Burma’s
Minister of Finance Presents Budget to Parliament
Burma’s
Minister of Finance and Revenue, U Hla Tun, formally presented the
government’s budget for the 2012-2013 fiscal year (FY) to Parliament on
Tuesday. The budget reportedly allocates an increased percentage of spending
to health and education and a decrease in percentage spending to the
military.
U
Hla Tun visited Parliament on Tuesday and presented each MP with a copy of the
FY 2012-13 budget for all of the government’s 34 ministries, as well as for
“national projects.”
The
minister also provided MPs with an overview of the budget, during which he
said that military spending would comprise an estimated 14.4 percent of total
government spending, down from 23.6 percent in FY2011-12, according to Dr Aye
Maung, an MP representing the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party.
Aye
Maung said that Parliament would review the details of each ministry budget
to determine if additional military spending had been allocated to the
budgets of particular ministries.
U
Hla Tun also reported that spending on health and education would be a
combined estimated 7.5 percent of government spending, up from 5.4 percent in
FY 2011-12, with education spending at 4.7 percent and health spending at 2.8
percent.
Sai
Sao See, an MP from the Shan Nationalities Development Party, said that based
on his initial review of the education budget, the amount allocated for
salaries and benefits will increase by a factor of 2x over the previous
fiscal year and the amount allocated for buildings and infrastructure by a
factor of 6.5x.
With
respect to spending on health, he said that the amount allocated to salaries
and benefits will increase by a factor of 4x and spending on buildings and
infrastructure will increase by a factor of 8x.
There
was no time allocated to MPs on Tuesday for questions and answers regarding
the budget, but on Wednesday the ministers from the ministries of Finance and
Revenue, Livestock and Fisheries, Post and Telecommunications, Industry-1 and
Industry-2, Hotels and Tourism, and Forestry are expected to attend
Parliament to explain their budgets.
“The
MPs will listen and may have questions,” said Sai Sao See. “We will review
the budget for each ministry and for national projects and then see if the
description fits with the aim of the ministry or project.”
He
said that the debate on the FY2012-13 budget is scheduled for Feb. 10 and
Feb. 17, and he expects that Parliament will be allowed to discuss the budget
freely and approve the overall budget.
U
Hla Tun also presented Parliament with a supplemental budget for the
remaining two months of FY2011-12, which will be debated on Feb. 6.
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Copyright
© 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group | www.irrawaddy.org
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'End to Censorship'
Pledge at First Media Workshop
By NYEIN NYEIN
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Monday,
January 30, 2012
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A
new draft of the media law was briefly introduced by Press Scrutiny and
Registration Board Director Tint Swe during the inaugural media workshop held
in Rangoon's Inya Lake Hotel on Monday, said the CEO of a journal in the city.
Tint
Swe assured those gathered that there will be no more censorship in Burma after
the media law is enacted.
According
a local participant, Tint Swe said, “Before there was a censor, but in the
future, there will be no censorship.”
The
proposed new media law will soon be presented to a meeting of the Union
Parliament.
The
first day of the two-day workshop saw 12 papers presented by participants who
discussed the role of media in democratic society.
Experts
such as the editor of Malaysian newspaper The Star as well as leading
industry figures from Sri Lanka and the Philippines presented papers.
The
workshop—organized by the Myanmar [Burma] Literacy and Journalists Organization
along with the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre of Singapore—is
the first of its kind in Burma to tackle the topic of media freedom.
Two
popular presentations were from Zeya Thu, of Rangoon's The Voice journal,
and from Than Lwin Htun, head of the Voice of America Burmese Service.
“Zeya
Thu explained the role of journalists in the drafting of the new media law and
how they are going to be involved with it,” said the workshop participant.
Than
Lwin Htun presented a paper which discussed having more freedom of press, the
media becoming stronger and the independence of journalists.
More
than 100 journalists and editors from news journals are taking part in the
workshop along with assorted media experts.
Burma’s
Parliament Back in Session, Budget is Top Priority
Burma’s
third session of Parliament opened on Thursday in Naypyidaw with the budget
for the 2012/2013 fiscal year and a potential new media law as the primary
points of focus.
