About the Authors Hamish Nixon is an independent governance specialist focusing on the areas of decentralization, peace and conflict, and public service delivery. Cindy Joelene, Kyi Pyar Chit Saw, and Thet Aung Lynn are MDRI-CESD researchers. Matthew Arnold is Assistant Director at The Asia Foundation. MDRI-CESD The Centre for Economic and Social Development (CESD) is a think-tank dedicated to the economic and social transformation of Myanmar. It is one of three specialized centres under the Myanmar Development Resource Institute (MDRI), an independent research organization that mobilizes development resources, both domestic and international, to bring Myanmar to its rightful place in the region and the world. The CESD undertakes participatory policy research studies related to economic reform, poverty reduction and good governance in Myanmar and regularly publishes policy briefs and research papers. It also provides training and education services for all key institutions and organizations that contribute to the process of reform. The Asia Foundation The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization committed to the development of a peaceful, prosperous, just, and open Asia-Pacific region. The Foundation supports Asian initiatives to improve governance and law; women’s empowerment; economic development; the environment; and regional cooperation. Drawing on nearly 60 years of experience in Asia, the Foundation collaborates with private and public partners to support leadership and institutional development, exchanges, and policy research. The viewpoints expressed in this report do not necessarily represent those of The Asia Foundation or MDRI-CESD. Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................... I A NOTE ON NAMES................................................................................................ I GLOSSARY............................................................................................................. II ACRONYMS.......................................................................................................... III EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................... V ONE: INTRODUCTION............................................................................................ 1 BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES..........................................................................................1 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ...............................................................................................2 RESEARCH METHODS........................................................................................................6 TWO: THE STATE AND REGION GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK ................................. 9 MYANMAR’S SUBNATIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE .......................................................9 STRUCTURE OF STATE AND REGION GOVERNMENTS UNDER THE 2008 CONSTITUTION.................11 INTERPRETING STATE AND REGION GOVERNMENT STRUCTURES ...............................................18 THE SUBNATIONAL GOVERNANCE REFORM ENVIRONMENT .....................................................20 THREE: THE ADMINISTRATIVE DIMENSION...........................................................25 STATE/REGION DEPARTMENTS .........................................................................................25 UNION MINISTRY OFFICES AT STATE AND REGION LEVEL .........................................................28 MYANMAR’S ADMINISTRATIVE BACKBONE:THE GENERAL ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT..........31 ADMINISTRATIVE AMBIGUITY AND STASIS ...........................................................................35 FOUR: THE FISCAL DIMENSION.............................................................................37 STATE AND REGION BUDGETING .......................................................................................38 POVERTY REDUCTION FUND ............................................................................................45 STATE AND REGION REVENUES .........................................................................................46 ASSESSING FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION ...............................................................................48 FIVE: THE POLITICAL DIMENSION .........................................................................51 CHIEF MINISTERS ..........................................................................................................51 STATE AND REGION CABINET MINISTERS .............................................................................54 STATE AND REGION HLUTTAWS.........................................................................................57 PUBLIC OUTREACH BY STATE/REGION GOVERNMENTS AND HLUTTAWS .....................................65 POLITICAL PARTIES AT REGION AND STATE LEVEL ..................................................................67 SIX: CONCLUSIONS AND THE ROAD AHEAD ..........................................................69 ASSESSING DECENTRALIZATION TO MYANMAR’S STATES AND REGIONS TO DATE.........................69 DECENTRALIZATION AND THE PEACE PROCESS......................................................................73 DECENTRALIZATION AND DEMOCRACY ...............................................................................76 TOWARDS A STATE AND REGION GOVERNANCE REFORM ROADMAP?........................................76 NAVIGATING THE POLITICS OF REFORM ..............................................................................81 ANNEX I: REGION OR STATE LEGISLATIVE LIST (SCHEDULE TWO)...........................86 ANNEX II: STATE AND REGION LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY...........................................88 ANNEX III: TAXES COLLECTED BY REGION OR STATES (SCHEDULE FIVE) .................90 ANNEX IV: STATE AND REGION BUDGET SUMMARIES, FY 2012-13 (KYAT MILLIONS) ............................................................................................................................91 ANNEX V: STATE AND REGION HLUTTAW COMPOSITION......................................92 ANNEX VI: INDICATIVE LOCAL PUBLIC SECTOR TYPOLOGY ....................................93 ANNEX VII: SHAN STATE STRUCTURE....................................................................94 ANNEX VIII: DEPARTMENTS APPEARING IN STATE/REGION BUDGETS...................96 REFERENCES.........................................................................................................97 List of Tables, Figures and Boxes Box 1: Foundation of Analysis.......................................................................................vi Table 1: Summary of recommendations ..................................................................... xii Table 2: Audiences for this research and their interests...............................................2 Figure 2: Overlapping issues for Myanmar’s subnational governance .........................3 Box 2: Dimensions and forms of decentralization.........................................................4 Table 3: Decentralization and local government capacity analysis...............................5 Table 4: Interviews conducted in states and regions ....................................................6 Figure 3: States and regions in the subnational governance assessment.....................8 Table 5: Administrative units, population and land area of Myanmar’s states and regions..................................................................................................................10 Figure 4: State and region populations and population densities...............................11 Box 3: Constitutional roles and duties of state and region government ....................11 Figure 5: Population per state/region hluttaw member .............................................12 Box 4: Constitutional provisions on appointment of Chief Ministers .........................13 Table 6: Comparing devolution and deconcentration.................................................18 Box 5: Provisions on decentralization in the Framework for Economic and Social Reform .................................................................................................................22 Figure 7: Example of state/region ministerial responsibilities ....................................26 Figure 8: Typical structure of state/region General Administration Department.......32 Table 7: State and region budget units and constitutional assignments ....................39 Figure 9: State/region budget preparation process ....................................................40 Box 6: Role of the Union Financial Commission ..........................................................42 Figure 10: Share of the union budget transferred to state/region budgets, FY 2013-14 ..............................................................................................................................43 Figure 11: State/region budget expenditures, per capita (Kyat), FY 2012-13.............44 Figure 12: Poverty reduction fund per capita & percentage poverty incidence, 2010- 11..........................................................................................................................45 Figure 13: Share of state/region budget from taxes, fees and SEEs, FY 2012-13 .......47 Table 8: Profiles of region and state Chief Ministers...................................................52 Table 9: State and region cabinet composition by gender and party .........................55