Procurement Risk:

Critical

Score:

3/100

Government Policy

Collapse
Q57 0/100

Does the country have legislation covering defence and security procurement with clauses specific to corruption risks, and are any items exempt from these laws?

View Question
Legal framework Score: NS / 100
This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. There is no public procurement law in Myanmar. In 2014, the Deputy Attorney General…
Explore
Corruption risks Score: 0 / 100
There is no defence-specific legislation that covers defence and national security procurement. No public procurement legislation at all could be identified in Myanmar.
Explore
Effectiveness Score: NA / 100
There is no defence-specific legislation that covers defence and national security procurement. As such, this indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’.
Explore
Q58 0/100

Is the defence procurement cycle process, from assessment of needs, through contract implementation and sign-off, all the way to asset disposal, disclosed to the public?

View Question
Formal procedures Score: 0 / 100
As Myanmar’s military normally handles its affairs internally, the procedures and processes of the Office of the Auditor General as an oversight mechanism lack…
Explore
Transparency Score: 0 / 100
There is no formal procedure for the public to access information about the defence procurement process. As Myanmar’s military normally handles its affairs internally,…
Explore
Implementation Score: 0 / 100
In 2016, there was a confrontation between military representatives and MPs from the NLD party due to the violation of asset disposal procedures [1].…
Explore
Q59 8/100

Are defence procurement oversight mechanisms in place and are these oversight mechanisms active and transparent?

View Question
Independence Score: 25 / 100
The Office of the Auditor General under the Ministry of Defence acts as an internal oversight mechanism [1]. However, in the absence of democratic…
Explore
Effectiveness Score: 0 / 100
The Office of the Auditor General under the Ministry of Defence is tasked with acting as an internal oversight mechanism [1]. The Office of…
Explore
Transparency Score: 0 / 100
As Myanmar’s military normally handles its affairs internally, the procedures and processes of the Office of the Auditor General as an oversight mechanism lack…
Explore
Q60 13/100

Are potential defence purchases made public?

View Question
Policies Score: 0 / 100
The Defence White Paper does not include future procurements [1]. A National Strategy and Defence Policy is mentioned in the Defence White Paper [1],…
Explore
Notice of planned purchases Score: 25 / 100
There have been some announcements made by the military about its future purchases, but defence purchases are normally made in secret and planned purchases…
Explore
Q61 0/100

Are actual defence purchases made public?

View Question
Comprehensiveness Score: 0 / 100
The military rarely publishes its actual defence purchases. The responsible person at the Ministry of Defence explains the MoD’s defence spending to Parliament on…
Explore
Accessible data Score: 0 / 100
The Myanmar military is always secretive about its military purchases and never publishes them publicly. There is only one Defence White Paper, published in…
Explore

Capability Gap and Requirements Definition

Expand
Q62 0/100

What procedures and standards are companies required to have – such as compliance programmes and business conduct programmes – in order to be able to bid for work for the Ministry of Defence or armed forces?

View Question
Formal policies Score: 0 / 100
There are no laws detailing standards or procedures for defence procurement. There may be procedures for defence procurement, but these are not available to…
Explore
Consistent implementation Score: NA / 100
There are no laws detailing standards or procedures for defence procurement. As such, this indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’.
Explore
Q63 0/100

Are procurement requirements derived from a national defence and security strategy, and are procurement decisions well-audited? Are defence purchases based on clearly identified and quantified requirements?

View Question
Procurement requirements Score: 0 / 100
The Defence White Paper (2015) addresses the National Defence Policy and the Defence Strategy, which is based on the People’s War Strategy, but does…
Explore
Scrutiny Score: 0 / 100
Myanmar does not have a procurement law [1]. Neither MPs from Parliament nor the Auditor General have the power to scrutinise the military’s defence…
Explore
Purchases Score: NEI / 100
The Defence White Paper (2015) addresses the National Defence Policy and the Defence Strategy, which is based on the People’s War Strategy, but does…
Explore

Tender Solicitation, Assessment and Contract Award

Expand
Q64 NEI/100

Is defence procurement generally conducted as open competition or is there a significant element of single-sourcing (that is, without competition)?

View Question
Open competition Score: NEI / 100
Myanmar’s military mostly makes its defence purchases in secret and rarely makes them public [1]. As a consequence, Myanmar’s defence market is not transparent…
Explore
Scrutiny of single/restricted competition procedures Score: 0 / 100
Myanmar’s military has its own audit and the Office of the Auditor General lacks the power to scrutinise defence spending; one source indicated that…
Explore
Q65 0/100

Are tender boards subject to regulations and codes of conduct and are their decisions subject to independent audit to ensure due process and fairness?

View Question
Conflicts of interest Score: 0 / 100
There are regulations issued by the Directorate of Procurement, which manages the tender process in the military [1]. But nepotism and bribery prevail [1].…
Explore
Audit Trail Score: 0 / 100
There is an internal audit mechanism exercised by the Office of the Auditor General [1]. This process is not well specified and cannot be…
Explore
Transparency Score: 0 / 100
MPs have criticised the fact that they cannot scrutinise the Myanmar military’s budget or defence procurement effectively. They also criticised the fact that the…
Explore
Scrutiny Score: 0 / 100
There is an internal audit mechanism exercised by the Office of the Auditor General, however, external actors are prohibited from auditing the defence sector…
Explore
Q66 0/100

Does the country have legislation in place to discourage and punish collusion between bidders for defence and security contracts?

