw.
Women respond to police force training call
WOMEN are lining up for a career in the Myanmar Police Force, an official says.
More than half of all applications received for a training program for second lieutenants in Mandalay Region were submitted by women, said Police Major Soe Nyein from the regional police force office.
“ We received fewer than 60 applications from men but more than 80 from women,” he said.
The applications are for the 76 th intake under the program. The Myanmar Police Force is aiming to add 200 male and 150 female police second lieutenants nationally in 2013, Pol Maj Soe Nyein said. Police second lieutenants work underneath the police major at township police stations. They are responsible for accepting, opening and investigating criminal cases.
“ Women seem to believe that this job … can offer a safe career for them. And they don’ t need to worry about accommodation if they get a post,” Pol Maj Soe Nyein said.
Applicants for the intake must be single, aged 20 to 25 and hold a degree in a foreign language, law or international relations. They must not have any political affiliations and have to pledge to serve anywhere in Myanmar.
Selected applicants will enter a one-year training course at Zee Pin Gyi in Pyin Oo Lwin township. – Si Thu Lwin, translated by Zar Zar Soe
Uncertainty over Thein Htay sanction
NAN TIN HTWE nantin. htwe @ gmail. com
OBSERVERS have reacted with uncertainty to the United States Treasury’ s decision to sanction a senior military officer for weapons deals with North Korea.
On July 2, the Department of Treasury announced it had blacklisted Lieutenant General Thein Htay, head of the Directorate of Defense Industries( DDI), for“ acting for or on behalf of DDI” to purchase“ military equipment and material” from North Korea in contravention of United Nations sanctions.
“ Thein Htay has disregarded international requirements to stop purchasing military goods from North Korea, the revenues from which directly support North Korea’ s illicit activities,” Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen said in the statement.
The decision“ specifically targets Thein Htay, who is involved in the illicit trade of North Korean arms to Burma; it does not target the government of Burma, which has continued to take positive steps in severing its military ties with North Korea,” it said.
Lt Gen Thein Htay was Minister for Border Affairs in U Thein Sein’ s government from March 2011 to February 2013 and is thought to have held the DDI position concurrently. DDI was sanctioned by Treasury for its deals with North Korea in July 2012.
The listing appeared to take the government by surprise. The
US has lifted sanctions against a number of key figures in the Myanmar government as a result of its reforms over the past two years and has also initiated a process of engagement with the Tatmadaw.
“ I can’ t comment as we don’ t know what the decision was based on,” presidential spokesperson U Ye Htut told The Myanmar Times on July 3.
The Ministry of Defence in Nay Pyi Taw declined to comment, saying that DDI was not concerned with the ministry.
John Sullivan, a spokesman at the Department of Treasury, said there was“ no particular hook to the timing” of the announcement. The department had“ concerns about him as of early November 2012, [ when ] Thein Htay was identified as the chief of DDI and led a Burmese delegation to Beijing, China to meet with North Korea officials. The two delegations agreed to expand military cooperation between North Korea and Burma,” Mr Sullivan said.
The US has made ceasing military deals with North Korea a precondition for improving ties with Myanmar. In May 2012, President U Thein Sein admitted that Myanmar has purchased weapons from North Korea over the preceding two decades during a meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, the New York Times reported. The president also vowed that this would end.
However, in August 2012 there were reports that Japanese officials had seized weaponsgrade material in Tokyo that was bound for Myanmar and was believed to have originated in North Korea. When The Myanmar Times asked U Ye Htut about the incident at the time, he replied that it was“ not true” and Myanmar has been strictly following the rules and regulation of the United Nations Security Council.
In November 2012, the government publicly reiterated its intention to abide by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1874, which prohibits the procurement of military goods and assistance from North Korea, the statement mentioned.
Murray Hieber, deputy director of the Center for Strategic International Studies( CSIS), a Washington-based think tank, said it was unclear why Lt Gen Thein Htay was the only person cited.“ We don’ t have any independent information about his involvement with North Korea. We also don’ t know the level of importance of his role,” said Mr Hieber.
Last year, a CSIS delegation visited Myanmar and issued a trip report in which it advocated that the US engage Myanmar’ s military to encourage reform. Mr Hieber said he still believed this was the right course of action.
“ It doesn’ t mean that [ the ] Myanmar military doesn’ t have a commitment to reform. It could simply mean that one department, DDI, which has been cited and sanctioned last year, is continuing its relation with North Korea.” – Additional reporting by Tim McLaughlin