Desarrollo de las medidas de resultados según cada perspectiva

Improved private sector governance is the most discernible policy shift relevant to the RBC norm. The Framework for Economic and Social Reforms (FESR), formulated in 2012, set out clear road map on private sector development, governance and transparency, and reform of State Enterprises (Government of the Union of Myanmar, 2012: 28-29). FESR‘s consideration of social, environmental and cultural aspects in pursuit of growth in advancing a balanced strategy of economic, social, environmental and cultural development is notable (Government of the Union of Myanmar, 2012: 38-39:). The introduction of a number of private sector related laws also confirms the government‘s priority for private sector development.125

The specific laws—2012 Foreign Investment Laws and rules, 2013 Citizen

125

During 2011, the first year of democratic government, fifteen laws legislated by the Union Parliament, half of which concerned private sector governance, including Law No. 1. The Law for the Repeal of the Profit Tax Law, Law No. 2. The Law Amending the Myanmar Stamp Act, Law No.3. The Law Amending the Commercial Tax Law, Law No. 4. The law

Investment Law, 2013 Anticorruption Law, 2014 Consumer Protection Law, and 2015 Competition Law—have direct impact on businesses behaviours in transitioning Myanmar. Although the transition era government‘s regulatory and enforcement capacity remains limited, new laws provides improved legal frameworks with clearer roles for regulators as well as investors. For instance, along with the promulgation of the Consumer Protection Law and the formation of Food and Drug Administration Department and its monitoring and inspection of the products in the markets requires food manufacturing businesses to abide by the required safety and health standards.

Global Compact Myanmar chapter

The Myanmar chapter of Global Compact was opened after the launch of the voluntary governance initiative in the country by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in May 2012. Myanmar Centre on Business and Aid (MCBA) has been leading the UNGC local network since 2013. It has been increasing the awareness of the private sector on the changing rules of the game. The UNGC being a set of voluntary guidelines as opposed to a regulated code of conduct, businesses‘ pledge to take social, environmental and ethical due diligence improved motivation and inspired the private sector to take on a new role. The growing number of enterprises pledging to the UNGC indicates their realization that sustainability of their businesses depends on their adaptability to RBC as a new theme for doing business.126

The broadness of the themes of RBC and the voluntary nature of its compliance also make it affordable for private sector participants.

Instrumental rationality largely explains the transitioning government‘s UNGC initiative as it would serve as a means for private sector governance reform as part of broader socio- economic reform programmes. The potential role of the voluntary mechanism was recognized by scholars such as Kenneth Christie and Robert James Hanlon who framed the potential role of UNGC, stating:

... UNGC as transformative mechanism that incorporates the language of human rights and ethics into corporate and local business practices... UN Global Compact is a voluntary and relatively new initiative in Burma, it has

14. The Private School Registration Law. UNION ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE 2013. Myanmar Laws 2011. In:

significant potential for shaping the direction of Myanmar‘s business discourse. Despite the impact of the UNGC being minimal in the initial stages, constructivist theory allows us to view the long term influence of the Compact as a meaningful mechanism for building trust amongst diverse stakeholders. (Abbott and Snidal, 1998: 12-15)

How and to what extent such transformative potential of UNGC is being realized in Myanmar will be considered in the section on ‗Evolving Institutions as Drivers and Monitors of RBC‘.

Myanmar chapter of Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (MEITI)

Under the economic reforms framework, President U Thein Sein‘s government became part of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a global standard to promote the open and accountable management of oil, gas and mineral resources. The importance of the extractive sector and necessity for improved governance in this sector is apparent, as a significant portion (68 percent) of foreign direct investments in Myanmar flows into the extractive sector (Christie and Hanlon, 2014: 12), 38.5 percent of total export revenue comes from that sector (LLP, 2015: 10) and it contributes 23.6 percent of the state‘s revenue. Therefore, the Myanmar Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative Leading Authority was formed on 14 December 2012 and secured its candidacy for EITI membership in July 2014 while receiving support from international partners. In August 2015, the government signed a 290,000 USD grant agreement with EITI- Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF), a 2.5 million USD grant agreement with World Bank MDTF in January 2017 through 2019, and a 1 million USD additional grant agreement with MP-MDTF in July 2017.

Effective oversight by the multi-stakeholder group is one of the seven requirements to be benchmarked by the EITI standard.127

And thus, Myanmar Extractive Industries Initiative

127 _{A consultant of the World Bank Group, Ms. Emma Irwin synthesized seven major requirements of the EITI: 1. Effective}

oversight by the multi-stakeholder group, 2. Timely publication of EITI Reports 3. EITI Reports that include contextual information about the extractive industries, 4. The production of comprehensive EITI Reports that include government disclosure of extractive industry revenues, and disclosure of all material payments to the Government by oil, gas and mining companies, 5. A credible assurance process applying international standards, 6. EITI Reports that are comprehensible, actively promoted, publicly accessible, and contribute to public debate and 7. The multi-stakeholder group to take steps to act on lessons learned and review the outcomes and impact of EITI implementation. IRWIN, E. 2015. Myanmar EITI Implementation: Progress and Implications for Companies. Yangon: Myanmar Extractive Industries Transperancy Initiative. [Irwin, Emma 2015 Myanmar EITI Implementation: Progress and Implications for Companies [PowerPoint slides].

(MEITI) led by the Multi Stakeholders Group (MSG) was set up in early 2014. MSG is composed of twenty-one representatives; six from the government, six from the private sector and nine from civil society groups. The Centre for Economic and Social Development, a non- profit, private think-tank, is the coordinating body of the leading authority of MEITI. EITI local units are also established in states and administrative divisions.

Myanmar‘s EITI initiative, oversight of MSG and civil society has direct impact on the extractive sector‘s RBC implementation. The initiative also has indirect implications for the broader private sector as EITI serves as leverage for civil society in the country in placing greater scrutiny over the private sector. Civil society participation is a fundamental prerequisite of the EITI process. According to EITI‘s civil society engagement requirement 1.3, the government has to ensure ‗a full, active and effective participation of civil society through creation of enabling environment for civil society participation‘, ‗their substantial engagement in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the EITI process and for their engagement in public debates on EITI processes‘. Assessments on civil society participation in EITI process are made at candidature stage as well as at the validation stage according to the ‗protocol on civil society participation‘ under EITI standards (Rogan, 2017: 13-16, 41-44).

Prompted by these developments, a core group of civil society groups organized the EITI National Conference of CSOs in October 2013 and a civil society coalition was formed under the name of ‗Myanmar Coalition for Transparency‘ which was renamed ‗Myanmar Alliance for Transparency and Accountability‘ (MATA). MATA, a key stakeholder in MEITI MSG, has now become a national network comprising 450 civil society actors and individuals across the country advocating for transparency and accountability in all sectors across Myanmar (MATA, 2017).