SUM MANET
The National Budget 2017 was approved on Friday by the Council of Ministers, with a government expenditure of about $5.04 billion. This represents an increase of about 15.6 percent compared to the 2016 budget of $4.36 billion, according to a government statement.
“I have checked the final draft of the budget law 2017 before submitting it to the cabinet meeting today. The draft law took into account various macroeconomic factors,” said Prime Minister Hun Sen who chaired the weekly cabinet meeting.
“[Government] expenditure should not more than four percent of GDP [gross domestic product] or 40 percent of the current expenditure,” added Mr. Hun Sen.
A statement issued by the Council of Ministers stated: “The weekly cabinet meeting, held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Hun Sen, approved the draft of National Budget Law 2017 worth in total 20,184,457 million riel [about $5.04 billion].”
Based on this draft law, the budget will focus on general administration, national defense, security, social affairs, education, health, agriculture, and infrastructure and economic development.
According to the Council of Ministers statement, some $834 million will be allocated in 2017 for national defense, security and maintaining public order. This represents an increase of about 20.4 percent from the 2016 national budget.
The statement added that about $326 million will be given to the economy-driven sectors next year, up 13.1 percent from this year, while the social sector will get $1.2 billion in 2017, up 12.7 percent.
Commenting on a strong probability of an increase in civil servants’ salaries, Mr. Hun Sen said: “When our civil servants are paid more, they will spend more. Thus, it will not affect the macro-economy.”
“Our macroeconomy is strong in all fields. The allocation for the 2017 budget is in response to making better the living conditions of our people. We, the government, have looked to increase more pay for civil servants in the future.”
Mey Kalyan, senior adviser to the Supreme National Economic Council, said the government gave careful thought on spending in the national budget.
“I work closely with the Ministry of Economy and Finance. They are more focused on government expenditure and have a young and dedicated team of economists looking into it,” he told Khmer Times.
To generate more income into the national budget, Mr. Kalyan said: “The public sector has to invest in various sectors such as infrastructure, education, health and other priority sectors, in order to attract more investments into the country.”
For the 2016 national budget, the government approved a 16 percent increase to make it $4.36 billion, from $3.75 billion in 2015. There was a 15.68 percent rise in social spending to $1.21 billion, from slightly more than $1 billion in 2015.
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