Villages in Myanmar traditionally have heads who are supported by elders. To
reinforce central control of local communities, Village Law and Order
Restoration Councils (VLORCs) and subsequently Village Peace and Development
Councils (VPDCs) were set up under the responsibility of the village heads and
persons considered reliable by the authorities. The purpose of these councils is
to manage local affairs and interface with the government.
To establish an effective dialogue with the villagers, Total decided to set up structures
that reflect the variety of their economic activities and their interests. In
early 1995, the Group therefore asked residents in each of the 13 villages
neighboring the project to elect a group of seven to 11 representatives,
depending on the size of the village, to serve as a special contact interface.
The system was extended to 12 more villages added to the Socio-Economic Program
since 2001 (of which 2 villages in 2005).
The committees bring together the villagers who are the most enterprising,
motivated and informed in various activities, such as farmers, fishermen,
shopkeepers, barbers, teahouse owners and teachers, and including the
village heads or another representative of the Village Council. The
groups include a number of women.
Since the Committees do not replace official structures in the villages, the
government did not object to their creation. Their role is restricted to
socio-economic issues and consequently to defining and implementing the program.
However, they perform vital functions in this area, such as expressing the
villagers' health, education and infrastructure needs and discussing how to meet
these needs with program representatives. During project implementation, they
submitted applications from villagers who wanted to work on the pipeline. At the
same time, they also discussed the criteria used to determine the compensation
paid to farmers that the project temporarily or permanently prevented from using
some of their land.
The Committees have some influence over the individual economic development
proposals submitted by the villagers (crops, farming, micro-credit applications)
that can benefit from financial support under the program. An ad hoc committee,
often composed of teachers, is assigned responsibility for allocating
micro-credits.
Contacts are made on a daily basis, often informally, between members of the
Village Communication Committees and the Socio-Economic Program teams,
physicians, agriculturalists, veterinarians and communication officers (known
locally as "Communication Ladies") who live in the villages or in Kanbauk.
From the outset, the Village Communication Committees proved to be valuable
interfaces between the Yadana project teams and the villages. They were the
first to receive explanations about what the pipeline project involved and the
Socio-Economic Support Program. They consequently served as relays to present
this information to villagers and to feed back the questions raised by the
villagers. It should be emphasized that the Committees were never barriers
between the Total teams and villagers, and that many personal contacts and
meetings with entire villages have enriched this relationship.
A climate of trust was quickly established between the socio-economic
teams and the Village Communication Committees, when it became apparent
that Total and
its co-investors truly wanted the project to have positive consequences
for the villages and were concerned with protecting the villagers.
The
Committees
provided information concerning cases where the Army imposed forced labor on villagers, which in turn
allowed Total to bring pressure to bear on the government through MOGE
to halt such practice.
While providing channels for information and dialogue, the
Village Communication Committees also illustrated the commitment
of Total
and the other MGTC
shareholders to fostering ownership by the villages of the
projects without creating a dependent relationship that would
undermine
the sustainable nature of the progress generated by the program.
Elections are organized to renew
the Village Communication Committees, thus enabling new members
to become involved in the socio-economic program and its
implementation during their 3-year term. There are 182 VCC members at end-2006.
