It is always fascinating to see the official Chinese press’ view of developments in Burma/Myanmar. Note the final estimate of local NGOs.  

Myanmar to form coordination committee to work with UN
Xinhua General News Service
17 January 2006

Yangon: The Myanmar government will form a Central Coordination Committee (CCC) to work with United Nations agencies operating in the country with their aid projects, a local weekly reported Friday.

Besides the UN agencies, other international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and domestic NGOs are also governed by regulations of the CCC, a latest release of the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development (NPED) was quoted by the weekly newspaper as saying.

The CCC will be headed by Minister of NPED U Soe Tha together with Minister of Home Affairs Major-General Maung Oo and Minister of Foreign Affairs U Nyan Win as deputy heads. Deputy ministers of related ministries will act as CCC members and Deputy Minister of NPED Colonel Thurein Zaw will serve as the secretary, the release said.

NGOs' projects to be implemented in Myanmar are to seek approval from the CCC now in addition to the Health Ministry and the Foreign Policy Committee which are the only steps to go through previously in the formalities.

The CCC designates that all NGOs assisting Myanmar are to be registered with the government for their operations and the traveling in the country of their project staff is so limited that they must be accompanied by at least a responsible official of the government.

There are 80 international NGOs in Myanmar including those that have signed memorandums of understanding with the government and it also has 300 Domestic NGOs.