Rakhine State — All four downtown neighborhood administrators in Ponnagyun Township, located in Rakhine State, have simultaneously submitted their resignation letters to the Township General Administration Office.
However the real reasons for this flurry of resignations have not yet clear. A Ponnagyun resident suggested that the administrators could have resigned due to finding themselves caught between the Military Council and the Arakan Army (AA), along with the erosion of their authority as AA took effective control of local affairs.
"In Ponnagyun, there exist two competing administrative systems. The Military Council-appointed administrators are losing influence, and people only seek them for certificates and permissions. The United League of Arakan (ULA) has taken charge of dispute resolution. It appears the administrators felt caught between the Military Council and the AA, leading to their resignations”, he said.
Ponnagyun comprises four neighborhoods: Sanpya, Myothit (new town), Alelsu, and Ywahaung (old village). On September 29th, the administrators of these wards collectively submitted their resignations.
One of the four administrators told DMG “ Indeed requested permission to resign from my role. There's no specific reason; I simply decided to quit due to my age and declining health.” DMG attempted to reach out to Ponnagyun Township administrator U Maung San Win for further information on this issue; however, no response was received.
The resignation of all neighborhood administrators in Ponnagyun has raised concerns among local residents. They worry that essential village development projects like road and bridge construction, school and clinic building, which require coordination between administrators and Military Council offices and departments, may come to a halt.
Furthermore, a young activist from Ponnagyun pointed out that there could be problems in obtaining certificates from the neighborhood administration office, especially for tasks like household list applications and national identification card requests.
We've heard about the administrators submitting their resignations, but it's unclear whether they have been granted permission to resign or not. During this period of pending resignations, there might be challenges in issuing support letters and addressing other social issues.
Similarly, in November last year, nearly 90 neighborhood and village-level administrators in Ponnagyun collectively resigned, due to concerns about becoming entangled in the midst of military conflicts.
However, the mass resignation of these administrators led to hardships for the people. In response, AA encouraged the administrators who had submitted their resignations to return to their original roles, leading the administrators to cancel their resignation plans.
