Budget policy is extremely important for a nation. The
government needs to create and develop the right budget to control all sectors.
Budget allocation is a headache for a country like Myanmar that has always had
a budget deficiency. Most people have only begun to take an interest in budget
allocation since the democracy transition period in 2010.
People can also criticize the budget and how the money is being
spent. Previously, there was a big difference between military expenses and the
budget allocation for the health and education sectors. When parliament
has rightly questioned aspects of the budget, the policy has changed in some
sectors.
Many believe that this government’s annual budget for each
department will be unfavorable and significant changes will be made. At a
parliamentary session held on January 31, officials from the defence and
education ministries clarified their budget needs for 2017-18. The Ministry of
Defence asked for Ks2.9 trillion for next financial year, less than previous fiscal
years. The Ministry of Education asked for more.
The Ministry of Defence planned to earn about Ks73 million and
spend Ks2.9 trillion. The ministry planned to spend Ks1,654 billion on
common expenses, Ks744 billion on salary expenses, Ks432 billion to buy
military equipment, Ks16 billion for transportation, Ks80 billion for
engineering equipment, Ks178 billion for general use, Ks4.2 billion for
military operations, Ks194 billion for factories in military and Ks4.6 billion
for interest payments, said Deputy Minister for Defence Maj-Gen Myint Nwe.
The ministry of education asked for over one trillion kyats in
2017-18 and will have income of Ks24 billion from foreign aid and Ks 42
billion from overseas loans, according to minister for education.
It is important to spend
more in the public health and education sectors, so more funds can be
used effectively for the people in the long and short term. The daily eleven
wrote that respective authorities need to take responsibility for the budget as
the country cannot afford to waste money on corruption issues.
