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During the one-year term of the incumbent government, it had to spend nearly Ks-4 billion on treatments, food and quarantine services for those who were admitted to hospitals, clinics and quarantine centres and another Ks-10.23 billion on oxygen for patients. There are 1,077 hospitals and 11,427 clinics in the entire country but only 765 hospitals and 7,430 clinics are in operation. Out of 14,678 doctors and 105,834 healthcare staff appointed in the whole country, some of them were absent as they deserted their work sites due to political instigations. Tatmadaw medical personnel have to substitute in their positions to give treatments to the public and the public was also allowed to receive treatments in Tatmadaw hospitals. Similarly, as retired healthcare staff and Tatmadaw healthcare personnel offered assistance for treatments, it was very helpful during the combat against COVID-19. As a gesture to appreciate the performance of duties by dutyconscious healthcare personnel, who never abandoned their patients, the government offered Ks-10.94 billion cash rewards to them. To offer treatments to the public, who needed them, medical units of the Tatmadaw gave necessary surgical, dental, skeletal and nervous, eye, ear, nose, throat, obstetric and gynaecological, urine and kidney, heart disease and general check-ups and treatments to 329,759 outpatients, 98,238 inpatients and 19,526 obstetric patients during the period from 5 February to 31 December 2021. As the retired medical personnel and healthcare staff reinforced the vaccination programs, success has been achieved in the prevention, control and treatment of COVID-19.
On completion of vaccination, the programs to fully vaccinate the public play an important role. Vaccinating as many people and as quickly as possible is the most effective means of combating the pandemic. As the Ministry of Health, the Tatmadaw and private organizations have received 60,596,400 (more than 60.5 million) doses of the vaccines and as of 29 January, 40,856,000 doses had been administered on 18,792,099 fully vaccinated people, 3,271,802 people, who received only one vaccine jab, and 21,668 people who received the booster shots, the targeted 53 percent of the people have received the vaccine jabs at least once and they have managed to administer the vaccines on more than 300,000 people daily.
On production of the vaccines, policies have been adopted to produce the vaccines domestically as the pandemic will continue for some time. As an initial step, agreements were signed to produce Sinopharm vaccines made in China through the Ready to Fill Bulk System. The process is likely to begin in February 2022 and it is expected that 10 million doses of the vaccines can be manufactured in 2022. In doing so, the vaccines can be produced at half of their purchasing prices. Currently, the omicron variant of coronavirus has been detected across the world and returnees from other countries were closely watched for the variant. The first cases of omicron were first detected on returnees from other countries on 28 December 2021. As of 28 January 2022, a total of 283 cases of omicron had been recorded in the country.
Therefore, it is important for all not to neglect the danger of COVID-19 and to follow the restrictions individually.
All possible means will be applied for the earliest recovery of the businesses hit hard by COVID-19. Myanmar is implementing the future programs and like all the global countries it also faced the repercussions of COVID-19. The government has disbursed Ks-166.6463 billion as loans for economic recovery of 6,334 businesses. On 28 January 2022, the economic recovery committee permitted loans for 116 companies/enterprises as financial assistance for film, music, theatre, periodicals and media industries. As Myanmar is an agriculture and farming country the government is striving to increase the production capacity of the agriculture and farming sector in its efforts for business resumption. It is also on a mission to send more agriculture and farm exports through maritime and border trades. Plans are in progress to upgrade agriculture and farming schools in regions and states into institutions for the emergence of intellectuals, technicians and experts who are vital for systematic development of the industry. At the Diamond Jubilee Union Day commemorative Livestock Fair, buffaloes, cows, goats and sheep from various parts were presented at the contest.
At the festival, pedigree local strains were found among the local strains, hybrid strains and foreign stains. Skilled farming technicians must be produced as systematic farming of such local stains will benefit the country a lot.
A policy has been adopted to exert utmost efforts to realize the fourth point of the future program -- Emphasis will be placed on achieving enduring peace for the entire nation in line with the agreements set out in the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement. SAC has been continuously implementing the peace process in accord with NCA. On 17 February 2021, SAC formed three peace committees -- National Unity and Peace Restoration Central Committee chaired by the Senior General, the work committed chaired by the Vice-Senior General and the coordination committee chaired by Lt-Gen Yar Pyae. The Tatmadaw issued statements on ceasefire for 20 times and held it during the period from 21 December 2018 to 28 February 2022. The ceasefire will continue till the end of this year.
The Senior General in his New Year message said, “We are going to start new steps towards peace in 2022. As it has already been stated in the fourth point of the future programs all stakeholders are invited to the peace negotiations.” As regards the point -- Upon accomplishing the provisions of the state of emergency, free and fair multiparty democratic elections will be held in line with the 2008 Constitution, and further work will be undertaken to hand over State duties to the winning party in accordance with democratic standards --
the government has been issuing NRCs for enabling all the citizens to cast votes at the coming elections. UEC is holding discussions with political parties and interested persons to apply the Proportional Representation- PR system for ensuring equal opportunities for all national races in building a Union based on democracy and federal system. As for the possibility of the adoption of the PR system, UEC has already held four meetings with political parties.
In implementing the Nine Objectives, the first point of the political objectives -- To build a Union based on democracy and federalism, through a disciplined and genuine multi-party democratic system that is fair and just -- has been prioritized.
Federal is a system that shares rights among a diverse array of regions, states, races, ethnic groups working in unity.
So, it is a system of living in unity and sharing the benefits.
All political parties including ethnic parties represent the people who support them. So, they have a diversity of representations and they stand on their own ideology. As they stand on their own ideology, there may be slight differences among them. Some represent the race and others represent their respective localities, but the numbers of the latter are small. They have supporters based on their representation.
PR must be applied for the wider representation of parties and ethnic groups. However much the views on democracy and the federal system are different from one another in building a Union based on democracy and federal system, the country must choose a suitable system, and the minority wish must be taken into account while the majority wish is the path. The federal system SAC will adopt is a combination of a diverse array of regions, states and ethnic peoples and ethnic groups that share the three organs of sovereign power, and in doing so, self-determination in regions and states will be ensured through the power sharing between the Union and regions and states.
The second point -- To emphasize the achievement of enduring peace for the entire nation in line with the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) -- has already been stated in explaining the future programs.
As regards the third point --
To continue implementing the principles of peaceful coexistence among countries through an independent, active and non-aligned foreign policy -- the Republic of Union of Myanmar has already adopted the independent, active and non-aligned foreign policy, the policy towards world peace and maintenance of friendly relations among the states, and the policy to adhere to the global principles of peaceful coexistence. The government always looked towards the maintenance of good international relations in the previous year.
The SAC Chairman attended the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 24 April 2021 as the first foreign trip. In the second trip, he attended the 9th Conference on International Security held in Russia from 20 to 27 June 2021.
Myanmar has only friendly nations and no enemy state.
And if there is a country dealing with Myanmar as an enemy, it will try its best to change the attitude of that country till that country becomes a friend. In its relations with neighbouring countries, it will ensure lasting peace at its border areas and establish peaceful and friendly relations with countries sharing a common border. As neighbouring countries have different policies and cultures, relations with them will be based on mutual interest with each neighbour.
The country will further cement its ongoing peaceful and friendly neighborhood relations that have maintained throughout the successive periods.
To be continued