Friday, November 08, 2013

Military winner in draft budget


Military police stand guard during a training exercise in Phnom Penh last month. Yesterday, CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap said that 72 per cent of the defence budget will be spent on salaries for the Kingdom’s armed forces. SRENG MENG SRUNG

Military winner in draft budget

Government officials were still tight-lipped about the 2014 draft budget yesterday, though some details did continue to trickle out, such as the announcement of a sizeable increase in national defence spending.

Cambodian People’s Party lawmaker and banking and finance committee member Cheam Yeap said yesterday that the Standing Committee of the National Assembly would put the draft budget up for debate in a full session of the assembly – “likely next week”. 

While the complete contents of the budget would not be made public until the full session convened, he added, the budget does contain a 17 per cent boost in the $400 million spent last year on defence.

“We have to establish a proper uniform for the armed forces such as shoes and headgear, which is necessary to have appropriate armed forces to ensure the stability of peace and territorial sovereignty,” Yeap said, maintaining the money was not for buying weapons.

Of the proposed $468 million in military spending, he added, 72 per cent would be to pay servicemen’s salaries. However, the presence of so-called “ghost soldiers” has long been a target of opposition criticism, and Cambodia’s relatively large standing army has even been the subject of donor-funded “demobilisation” schemes that have largely proved unsuccessful. 

Though Yeap refused to offer further specifics, unconfirmed local media reports cited some notable figures, such as a 20 per cent increase in education funding over last year, and a more than 10 per cent increase in agricultural spending.

Despite the lack of complete figures, the potential for issues with the national debt has raised concerns in some corners.

The International Monetary Fund said in January that Cambodia’s risk of “debt distress” – that is default, or imminent default – would remain low as long as there were continuing reforms. 

However, this year’s $3.5 billion budget represents a nearly 35 per cent increase over 2012’s, and Cambodian Institute for Development Study director Kang Chandararot maintained yesterday that reforms are only part of the picture.

“Reforms are tool[s] to increase revenues, not indicator[s] for debt level,” he said in an email. “You can make many efforts (reforms), but sometimes [with] no success (increase in revenues). Revenues serve the source of repayment, not just reforms.”

“We will have difficulty in servicing debt and [gaining the] trust of the private sector on [government] economic management,” he added. “The economy will suffer when repayment [is] due.”

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

i like this, good news. because it's not so much about increasing military manpower, it is more about raising the morale for our country's armed forces. yes, cambodia has to take care of its people, starting with the military and everything else from there. i'm glad someone is wise enough to take care of cambodia and its people first!

Anonymous said...

the so-called ghost soldiers was part of the corruption scandals that plagued cambodian military in the past, especially during the lon nol regime from 1970 to 1975. hopefully, this increment of military budget will help curve that scandal to some degree. it is better to do something about it than not! cambodia can use all kind of feedback to make our country and manpower better or improved!

Anonymous said...

More wage raises for the crooked policemen so they can evict more landowners and more bodyguards for Hun Sen stronghold.

Anonymous said...

Are they still accepting application?

Anonymous said...

unlike dumb head Rainsy Hun Sen knows his strategy...do not underestimate him or he would not have rule over 28 years

Anonymous said...

2:46 PM

Hun Sen is being used by a fk up vc to take over cambodia. They alerady took the whole Koh Tral Island the size of Singapore and countinuing to to encroach into our territory on a daily basis. Google have identify some 35 km deep inside our land plus a total of 5-600km from to sum up the lot. Thank you fk up headed Hun and his VC wife and dynasty. Well, for now only time will tell.

Hun and dynasty must be eliminated from our system for good or else, we are finished. This fk up family is very smart in such an evil way. Their plan is to eliminate our khmer race for the benefit of the fk up headed VC. Kingta said, 'I have helped them in every way I could, until losing everything including my crown and still, they back stabbed me...they are expansionists and they are like crocodiles. Hun Nal called 'Hai Phuc' added, 'nobody want to lose land and sea but because we are under their countrolled'.

The worst part is Mr Hun Nal, you can choose not to be part of the criminal or be as a traitor because in the end, everyone knows who you really are what you are capable of. Just try to learn from the past and then you will see the future. In the past the VC and Chinese have helped each other out to eliminate us from our existence by using Pol Pot's hands and now, they are doing the same to you. They took laos, Chompa, Khmer Krom, Koh Tral and now the whole Srok khmer if you let them, unlike you are one of a VC implanted then, it is time for you to go home.

Because Cambodia belongs to Cambodians not your VC or Dynasty of mafia. Because, every nation needs to have its own state sovereignty, and isn't 30 long years enough already, please think. We don't need you anymore, we are fate up with you and we have voted you out, until you got your arm forces in, what a dickhead mfk. Well, it seems you have no brain anyway. Right now, both VC and Ch say 'ah Hun is our dog, he has to listen to us or else, he is finished'. Hun Nal, yes you are their dog, but everything will come with time, so might as well do good. Since nothing will last forever, what do you think?.

No feeling, no shame and brain and allowing the outsiders like the VC and the CH to continue to look down on us. Nevertheless, god knows who are you and what you are capable of really.

Anonymous said...

បិសាចសម រង្ស៊ី,យួនបន្លំខ្មែរ
កំពុងតែដើរ​ បោកបន្ទន់ចិត្ត​
-យុវជន យុវនារីខ្មែរ
-បងប្អូនខ្មែរ តូចតាច