View Question
Legal framework Score: 0 / 100
There is the Anti-Corruption Law in Myanmar, enacted in 2014. However, this law cannot regulate military activities because of Article 20(b) of the Constitution,…
Explore
Sanctions Score: NA / 100
There is no legislation that applies to the defence sector in which collusion is prohibited. As such, this indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’.
Explore
Enforcement Score: NA / 100
As noted in 66B, there is no legislation that prohibits collusion in the defence sector. As such, this indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’.
Explore
Training Score: NEI / 100
No information could be found to clarify whether training is provided to procurement officials with regards to collusion. As such, this indicator is marked…
Explore

Contract Delivery and In-Service Support

Expand
Q67 25/100

Are there mechanisms and procedures that ensure that contractors meet their obligations on reporting and delivery?

View Question
Reporting policies & procedures Score: 50 / 100
There are some procedures for investigating contractors’ services and delivered goods. The relevant procuring entities and respective departments in the military are responsible for…
Explore
Transparency Score: 0 / 100
A retired military officer said that certain military contracts and tenders, especially those concerning armaments, cannot be made public [1]. A military contractor also…
Explore
Monitoring Score: 25 / 100
The Directorate of Procurement has a monitoring mechanism, whereby personnel from the respective military departments inspect deliveries and procurement officials ensure that contractors meet…
Explore
Enforcement Score: NEI / 100
Inspectors from the respective departments of the military can report corrupt activity and unqualified delivery. Sanctions, such as cancelled payment, are imposed on the…
Explore
Q68 NEI/100

Are there mechanisms in place to allow companies to complain about perceived malpractice in procurement, and are companies protected from discrimination when they use these mechanisms?

View Question
Complaints mechanisms Score: NEI / 100
A complaint mechanism is known to exist. If the contractor does not agree with the decision of the Directorate of Procurement, they can file…
Explore
Effectiveness and Accessibility Score: NEI / 100
The regulations for the complaint mechanism is only available to the contractors and not to the public. We are not able to access enough…
Explore
Retaliation Score: NEI / 100
There have been incidents where contractor companies have complained to the Directorate of Procurement (DoP). The DoP responded to the complaint and the company…
Explore
Q69 0/100

What sanctions are used to punish the corrupt activities of a supplier?

View Question
Sanctions Score: 0 / 100
There is no legislation regulating punishment for corrupt contractors. However, there are guidelines for procurement officials [1]. They cannot directly take action against the…
Explore
Undue influence Score: NA / 100
This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’, as procurement officials have no authority to exclude companies that are implicated in corruption-related offences. There are guidelines…
Explore
Application of sanctions Score: NA / 100
This indicator is scored ‘Not Applicable’, given that procurement officials have no authority to exclude companies that are implicated in corruption-related offences. As Myanmar’s…
Explore

Offset Contracts

Expand
Q70 NEI/100

When negotiating offset contracts, does the government specifically address corruption risk by imposing anti-corruption due diligence on contractors and third parties?

View Question
Legal framework Score: 0 / 100
The government is entirely excluded from the military’s defence contracts. Article 20(b) of the 2008 Constitution grants the military the power to administer its…
Explore
Due diligence Score: NEI / 100
There is no legal window for the civilian government to intervene in the military’s defence contracts, especially offset contracts, because the military has the…
Explore
Q71 0/100

How does the government monitor offset contracts?

View Question
Policies & procedures Score: NEI / 100
The government is entirely excluded from the military’s defence contracts. Article 20(b) of the 2008 Constitution grants the military the power to administer its…
Explore
Transparency Score: 0 / 100
As there are no policies, procedures, or pieces of legislation in government, transparency is not required or possible.
Explore
Monitoring Score: 0 / 100
As there are no policies, procedures, or pieces of legislation regarding defence offset contracts, there is no information regarding the monitoring of these contracts.
Explore
Enforcement Score: 0 / 100
As there are no policies, procedures, or pieces of legislation in government, enforcement is not possible.
Explore
Q72 NEI/100

What level of competition are offset contracts subject to?

View Question
Score: NEI / 100
Myanmar’s military mostly makes its defence purchases in secret and rarely makes them public. As a consequence, Myanmar’s defence market lacks transparency and we…
Explore

Agents / Brokers

Expand
Q73 0/100

How strongly does the government control the company’s use of agents and intermediaries in the procurement cycle?

View Question
Policies Score: 0 / 100
Both foreign and local brokers arrange the deals for the Myanmar military’s defence procurement. Myanmar does not have a procurement law [1], meaning there…
Explore
Enforcement Score: NA / 100
This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’, as there is no general prohibition of, or clear restrictions on, the use of agents and intermediaries.
Explore

Financing Package

Expand
Q74 0/100

Are the principal aspects of the financing package surrounding major arms deals, (such as payment timelines, interest rates, commercial loans or export credit agreements) made publicly available prior to the signing of contracts?

View Question
Score: 0 / 100
Myanmar’s military mostly makes its defence purchases in secret and rarely makes them public. Therefore, we are not able to access information about financing…
Explore

Seller Influence

Expand
Q75 NS/100

How common is it for defence acquisition decisions to be based on political influence by selling nations?

View Question
Prevalence: selling nations Score: NS / 100
This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. Under the military junta, China provided legitimacy for Myanmar and was the country’s biggest…
Explore
Justification Score: NS / 100
This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. According to Article 20(b) of the 2008 Constitution, the Defence Services has the right…
Explore
Prevalence: domestic pressures Score: NS / 100
This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. A few years after the delivery of Chinese military equipment, many Myanmar soldiers complained…
Explore