3rd Mekong Forum on Water, Food & Energy. Presentation from Sessions 4 & 6: M-POWER Solutions for Mekong Region Governance

1. Urban Water Governance:
Institutional Factors Affecting
Water Supply Management
in Yangon, Myanmar
Soe Thethan
November 19, 2013

2. Research Questions
1. What is the current state of public water management?
What are the major risks that pose threats to the technical
and financial aspects of the supply system?
2. How do political, legal and social institutions shape the
water supply management?
3. What role does the private sector play in water supply
management? How do independent providers operate
and deal with institutional constraints?
4. What are the key institutional arrangements that should
take place to improve water governance?

3. Government and Planning
• Branded as an authoritarian regime (155th/167)
• 25% of seats in parliament occupied by the military
• Minimal political participation induced by the
weak rule of law

4. Management and Administration
• YCDC – the only
institution with
legal authority
• Constrained by
Stringent
Bureaucracy
• Out-of-date
regulations and
acts
The Rangoon Water Works Act 1885
The Burma Municipal Act 1898
The City of Rangoon Municipal Act 1922
The Underground Water Act 1930
The Burma Water Power Rules 1932
Environmental Law 2012

5. Social Norms and Organizations
• Declining social capital
• Bad public image of YCDC
• Use of tangible service-delivery approach
among the NGOs
• Insignificant role of educational
organizations

6. What can we do to enhance
water governance in Myanmar?

7. Institutional Arrangements
Political Institutions
• Amend the 2008 Constitution to remove unfair
clauses
• Grant high degree of authority to local government
Legal Institutions
• Strengthen the rule of law
• Establish a national-level water authority
Social Institutions
• Build social capital at the grass-roots level
• Scale up educational programs

8. Thank you.

9. Urban Water Governance:
Institutional Factors Affecting
Water Supply Management
in Yangon, Myanmar
Soe Thethan
November 19, 2013

10. Urban Water Governance:
Institutional Factors Affecting
Water Supply Management
in Yangon, Myanmar
Soe Thethan
November 19, 2013