The Myanmar Entrepreneur

As mentioned in the previous post, nothing will run smooth in this country... We are now officially blackmailed by the local authorities known as YCDC. After asking around all the business associates in Yangon, its apparent that this "fee" have to be paid no matter what.  According to my personal studying of the law and the whole chunk of regulations here: http://www.ycdc.gov.mm/content.php?law=ycdclaw translated to english, there is no mentioning of paying any "fees" or applying of any "permits" unless we are to do changes to the building fundamentals. When we called, the person in charge replied that even if we were to remove a piece of glass, we will need to apply for a permit. Hence we requested for a piece of receipt or acknowledgment that what we are going to pay is to adhere to a certain law. The officer replied that they are unable to issue anything. Well, that kind of tells you where this is going. So we asked what's the amount for coff...

So apparently Murphy's law has been occurring one time after another... In renovation there are several phases and these phases you can expect to run into MANY problems. 1) Demolition and hacking Well, this seems to be the only step with no problems as it doesn't require much skills and motor coordination.  2) Project Management Most local contractors does not know what is project management, the basics of housekeeping and no common sense. Some of the people started painting when the wires have yet to be pulled, then some started doing the door when the whole frame is not even completed. While those are just some of the examples, there are many more which my partner has to oversee when I am not around.  3) Straight Lines Apparently ruler is a very expensive thing here in Myanmar. The workers here does not know how to cut things properly. This is apparent in most renovations that I have observed in many many showrooms, restaurants and residential areas. ...