Phnom Penh Post, Issue 16 / 24, November 30 – December 13, 2007
The National Assembly will debate a draft National Budget Law for 2008 that provides for funding of $1.5 billion, an increase of $300 million from this year's $1.2 billion budget. Cheam Yeap, chairman of Finance and Banking commission of the National Assembly, said the draft budget lowers spending on police and defense by reducing the budgets of the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defense by 4%.
The actual budgets for each ministry are not released until the debate is held in December.
"Unless calamity happens the budget estimation is correct," Yeap told reporters at the National Stakeholder Workshop on Budget Law 2008 conducted by the NGO Forum on Cambodia and the Economic Institute of Cambodia on November 27.
Yeap said that the new budget adds the Ministry of Women's Affairs and Water Resources and Meteorology to those ministries considered to be high priority spending areas. The existing four high priority spending areas are Agriculture, Rural Development, Health and Education.
"We tried to shorten the largest gap between the staff of the state and simple people," he said. "Step by step we all will have enough."
Yim Sovann, chairman of the Home Affairs, National Defense, Investigation and Anti-Corruption Commission of the National Assembly, said he supported the addition of the two new priority spending areas although he said the budgets for the existing priority spending areas are insufficient.
"Each ministry should use the budget effectively," Sovann said, "Some powerful ministries receive more than what the budget approves and use it improperly."
Sovann said that the 2008 draft budget includes $130 million not designated for expenditure and he is concerns it will be used without transparency.
Ngy San, deputy executive director of NGO Forum on Cambodia, said the workshop was aimed at encouraging budget debate.
"Debate on the budget is very necessary for the government to succeed in its national strategic development plan," San said. "We noticed that some priority ministries did not get a budget increase," he said, although the Ministry of Health did get an increase.
Sok Hach, director of the Economic Institute of Cambodia, said the government did not provide enough means for the public and civil society to play an important role in helping to develop society.
"We never have the chance to sit at the same table to discuss the National Budget," Hach said. "This is the first time that parliamentarians and civil society discussed the National Budget."
The actual budgets for each ministry are not released until the debate is held in December.
"Unless calamity happens the budget estimation is correct," Yeap told reporters at the National Stakeholder Workshop on Budget Law 2008 conducted by the NGO Forum on Cambodia and the Economic Institute of Cambodia on November 27.
Yeap said that the new budget adds the Ministry of Women's Affairs and Water Resources and Meteorology to those ministries considered to be high priority spending areas. The existing four high priority spending areas are Agriculture, Rural Development, Health and Education.
"We tried to shorten the largest gap between the staff of the state and simple people," he said. "Step by step we all will have enough."
Yim Sovann, chairman of the Home Affairs, National Defense, Investigation and Anti-Corruption Commission of the National Assembly, said he supported the addition of the two new priority spending areas although he said the budgets for the existing priority spending areas are insufficient.
"Each ministry should use the budget effectively," Sovann said, "Some powerful ministries receive more than what the budget approves and use it improperly."
Sovann said that the 2008 draft budget includes $130 million not designated for expenditure and he is concerns it will be used without transparency.
Ngy San, deputy executive director of NGO Forum on Cambodia, said the workshop was aimed at encouraging budget debate.
"Debate on the budget is very necessary for the government to succeed in its national strategic development plan," San said. "We noticed that some priority ministries did not get a budget increase," he said, although the Ministry of Health did get an increase.
Sok Hach, director of the Economic Institute of Cambodia, said the government did not provide enough means for the public and civil society to play an important role in helping to develop society.
"We never have the chance to sit at the same table to discuss the National Budget," Hach said. "This is the first time that parliamentarians and civil society discussed the National Budget."
2 comments:
I don't care what anyone said, but we must do everything we can to give our law enforcers as much pay raise as we can, even if we have to cut the corrupted teachers' salary.
MOI, the CPP's mercenary/Bullshitter sucks big time!
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