Government set to loosen grip on Red Cross society
The Myanmar Red Cross Society will finally become independent under an amendment bill nearing final approval in parliament. Members say the reforms in the bill are important to improve the organisation’s effectiveness, as its activities are being stifled by tight government controls.
The bill will amend the Myanmar Red Cross Society Act, which was introduced in 1959 and amended in 1971, 1988 and 1998.
Those earlier amendments strengthened the position of government officials in the organisation’s structure from the national right down to the township level.
These are now set to be rolled back with the new amendment bill, which is designed to put the organisation back into civilian hands, said Daw Khine Myo Myat Thein, director of organisational development at the MRCS.
The changes will affect 11 sections of the existing law, including those related to the organisation’s administrative structure, fund management, duties, activities, communication with other organisations, flag and logo, she said.
“The changes will result in more civilian involvement and will result in the MRCS becoming an independent organisation,” she said.
“We amended this law because we are working to help the public. The main beneficiaries of the law will be those we are trying to help and our volunteers,” she said. “If civilians are more involved, it will help us assist people faster.”
In particular, she said, government control will be loosened at the township and district levels of MRCS, which has 30,000 permanent staff and more than 200,000 volunteers across the country.
The 1998 amendments laid out a “structural reformation” that formed seven- or eight-member “supervision committees” at the state/region, district and township level. These committees comprise government officials from the health, education and social welfare ministries, as well the police force, fire department and general administration department.
At the top, meanwhile, the Central Council will be expanded to include 15 representatives – one from each state and region, as well as Nay Pyi Taw – selected through a vote at a national meeting, 13 representatives from government departments, up to 10 civil society representatives, 10 representatives nominated by the government, and 15 “experienced MRCS volunteers or youth representatives”.
The current Central Council features 14 “elected” state and region representatives, 13 government officials and no more than 10 representatives appointed by the government.
The amendments appear to have been in development for almost a decade. According to a vacancy announcement posted by MRCS in 2014, the “existing MRCS Act is not reflecting the new and emerging humanitarian needs” and a “much-needed process of renewing the legal base [got] underway in 2007”.
However, the full extent of the planned changes remains unclear. Some will be detailed in by-laws that will be drafted by MRCS after the amendment bill is approved, Daw Khine Myo Myat Thein said.
The bill was submitted to the Pyithu Hluttaw by Deputy Minister for Health Daw Than Than Htay and published in state-run media on June 5. After passing the lower house, it was approved without debate by the upper house on June 19, although MPs agreed to recommendations from the bill committee that resulted in 39 amendments, four deletions and the inclusion of one new passage. Committee member U Zaw Myint Pe said the changes were minor, and mostly related to language usage.
It will now be submitted back to the Pyithu Hluttaw for approval.
The proposed changes have been welcomed by staff at the MRCS, who say they will improve the effectiveness of its operations.
Program coordinator U Zaw Htoo Oo said the major problem at MRCS is that most of its senior positions are filled by government officials, particularly from the Ministry of Health.
“This is not good for the MRCS because civil servants don’t do this job very well. They always wait for permission from senior officials to do something and as a result all our work is delayed,” he said. “This really frustrates most MRCS members.”
He said he believed that the law would result in genuine change and the government would hand over control of MRCS to non-government experts.
“We can see in the new law that the MRCS system and structure is very different … I think it will be much better than the old one.”
(Quote from Myanmar times online website on 25 June 2015)