NAY PYI TAW April 8
Vice Chairman of State Administration Council Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Commander-in-Chief (Army) Vice-Senior General Soe Win met with members of the Shan State Government and state-level departmental officials at the meeting hall of the state government in Taunggyi in Shan State (South) this afternoon and delivered a speech.
Also present at the meeting were Shan State Chief Minister Dr Kyaw Tun, Lt-Gen Aung Zaw Aye of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief (Army), senior military officers from the Office of the Commanderin-Chief, the commander of the Eastern Command, members of the Shan State Government and departmental officials.
First, members of the state government and officials introduced themselves to the Vice-Senior General individually.
Then, the Vice-Senior General raised questions on matters of interest and coordinated necessary tasks after hearing the powerpoint presentation reports on the situation in the state including administrative, economic and social affairs by the chief minister.
Afterwards, the Vice-Senior General delivered a speech, saying that as businesses in Shan State including manufacturing industries had to suffer the impacts of COVID-19 to some extent in the same way as other states, regions and countries in the world in the 2020-2021 fiscal year, its GDP dropped below the target.
Therefore, it is necessary to make concerted efforts to increase the GDP based on the existing conditions and opportunities. Concerning COVID-19, tasks for prevention, control and treatment during delta and omicron waves were properly carried out through the cooperation of loyal government staff and the public.
Measures are being taken to administer vaccines to the entire people in the country twice at the end of April. The resilience from the omicron wave to some extent must be attributed to one of the most important factors of administering vaccines proactively.
It is necessary to make concerted efforts to administer vaccines to those who have not received two doses of vaccines in the state.
In relation to utilization of land in the state, effective utilization of land must becarried out as only 10 percent or 3.1 million acres of land out of 38.5 million acres available in the state. It is important to achieve the targeted yields of crops in respective regions and states by using quality seeds, land, water and cultivation techniques to maintain food sufficiency in the state. Utilizing mixed cropping and multiple cropping techniques is more beneficial than developing new farmland. Can crops be sold to other states and regions and incomes of individuals be generated to contribute to speedy circulation of money only when the state achieves self-sufficiency.
As for the livestock breeding sector, it is vital to exert efforts to produce surplus meat, fish and eggs and to recycle animal wastes by applying high-capacity technologies. Measures must also be taken to prevent illegal logging inside and outside forest reserves and illegal mining of natural resources above and under the ground through the cooperation of relevant departments and the public.
To realize the guidance of the prime minister on two oils, it is necessary to reduce the consumption of edible oil while efforts are being made to achieve domestic sufficiency of edible oil. As producing sufficient edible oil from crops at home not only contributes to public health but also reduces the imports of edible oil, this can save foreign exchange to some extent. In the same way, foreign exchange can be saved by reducing the consumption of fuel oil.
In implementing development tasks, departments need to cooperate with each other in accord with the objectives set by the union ministries and the state government. After the SAC has completed its tasks in line with the emergency provisions stated in the fivepoint roadmap, a free and fair election will be held in accord with the constitution. As such, the Pankhin project is being implemented in all seriousness to avoid further electoral fraud and other unsolvable complexities.
Departmental officials concerned are taking measures to ensure the availability of correct household lists and national registration cards.
After thorough scrutiny in cooperation with regional administrative bodies, the Union Election Commission, the Ministry of Immigration and Population and technical support teams, they are making door-to-door visits to the wards and villages to ensure correct voter lists. Therefore, all are to cooperate when they are assigned duties under the leadership of the Shan State government.
Efforts to ensure domestic food sufficiency and export surpluses will increase per capita income. Then, the paying of taxes as prescribed means serving the State and increasing national revenue for proper cash flow. In the manufacturing sector, efforts must be made to manufacture value-added products rather than to sell raw materials. When it comes to departments, there are those seeking income for the State and those providing services.
The departments seeking income need to operate in a correct manner. They need to operate at full capacity and spend efficiently with causing losses. Only then, will the country be able to well operate the departments providing services such as health, education and transport for regional and national development. The state needs to focus on the effort for national prosperity and food security, which is a national task as guided by the Prime Minister.
As for the political programme, peace and stability is essential for strengthening multiparty democracy and building a Union based on democracy and federalism. National reconciliation and peace implementation committees at various levels have been found and they are discussing with respective parties, NCA signatory and non-signatory ethnic armed organizations. As Shan State borders the neighbouring countries, departmental heads needs to know and follow the foreign policy stated in Section 41 of the constitution in order to avoid any act harming the bilateral friendship. Regarding education, measures must be taken to ensure all students pursue education till they reach at least KG+9 level. For Shan State to become an economically releasable state, all department are to work in earnest and unity for the development of their own state.