Friday, 16 September 2011 19:33 Mizzima News
(Interview) – When No. 1 Electrical Power Minister Zaw Min told the media that the government would continue the Myitsone Dam project on the Irrawaddy River, he added that Burma was currently using 1,500 megawatts of electricity and it was more than enough.
On the other hand, No. 2 Electrical Power Ministry Minister Khin Maung Soe told the Burmese Parliament that there are more than 60,000 villages in Burma but only about 2,000 villages use electricity. Among the 58,000 villages that cannot use electricity, one is the hometown of the director of the Department of Hydro Power Implementation.
Mizzima correspondent Ko Pauk talked with the director, Tin Win, about why power cuts have occurred in large cities in Burma and why villages don’t have electricity?
Q. What are your views on the Myitsone Dam project? What are the pros and cons?
A. The project will bring many benefits to Burma. We will be able to use more electrical power. As a consequence, road communications will be better. Bigger bridges can be built. I think a poor country needs them [roads and bridges].
Q. A few days ago, the minister said that Burma is currently using 1,500 megawatts of electricity, and that when the dams produce more than that, the extra amount will be sold to foreign countries. He said the electricity [to be generated by Myitsone Dam] is not likely to be used in Burma.
A. Now, in some cases, we have to buy electricity from foreign countries. In Burma, electricity is insufficient. There are many problems. In Rangoon, power cuts frequently occur. When I was given a transfer to this department, it was trying to provide more electricity. It’s impossible that we can produce enough electricity. We have many faults in the power grid system and the lines. There is a No. 2 Electrical Power Ministry. It takes the responsibility for the lines. Some villages cannot get electricity because of a lack of a proper grid system. To set up a grid system for the whole country, money is essential.
Even the price of an electricity meter [measures the electric energy consumed] is thousands of kyat, so it is very expensive [for Burmese]. For instance, my hometown has a power line. But, it cannot get electricity because it cannot buy a transformer. Villagers need to buy transformers with their own money. The price of a transformer for a village is at least 500,000 kyat (about US$ 600). It is a poor village, so it cannot afford to buy a transformer. The problem of a lack of electricity is not just because of the capacity of generating electricity. This is also related to finances. I have been to foreign countries once or twice. They are brightly lit.
Q. Why do some cities that have a wiring system and transformers still encounter difficulties getting electricity?
A. I think because of a “line fault.” If a [electric] line has “faults,” the nation must spend at least 10 million kyat [to fix it]. Grids and electrical equipment in the whole country are burned and broken daily. So, the first reason for power blackouts is poverty and also we cannot afford to fix “line faults.” The second reason is lack of technology. Capacitors for instance; we don’t have the devices and technology. I think the price of the device is several millions [kyat]. We’ve suffered the consequences of poverty. However much a poor family earns, they may need to repair the roof of their house. The next day, when they earn money, they may need to buy a slipper. The next day, rice may run out in their home. The next day they may need to buy vegetables or meat to make curry. [The root of the problem] is insufficient money. The country’s insufficient finances lead to terrible consequences.
Q. Why do you think the Myitsone Dam project draws so much controversy?
A. Too much [condemnation] is just people pretending [they know the facts]. At most 10 people in our entire office can access the Internet. And they access the Internet because the Internet service is free of charge. So, it’s very unlikely that people in the quarters can spend money to access the Internet. So we cannot say that they really understand the issue.
Q. Many local journals also condemn the project.
A. I think that this is related to a political agenda. This is not a normal occurrence. If they have good will, we must accept them. But these articles are not understood by ordinary people. Even we cannot understand [many articles], so how can ordinary people understand them? This is like the story of six blind men and an elephant. The blind men touch an elephant and describe what it is like; some touch just the ear, some touch only legs, so the comments are different. So they will never reach reality.
Q. Don’t you think that the government should disclose details of the project to the public – to reveal what an elephant is really like?
A. The government has to keep some secrets. There is no question raised in Parliament that the government cannot answer. There are only questions that the government should not answer. If the government answered some questions, the plan or some interest could be damaged. In comparison with military strategy, if [the enemy] knows [your] strategy in advance, you’ll have a disadvantage. I am talking about ordinary people. For experts, they can observe relevant departments like ours and discuss things. Scholars should talk with scholars; like responding knife versus knife and spear versus spear.
Q. Don’t you think that the government should make known how the dam will affect the environment, the river and the people?
A. I think experts should come to discuss with experts. Ordinary people will not be able to consider such things. They may want to know just whether they can eat; whether they can drink; whether they will get electricity and whether they will be healthy. Only the experts will know the possible effects like a doctor [knows about diseases]. Some patients die because of doctor’s medical treatment. Some medicines have side effects. For instance, some cough medicine can cure a cough, but the person may fall asleep after he is taking cough medicine, so his work can be delayed.
Q. Journals have to report about various issues that people should know.
A. Yes, [they] should write. But, [they] should consider everything well before they write so that their articles are not poisonous [do harm]. I think [journals] should be neutral.
