Union Govt Cuts Irrawaddy Division’s Supplementary Budget

By Salai Thant Zin 13 January 2017

PATHEIN, Irrawaddy Division — The Union government refused to grant the supplementary budget proposed by the Irrawaddy Division General Administration Department (GAD) to provide retirement gratuities for ward and village administrators who served under the previous government.

The divisional government and its 15 departments proposed a budgetary top-up of over 9.6 billion kyats for the 2016-17 fiscal year, including 241 million kyats proposed for ward and village administrators who served under the previous government. The Union government cut over 4.1 billion kyats.

A team led by Vice President Henry Van Thio is responsible for reviewing the budget proposals from divisional governments.

The team suggested to the Union Financial Commission that only 5.562 billion kyats be granted to the Irrawaddy Division government out of its 9.646 billion kyats proposal, according to the special meeting of the Irrawaddy Division parliament on Thursday.

“The budget cut will not affect the people because the cut is not made from proposed public welfare projects or from capital expenditure, but it is made from normal expenditures,” Daw Yi Yi Htun, secretary of the Irrawaddy Division parliamentary public accounts committee, told The Irrawaddy.

Vice President Henry Van Thio’s team also cut 37 million and 10 million kyats proposed by the Agriculture Department and the Forestry Department respectively to employ daily-wage workers, and instructed the Irrawaddy Division government to only ask for supplementary budget for necessary salaries and travel allowances of ministries and departments.

The divisional parliament passed the supplementary budget as approved by the Union government on Thursday.