“The
budget bill will be discussed in detail,” said Dr Aye Maung, the chairman of
the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party. “There is a lot to discuss, such
as how it was put together in the past, why there is a deficit, etc.”
This
will be the first time in decades that a Burmese legislative body has
discussed a national budget. The budget for the 2011/2012 fiscal year, which
ends March 31, was approved by the previous military regime in secret before
the current Parliament was seated.
The
military junta allocated 23.6 percent of the 2011/2012 budget to the military
and only 5.4 percent to health and education.
In
a statement released on Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund said, “The
discussion of the 2012/13 budget in the new Parliament provides a historic
opportunity to redefine national spending priorities and bring fiscal
transparency. We welcome the authorities’ plans to reorient spending to
health and education, while targeting a moderate fiscal deficit, which we
project to be about 4.6 percent of GDP, about 1 percent lower than the last
year’s deficit. A prudent fiscal policy is essential to maintain
macroeconomic stability, especially during the exchange rate unification
process.”
However,
it remains unclear just how much authority the Parliament will have over the
national budget.
Under Article 103(a) of Burma’s 2008 Constitution, the president submits the budget bill to Parliament for majority approval under 103(c), but only with respect to certain items.
Under
Article 103(b), many matters included in the budget may be discussed by the
Parliament “but not refused or curtailed.”
The
budget items that do not require parliamentary approval include the salary of
“Union level organization” personnel and expenditures of those organizations,
which would presumably include the ministries and the military, as well as
debts for which the national government is liable and expenses relating to the
debts.
Also
exempt from the need for parliamentary approval are “expenditures which are
to be charged by any existing law,” which could include the so-called
“special-funds” law—a murky provision passed by the previous junta just
before Parliament went into session last year that reportedly allows the
commander-in-chief of Burma’s armed forces to use a “special fund” for any
expenses related to national defense and security, without restrictions on
the amount taken.
Even
without such provisions in the Constitution, however, it is unlikely that the
Parliament would make any budgetary decisions contrary to the interests of
the armed forces, since a quarter of all seats are occupied by military
appointees, while the military-backed ruling Union Solidarity and Development
Party (USDP) controls most of the rest.
MP
Phone Myint Aung told the BBC Burmese Service that this session
of Parliament is expected to be relatively short, lasting only about a month.
As a result, he said, the budget discussions were expected to take up most of
the MPs time.
However,
Tint Swe, the director of Burma’s Press Scrutiny and Registration Division,
told Radio Free Asia on Wednesday that a new “Press Law” will also be
introduced to Parliament this session.
“The
new Press Law, which is still in the process of being enacted, will guarantee
freedom of expression in Burma,” said Tint Swe.
He
said that the law had already been drafted by Burma’s Ministry of Information
and sent to the Attorney General’s office for approval.
“It
won’t take too long to adopt the Press Law—it would just be a matter of
months after discussions at the upcoming Parliament session,” he said. “Once
it’s adopted, the censorship department will be abolished."
In
addition to discussing the budget and Press Law, an MP told The
Irrawaddy
that there are 10 bills that were proposed during the last session of
Parliament that are still on the agenda.
These
proposals include a village-tract administration bill, an environmental
conservation bill and a land management bill, as well as amendments to laws
related to foreign currency exchange and import and export regulation.
By
the end of the first day of the current session, the only budget proposal
that had been approved was one submitted by USDP MP Thein Zaw, the chairman
of the government's peace committee, who called for funding to be allocated
for efforts to negotiate an end to conflicts with Burma's ethnic armed
groups.
Two
fellow USDP members spoke in favor of the proposal, but a third MP who wished
to express support, Nah Wah Nu of the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party,
was denied an opportunity to address the Parliament.
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Copyright
© 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group | www.irrawaddy.org
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EU Signals Requirements for Further Sanctions Reduction
A
statement by the Council of the European Union on Monday announced the
lifting of visa bans on certain top Burmese government officials, including
President Thein Sein, as a reward for reforms to date. It also sent a message
as to what was expected of the Burmese government for a more significant
reduction of sanctions in the future.