(Interview) – When No. 1 Electrical Power Minister Zaw Min told the media that the government would continue the Myitsone Dam project on the Irrawaddy River, he added that Burma was currently using 1,500 megawatts of electricity and it was more than enough.
On the other hand, No. 2 Electrical Power Ministry Minister Khin Maung Soe told the Burmese Parliament that there are more than 60,000 villages in Burma but only about 2,000 villages use electricity. Among the 58,000 villages that cannot use electricity, one is the hometown of the director of the Department of Hydro Power Implementation.
 |
| A large section of Rangoon experiences a blackout in the this file photograph. Burma suffers from a lack of electricity in large cities and most villages because of a poor power grid system and prohibitive cost to users. Photo: Mizzima |
Mizzima correspondent Ko Pauk talked with the director, Tin Win, about why power cuts have occurred in large cities in Burma and why villages don’t have electricity?
Q. What are your views on the Myitsone Dam project? What are the pros and cons?
A. The project will bring many benefits to Burma. We will be able to use more electrical power. As a consequence, road communications will be better. Bigger bridges can be built. I think a poor country needs them [roads and bridges].
Q. A few days ago, the minister said that Burma is currently using 1,500 megawatts of electricity, and that when the dams produce more than that, the extra amount will be sold to foreign countries. He said the electricity [to be generated by Myitsone Dam] is not likely to be used in Burma.
A. Now, in some cases, we have to buy electricity from foreign countries. In Burma, electricity is insufficient. There are many problems. In Rangoon, power cuts frequently occur. When I was given a transfer to this department, it was trying to provide more electricity. It’s impossible that we can produce enough electricity. We have many faults in the power grid system and the lines. There is a No. 2 Electrical Power Ministry. It takes the responsibility for the lines. Some villages cannot get electricity because of a lack of a proper grid system. To set up a grid system for the whole country, money is essential.
Even the price of an electricity meter [measures the electric energy consumed] is thousands of kyat, so it is very expensive [for Burmese]. For instance, my hometown has a power line. But, it cannot get electricity because it cannot buy a transformer. Villagers need to buy transformers with their own money. The price of a transformer for a village is at least 500,000 kyat (about US$ 600). It is a poor village, so it cannot afford to buy a transformer. The problem of a lack of electricity is not just because of the capacity of generating electricity. This is also related to finances. I have been to foreign countries once or twice. They are brightly lit.
Q. Why do some cities that have a wiring system and transformers still encounter difficulties getting electricity?
A. I think because of a “line fault.” If a [electric] line has “faults,” the nation must spend at least 10 million kyat [to fix it]. Grids and electrical equipment in the whole country are burned and broken daily. So, the first reason for power blackouts is poverty and also we cannot afford to fix “line faults.” The second reason is lack of technology. Capacitors for instance; we don’t have the devices and technology. I think the price of the device is several millions [kyat]. We’ve suffered the consequences of poverty. However much a poor family earns, they may need to repair the roof of their house. The next day, when they earn money, they may need to buy a slipper. The next day, rice may run out in their home. The next day they may need to buy vegetables or meat to make curry. [The root of the problem] is insufficient money. The country’s insufficient finances lead to terrible consequences.
Q. Why do you think the Myitsone Dam project draws so much controversy?
A. Too much [condemnation] is just people pretending [they know the facts]. At most 10 people in our entire office can access the Internet. And they access the Internet because the Internet service is free of charge. So, it’s very unlikely that people in the quarters can spend money to access the Internet. So we cannot say that they really understand the issue.
Q. Many local journals also condemn the project.
A. I think that this is related to a political agenda. This is not a normal occurrence. If they have good will, we must accept them. But these articles are not understood by ordinary people. Even we cannot understand [many articles], so how can ordinary people understand them? This is like the story of six blind men and an elephant. The blind men touch an elephant and describe what it is like; some touch just the ear, some touch only legs, so the comments are different. So they will never reach reality.
Q. Don’t you think that the government should disclose details of the project to the public – to reveal what an elephant is really like?
A. The government has to keep some secrets. There is no question raised in Parliament that the government cannot answer. There are only questions that the government should not answer. If the government answered some questions, the plan or some interest could be damaged. In comparison with military strategy, if [the enemy] knows [your] strategy in advance, you’ll have a disadvantage. I am talking about ordinary people. For experts, they can observe relevant departments like ours and discuss things. Scholars should talk with scholars; like responding knife versus knife and spear versus spear.
Q. Don’t you think that the government should make known how the dam will affect the environment, the river and the people?
A. I think experts should come to discuss with experts. Ordinary people will not be able to consider such things. They may want to know just whether they can eat; whether they can drink; whether they will get electricity and whether they will be healthy. Only the experts will know the possible effects like a doctor [knows about diseases]. Some patients die because of doctor’s medical treatment. Some medicines have side effects. For instance, some cough medicine can cure a cough, but the person may fall asleep after he is taking cough medicine, so his work can be delayed.
Q. Journals have to report about various issues that people should know.
A. Yes, [they] should write. But, [they] should consider everything well before they write so that their articles are not poisonous [do harm]. I think [journals] should be neutral.
Subscribe to email feed
