Opponents Blast ‘Small’ Budget Allocations

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
20 November 2008

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Shortfalls in the budgeted funding for agriculture, health and education will hurt many of Cambodia’s poor, critics of the 2009 budget say.

Although 80 percent of the population lives in rural, agricultural areas, only 1.7 percent of the $1.9 billion budget has been set aside for the Ministry of Agriculture. Only 10.9 percent of the budget will go to the Ministry of Health, and only 16.1 percent will go to the Ministry of Education.

By comparison, defense and security will get 19.5 percent, including a salary increase of the military and police.

Opposition lawmakers and aid organizations said the government should bolster its funding in sectors that will help the poor. Human Rights Party President Kem Sokha said his party will not support the proposed budget.

National budget could jump to $1.5 billion in 2008

The national budget could be increased in 2008

27-11-07
By Ky Soklim
Cambodge Soir
Translated from French by Luc Sâr

A draft law plans for a budget increase of $300 million. The draft law would be put on vote in December.

The national budget could increase from $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion for fiscal year 2008. Cheam Yeap, chairman of the National Assembly (NA) committee for the economy and finance, confirmed during a seminar held on Tuesday 27 November, saying that with this budget amount, the government wishes to maintain its current policy which consists of reducing the costs involving defense, and increasing spending for social services. “We hope that the discovery of natural resources, such as natural gas and oil, we will be able to increase the salaries of government workers and reduce the price of gasoline,” Cheam Yeap added to a seminar he was giving about budget issues and fight against poverty. The seminar was participated by MPs, Senators, economists and officials from the civil society.

Sok Hach, Director of the Economic Institute of Cambodia, approved the law on the national budget for 2008. According to him, 15 years ago, Cambodia has turned away from a planned economy to a market economy. He added that nowadays, the county is “able to get out of an international aid-dependent economy, and able to live on its local activities. The raise in the local revenues is undeniable, but the government must pay attention to the inflation for the price of goods.”

The draft law on the 2008 budget will be debated during the NA session which will take place at the beginning of December.