Minister of National Planning and Economic Development SOE Tha of Burma

You could avoid loss from FEC by employing, to the extent possible, dollar-to-dollar direct bank transfers to the vendors when purchasing humanitarian goods and services, U Soe Tha was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the working group on Wednesday.

According to the statement, U Soe Tha said vendors would not have any obligation to convert the dollars into FEC or local currency, and neither will there be an obligation for the international humanitarian community to commission particular vendors.

On Friday, according to the statement, the Burmese Minister for National Planning and Economic Development Soe Tha met members of the TCG to resolve the problem of the exchange mechanism.

Puji Pujiono, Soe Tha said the Burmese government has an alternative to solve the problem.

Soe Tha said the UN agencies could avoid loss from the FEC by employing dollar-to-dollar direct bank transfers to the vendors when purchasing humanitarian goods and services.

But, ground situation was different from what Soe Tha had said.

In a meeting with the leaders of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), the National Planning and Economic Development Minister of Myanmar U Soe Tha expressed the interest on behalf of the Myanmar government today.

Soe Tha said the guidelines had been brought in to enable the government to keep records of the quantities and nature of aid received and where it had been delivered, and to avoid duplication of effort.

The Government is committed to addressing this concern of the international humanitarian community," U Soe Tha said a statement.

Some organizations were spreading groundless information such as there is or will be a shortage of rice in Myanmar," Soe Tha was quoted as saying at a meeting with international relief agencies on Tuesday.

Soe Tha is the man who exaggerated the cost of the damage wrought by Cyclone Nargis, telling the donor conference in Rangoon in May that US $11 billion would be required to rebuild the devastated areas and their economies.

In another misleading statement, Soe Tha said the rice output in Irrawaddy and Rangoon divisions made up only 2.

Soe Tha was appointed minister for national planning and economic development in 1999, after the dismissal of Brig-Gen David Abel.