Myanmar regime to temporarily move some ministry offices from Naypyitaw to Yangon

Myanmar’s military junta is planning to temporarily move a number of ministry offices from Naypyitaw to Yangon following the massive earthquake that devastated large parts of the country’s central heartland late last month, according to junta staff sources. Myanmar Now has learned that the ministries that may relocate to Yangon include foreign affairs, agriculture and livestock, and commerce, as well as the Central Bank. Only certain administrative departments from each ministry are expected to relocate to Yangon, officials have confirmed. “We need to report why relocation is necessary, what difficulties exist, and get approval before moving. From what I’ve heard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will definitely have to move,” said one official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Although the buildings housing parliament and the ministries of defence, industry, energy, and labour all sustained significant damage, these ministries won’t need to be relocated to Yangon as they can be repaired over time, the official added. Yangon was Myanmar’s capital until 2005, and still has functioning ministerial buildings. However, a junta spokesperson has denied reports about ministry relocations to Yangon. Office equipment such as computers and documents were damaged, and detailed lists are being collected by each department, according to an official from the Ministry of Planning and Finance. Nearly 20 days after the earthquake, ministries are still clearing debris using staff manpower and beginning small-scale reconstruction work, according to an engineer from the Naypyitaw City Development Committee. “They’re repairing what can be fixed so that offices can resume operations. Ministries like commerce and labour are already doing minor repairs. All departments with minimal damage are being repaired.” Some ministry buildings may need to be demolished due to earthquake damage, and inspections are still ongoing, he added. The junta is working to resume operations at Naypyitaw ministry offices by the end of April, and has already set up temporary offices in car parking areas, requiring staff to return to work since March 31. Temporary shelters built for civil servants in the 4,000-Acre Field, seen in the first week of April (Photo: Myanmar Now) The collapsed ministry buildings and staff housing in Naypyitaw will take time to rebuild. With hotels and other buildings also damaged, there are difficulties in providing accommodation for government offices to function. With staff housing collapsed, ministry employees in Naypyitaw face accommodation challenges, with most living in temporary shelters provided by the junta. After the earthquake, staff living in temporary shelters and those living outside housing units that are still standing but in danger of collapse face severe conditions due to extreme heat, heavy rainfall, and strong winds. “On days with rain and strong winds, we have to go inside damaged buildings to sleep, but we’re worried about them collapsing during aftershocks. We can’t leave our belongings unattended either. We have to stay up at night guarding against thieves, which makes our suffering worse,” said a female staff member in her 30s living in Kantkaw staff housing. Staff are requesting safety inspections of housing to determine if the buildings are suitable for occupancy. Working in offices while facing accommodation difficulties has created many problems. “They’re currently repairing the ministry buildings, but they haven’t come to inspect the housing areas yet. They haven’t even cleared the debris of the demolished houses,” said a female staff member from the junta’s Ministry of Education living in the 4,000-Acre Staff Housing area. Due to these accommodation challenges, arrangements have been made for staff to stay in the weatherproof Wunna Theikdi Stadium and the former Municipal Guest House 2, where National League for Democracy representatives previously lived, as well as undamaged ministry buildings, but these are insufficient for the number of staff. According to the junta’s figures, the nationwide death toll from the earthquake currently stands at 3,666, with another 4,825 injured, and 129 missing across six regions and states.

Myanmar regime to temporarily move some ministry offices from Naypyitaw to Yangon

As the country’s former capital until 20 years ago, Yangon still has a number of functioning ministerial buildings

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