The
statement was effusive in its praise for reform measures taken in the past
year by Burma’s quasi-civilian government led by Thein Sein, who took office
in March 2011.
"The
Council welcomes the remarkable program of political reform undertaken by the
Government and Parliament in Burma/Myanmar, together with its commitment to
economic and social development. These changes are opening up important new
prospects for developing the relationship between the European Union and
Burma/Myanmar. The EU stands ready to respond accordingly,” the statement
said.
The
Council said that “as a first step” towards the lifting of sanctions, it was
suspending the visa bans on Burma’s president, vice-presidents, cabinet
members and the speakers of the two houses of Parliament.
As
support for its decision to lift the visa bans, the Council specifically
noted Thein Sein’s Jan. 13 release of a substantial number of political
prisoners, which the statement said “marks a crucial step forward and clearly
shows the determination of the Government to continue on the path of reform.”
The
Council also highlighted efforts by the Burmese government to seek peace with
ethnic groups; the dialogue between Thein Sein and Aung San Suu Kyi;
legislation permitting trade union activity, establishing freedom of
assembly, loosening media censorship and changing the electoral law; and the
creation of a Human Rights Commission.
However,
the EU previously placed sanctions on 419 officials and more than 900
entities, so many remain covered by visa bans and asset freezes. In addition,
the EU has imposed an arms embargo, a ban on non-humanitarian aid and a ban
on certain types of investment, including imports of textiles, timber, gems
and precious metals. The EU has also suspended Burma’s Generalized System of
Preferences (GSP) benefits.
In
an interview with The Washington Post that was published on Friday, Thein
Sein said that he believed his government had already met the conditions for
lifting these sanctions.
However,
the Council statement on Monday said that a further review of EU sanctions
that remain in place is ongoing and that by the end of April it would make a
decision on the further easing or lifting of sanctions.
In
that respect, the Council said that the EU “attaches particular importance to
the free and fair conduct” of Burma’s by-election scheduled for April 1, in
which Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) will participate.
In
addition, the Council noted the commitment by the [Burmese] government to
continue and complete the reforms that are underway, in particular the
unconditional release of the remaining political prisoners within the next
few months.
Finally,
the Council stressed the importance of improved humanitarian access to areas
affected by ethnic conflicts, and underlined the need for all stakeholders in
the conflicts to “establish a credible and sustained process for handling the
difficult issues involved in securing long-term peace and national
reconciliation.”
Also
speaking to The Washington Post last week, Suu Kyi made a comment on
the removal of US sanctions that is most likely indicative of her position on
EU sanctions as well.
"The
US has laid out very clearly what the conditions are for the removal of
sanctions. If [the Burmese] government wants sanctions to be removed, they
will have to try and meet those conditions," she said.
When
contacted by The Irrawaddy, NLD spokesperson Nyan Win reiterated the
party’s position that the decision to lift sanctions was up to the government
that had imposed them. He added, however, that sanctions were imposed for
specific reasons, and that until the reasons for sanctions have been removed,
it was understandable that they remain in place.
Ko
Ko Gyi, who is a leading member of the 88 Generation Students group and was
just released from prison on Jan. 13, said that “Our position is that
positive developments will be met with engagement step by step. Sanctions
will decrease if more positive developments take place for the interests of
our people.”
In
addition to the lifting of certain visa bans, the EU Foreign Affairs Council
also said on Monday that the EU will move to promote economic development in
Burma through increases in assistance to reduce poverty and build capacity,
and through strengthened dialogue with the government.
The
Council also voiced support for engagement by the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund to support Burma in developing its strategy, and
said that the EU is willing to assist the peace processes with the ethnic
groups by providing financial assistance to help reintegrate returning
refugees.
EU
foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton hailed "the quite extraordinary
changes in the last weeks and months," and announced she would visit
Burma in April.
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Copyright
© 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group | www.irrawaddy.org
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