N 66        The Future of our Parks

                                    I had just finished translating Wangari Maathai’s book ‘Unbowed ‘and was in the process of producing it when I saw  a post came up on facebook  today. It is about a park in Yangon, the Kandawgyi Park. In Wangari’s book there is a chapter about how she and the people defend their biggest Uhuru Park from being used in other ways than recreation place for the people and how they succeeded in the end. I realized that we the people of Myanmar are also needing to do so .

                                                                 Uhuru Park..... Nairobi / Kenya

  The post said that  Kandawgyi Park came under the management of YCDC (municiple ) in 2010  and from them to private companies, to develop and make it into a place where people can enjoy. But in 2013 April the people who have power over it leased it to 3 companies for 60 years which can be said for a lifetime , by their own freewill.

    

The companies leased the park at a very low rate and so it is a big loss  for the country.  Anybody knows that to get this low rate they (the cronies for sure ) have to bribe the people who have the power to give the lease.

                                                  

                                                             Uhuru Park..... Nairobi /Kenya

According to the contract the companies who leased the park have to make it into a recreation place for people to enjoy.They have to construct facilities that fits a water park such as water slides, pools for children and adults, waterfalls and pleasant things that would suit the eyes. On the lake they should keep boats of some kinds, water skis, create wave pools and such things for people to enjoy. We cannot expect big and expensive water worlds like in other countries because of the country’s economy where most people do not have money for leisure, but even then they should enjoy small basic leisure facilities , especially for children.

   

  But the companies don,t care for people’s enjoyment. They just do what they will get more profits. I have read an article  in a newspaper about this park. The writer said that this park which should be a recreation place for people to enjoy is being used as a place for rock music concerts with loudspeakers    booming which is a nuisance for people in the environment. Many shops are selling beer and liquor and the young people who come to the shows are high on intoxicating drinks and behaving wildly. So older people who just want to stroll along in a peaceful surrounding cannot do so.

                                                       Kandawgyi Park..... Yangon / Myanmar

   So the companies are not doing according to what they should do , to meet the real aim of a public park. They just look for profits. So trees are being cut down, buildings such as high rises and shopping malls  that don’t concern a park are sprouting  up, and building materials are also taking place in the park.

    

  Every  places of value in Yangon  like the  Inya Lake, the Pyithu Yinbyin, the Padonmar Park  are getting into the hands of cronies.They have access to these places by bribing the authorities, whereas the people cannot say anything.The money that get into the government is small, but the authorities get big money. The authorities are manipulating resources as if they are their own .

    

                                                           Kandawgyi Park..... Yangon / Myanmar

  Some members of parliament discussed these issues in parliament but come to no avail. There are no transparency in the way the government is doing its work. The government is very like the government of Kenya in the 1990s. Even then the Burmese government is worse than Kenya, because Burma has much resources than Kenya, which has only land and some forests to abuse.

   

The people of Burma have come to know that the resources are being handled in the wrong way, that the benefits do not go into the government’s  treasury, but instead only into the big and small official’s pockets.

   

   About public land use there is not much protesting in Burma. The only incident I have heard of is the protesting of building apartments by the USDP in a football field of S. Okalappa and led by U Ko Ko Gyi, who  was charged with prison terms round about May this year.U Ko Ko Gyi and Wangari Maathai are fearless people who dared challenge the people in power for the good of the public. In order to protect public places there should be more leaders like them, so as not to make public places disappear from our towns and cities forever .