Villagers report their village administrator to higher authority for misappropriation

September 7, 2016

The villagers from Khaw Zar Chaung Wa Village, Kyone Nyae Village Track, Southern Ye Township, Mon State have submitted a letter of appeal to the Mawlamyine Township General Administrative Office to request to remove their current village administrator.

The villagers have previously submitted letters to higher authority two times to request to remove the current village administration body but there was no response. Villagers are planning to submit another appeal letter.

The letters stated that Khaw Zar Chaung Wa Village administrator, U A Win, has been a village headman for the last two years and during his term he exploited and abused the rights of the villagers and embezzled from the municipal fund granted by the government.

In September 2015, the government granted 15 million Kyat to Kyone Nyae Village Administrative Officer, U Tun Kyi, to repair a 1.5 mile long Kyone Nyae – Chaung Wa Road. However, villagers are claiming that only 2.5 million Kyat was spent on road reparations and the remaining fund of 12.5 million Kyat was mutually embezzled by the administrative officer and the Chaung Wa Village administrator.

U Pa Nga, the former secretary of Khaw Zar Chaung Wa Village said, “They also didn’t repair the road well. The road needs to be repaired often and villagers are forced to contribute to road reparations. They have done a lot bad things and did nothing good for the village. We don’t tolerate them. We want to remove them from the village administrative position and elect a new one.”

The village authorities have sold 12 acres of community land for 1.3 million Kyat in order to repair the local monastery but they have not started the monastery project yet. The villagers are forced to be involved in the construction of a water tank and after finishing the construction the village headman controlled the tank and sold the drinking water to the villagers for 500 Kyat per tank. The villagers have been disappointed by the actions of the village authorities.

A local resident named U Aung San stated, “To repair the local monastery, they requested the villagers’ agreement to sell the community land. Now, the local monastery has been destroyed and they have done nothing. We want to give the money to the village monastery.”

Another villager claimed, “They favored their relatives rather than the villagers. Their relatives enjoy the privileges when we get nothing. When businesspeople come here to find workers, they have to meet the village headman first. The village headman also exploits the wages of the employees. If the employers give a hundred thousand (Kyat), the villagers get only fifty thousand (Kyat).”

Khaw Zar Chaung Wa Village is included in Kyone Nyae Village Track, Khaw Zar Sub-Township, Ye Township, Mon State. There are five villages – Khaw Zar Chaung Wa, Mee Tie Dat, Kyauk Eye, Ta Yoke Htaut and Kyone Nyae Villages in Kyone Nyae Village Track.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News