Families in Paung Township, Mon State, who cannot pay conscription fees collected by local administrative authorities are being denied access to subsidized palm oil, according to local residents.
The Mon State Oil Entrepreneurs Association has been selling palm oil to residents in Paung Township once a month at 8,000 kyats per viss as part of efforts to stabilize and reduce commodity prices.
However, families who have not paid their monthly conscription fees are not being issued palm oil purchase books and are not allowed to buy the oil, according to a Paung woman who experienced the restriction herself.
“They sell oil at three locations. We went there and were told that we would receive a purchase book, but they did not issue one. When they started selling, they did not call us. They said we could not buy it because we had not paid the conscription fee,” the woman said.
Previously, palm oil was sold on a first-come, first-served basis through cooperation between the oil traders’ association and ward officials without requiring identification documents. Since August, however, sales have been restricted to households holding palm oil purchase books issued by the relevant ward administrator’s office.
As a result, families struggling to make ends meet and unable to pay the conscription fees can no longer purchase the subsidized palm oil, residents said.
A Paung resident said ward administrator offices also refuse to issue palm oil purchase books and other recommendation letters to households that have not paid the conscription fees.
“My household was not given one. If we go to get a recommendation letter because we have not paid, we have to deal with the administrator and the 10-household leader. For transactions, we have to obtain their recommendation,” he said.
In Paung Township, conscription fees ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 kyats are being collected depending on the number of households in each village. Residents facing financial difficulties are struggling to pay the fees, according to local sources.
Since the conscription law was enacted in February 2024, residents in Mon and Karen states have been required to pay conscription fees to local administrators and have also faced threats over nonpayment, according to local residents.
