The meeting (1/2022) of the Financial Commission was held yesterday afternoon at the Office of the Chairman of the State Administration Council in Nay Pyi Taw. The meeting was addressed by Chairman of the State Administration Council Prime Minister Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in his capacity as the Chairman of the Financial Commission.
Those present at the meeting included Vice-Chairman of the Financial Commission Deputy Prime Minister Vice-Senior General Soe Win, Secretary of the Commission Union Minister for Planning and Finance U Win Shein, Union Minister for Legal Affairs Daw Thida Oo, Auditor-General of the Union Dr Kan Zaw and Deputy Minister U Maung Maung Win. Chairman of the Nay Pyi Taw Council and regions/states chief ministers joined the meeting through videoconferencing.
Firstly, Chairman of the Commission Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, in his opening remarks, said the Union level organizations must draw up the budget for the financial year 2022-2023 based on the five-point roadmap and the nine objectives of the State Administration Council following the policy and directives.
He stressed the need to make efforts to get the planned revenue as planned and to prioritize expenditures only to support the urgent economic recovery of the country, despite the obstacles and challenges for economic growth due to COVID-19 and political events.
He called on the relevant department and organizations to take the lead and provide support to develop production processes based on agriculture and livestock with modern methods, also urging to effectively implement infrastructure buildings, health, education and social activities with the allocated funds.
He said as this is the time to try to revive the country’s economy, the government’s spending must be able to support manufacturing, trading and services which are the key to economic development. We must focus on improving the socio-economic life of the people, he said.
Our government will continue to increase budgets for the development of the country’s human resources, he added. He also stressed the need to inevitably continue spending on healthcare, including vaccines as the COVID-19 pandemic has not completely eradicated.
He called on the regions and states to give priority to regional development works that directly benefit the people rather than administrative expenditures. He also instructed to maintain the budget deficit-to-GDP ratio within a reasonable range so that it will be able to prevent the burden of foreign debt.
Afterwards, the Vice-Chairman of the Commission the Deputy Prime Minister said that although the revenue may be reduced due to the economic impact due to COVID-19 and political events, it is being scrutinized based on the actual availability. In terms of expenditures, according to the Government Priority Plan included in the COVID-19 Economic Relief Plan (CERP), priority was given to activities that would have immediate benefits, a multi-faceted impact, essential infrastructure and human resource development activities. The Vice-Chairman also presented that expenditures that do not comply with the state policy and directives were scrutinized and reduced.
In the 2022-2023 financial year (FY), as in the previous year, K100 billion for the central government and K15 billion for regions/states including Nay Pyi Taw Council have been allocated for emergency funding for unpredictable natural disaster prevention and relief and rehabilitation, he said. In addition, as in the previous year, a total of K135 billion has been earmarked for the external national disaster management fund with K20 billion.
Afterwards, Secretary of the Commission Union Minister U Win Shein explained the Union Budget, Union Budget Bill for the 2022-2023 financial year and the Union Tax Bill (2022). The Auditor-General of the Union discussed recommendations to be taken in the future according to the findings of the audit of the budgets of the union ministries and region/state governments.
Regarding the presentations, the Senior General said the revenue in the 2021-2022 mini-budget decreased due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and various other reasons, and many ways have been considered to remedy it. He highlighted the need to try to gain revenue, to promote manufacturing and exports to gain foreign income, to develop productions based on agriculture and livestock.
He also said it is necessary to implement big projects that will benefit the country, and projects that are not currently needed for implementation need to be reduced, and unprofitable businesses and projects need to be re-examined, adding that the State will invest in essential activities for health and safety.
In his concluding remark, the Senior General said the budget of the Union for the 2022-2023 financial year, which was discussed and approved by the Commission meeting, will be further submitted to the State Administration Council through the Union Government with the recommendation of the Financial Commission, and efforts will be made for the timely enactment of the Union Budget Law.
He also urged all states/regions to abide by the rules and regulations in spending the fund, to systematically work to be able to audit all expenditures, to put the interest of the State and the people first and to implement their budgets effectively with good public financial management skills. — MNA
