POLITICS: Nobel Laureate’s Burma Visit: ‘Moment of Hope’?

• by Stanislaus Jude Chan (singapore)
• Monday, December 21, 2009
• Inter Press Service

At a press conference organised here Monday by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Stiglitz expressed optimism over the prospects for change in Burma’s rural economy. 'In general, there is the hope that this is the moment of change for the country,' Stiglitz said.

The former chief economist of the World Bank was in Burma last week to meet with the state’s Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Maj Gen Htay Oo and National Development Minister Soe Tha. He was part of a mission organised by ESCAP aimed at assessing and improving Burma’s rural economy.

ESCAP held a wide-ranging dialogue with the South-east Asian state to boost the country’s agricultural sector and to help it reclaim its status as the rice bowl of Asia. It was a 'moment of hope,' said Stiglitz.

'This is the moment of change for the country,' opined the noted economist. 'And it would be a mistake to miss this moment.'

But some are sceptical about the changes that Stiglitz and ESCAP expect to bring to a country still ruled by a regime notorious for its oppression and secrecy. 'The same as the junta’s sucker bait,' charged one irate member of the audience, as he marched up to Stiglitz after the conference. The colloquial phrase suggests a scheme to deceive the ignorant.

To some observers, however, it is precisely this softer, non-confrontational approach that has seen ESCAP make some headway toward improving the economic conditions of the rural poor in Burma, also known as Myanmar. Some 75 percent of the country's estimated 57 million people live in rural areas and make up the largest slice of the country's poor. Malnutrition is rampant and affects over a third of the country's children.

Burma is still reeling from the effects of Cyclone Nargis, which tore through the rice-growing Irrawaddy Delta in May last year, killing more than 140,000 people.

'The effects of a cyclone last long after the cyclone itself,' said Stiglitz, adding that disaster had devastated the credit system in Burma, affected the supply of fertilisers, and destroyed the livestock.

The long-term impacts of the disaster combined with the effects of the global economic crisis and climate change on Burma have put the country in an even more precarious state. Thus, Stiglitz believes this is an appropriate time for the United Nations regional body, headed by Dr Noeleen Heyzer, to engage with one of Asia’s most oppressive regimes to hasten the country’s development.

'Even a country that is not integrated in the global economy is affected by the global recession,' said Stiglitz. There is increased realisation within the regime that 'the world is changing, and you have to change even if nothing else is going on,' he added.

'It is my hope these ideas and analysis will open a new space for policy discussion and a further deepening of our development partnership,' Heyzer said at the event held in Burma’s administrative capital, Naypidaw.

'These development objectives can only be achieved through the successful engagement of local experts and people who know what is happening on the ground. This development partnership, requested by the Government of Myanmar, provides a unique platform for eminent international scholars and local researchers to exchange experiences and ideas with government agencies and civil society,' Heyzer added.

Based on his talks with farmers during his visit to Burma, Stiglitz identified the high cost of credit in the rural areas, with interest rates of at least 10 percent a month, as one of the issues Burma will have to overcome.

'Irrigation has increased the potential for productivity, but because many could not get credit to buy fertiliser and for hydro-electricity, the full potential could not be reached,' he said.

He urged the Burmese government to promote access to appropriate agricultural financing, to boost access to seeds and fertilizers as well as spending on health and education, and create well-paid jobs in rural infrastructure construction in order to stimulate development and raise incomes and spending.

'If you don’t renew your human capital, it depreciates, just as fiscal capital depreciates,' Stiglitz said as he urged the country to do more to bridge the demographic gaps in education in the country.

Stiglitz also noted that well-functioning institutions were critical to success, and that Burma could learn from the mistakes of other resource-rich countries. 'Revenues from oil and gas can open up a new era, if used well. If not, then valuable opportunities will be squandered,' he said.

'Economics and politics cannot be separated,' Stiglitz added. 'For Myanmar to take a role on the world stage and to achieve true stability and security there must be widespread participation and inclusive processes. This is the only way forward for Myanmar.'

© Inter Press Service (2009) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service

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