Military winner in draft budget
Government officials were still tight-lipped about the 2014 draft budget yesterday, though some details did continue to trickle out, such as the announcement of a sizeable increase in national defence spending.
Cambodian People’s Party lawmaker and banking and finance committee member Cheam Yeap said yesterday that the Standing Committee of the National Assembly would put the draft budget up for debate in a full session of the assembly – “likely next week”.
While the complete contents of the budget would not be made public until the full session convened, he added, the budget does contain a 17 per cent boost in the $400 million spent last year on defence. …
Of the proposed $468 million in military spending, he added, 72 per cent would be to pay servicemen’s salaries. However, the presence of so-called “ghost soldiers” has long been a target of opposition criticism, and Cambodia’s relatively large standing army has even been the subject of donor-funded “demobilisation” schemes that have largely proved unsuccessful. …
Vong Sokheng and Stuart White
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/military-winner-draft-budget
