Vice Chairman of State Administration Council Deputy Prime Minister Vice- Senior General Soe Win delivered a speech at the coordination meeting on the scrutiny of the Union budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year

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  • Vice Chairman of State Administration Council Deputy Prime Minister Vice- Senior General Soe Win delivered a speech at the coordination meeting on the  scrutiny of the Union budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year

NAY PYI TAW March 5

The coordination meeting on the scrutiny of the Union budget for the 2025- 2026 fiscal year was held this afternoon at the meeting hall of the SAC Chairman Office in Nay Pyi Taw.

Vice Chairman of Finance Commission, Vice Chairman of the State Administration Council Deputy Prime Minister Vice-Senior General Soe Win,  attended and delivered a speech.

The meeting was attended by chairman of the Union Election Commission U  Ko Ko, Union Ministers U Win Shein, Dr. Charlie Than and Jeng Phang Naw Taung, the Auditor General of The Union Dr. Khin Naing Oo, Deputy Minister U Min Htut and officials. Union-level dignitaries, Union Ministers, the Nay Pyi Taw Council Chairman, Deputy Ministers and officials attended via video conference.

First, Vice-Senior General Soe Win delivered his speech, stating that the meeting was convened to discuss and finalize the scrutiny of the Union budget estimates for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. This included the budget estimates for the Union, Regions and States, as well as Union organizations and ministries, before their submission to the Chairman of the Finance Commission.

The state must ensure that the budget for each fiscal year is prepared without exceeding the deficit-to-GDP ratio of 5 percent. A review of the budget estimates for the 2024-2025 fiscal year indicates that several ministries and organizations responsible for generating state revenue have fallen short of their targets for various reasons.

Additionally, unnecessary expenditure requests have been submitted, and some projects have been proposed under the assumption that they can be completed. It has been observed that the state's general surplus typically emerges only toward the end of the fiscal year. This is primarily due to the incomplete implementation of projects and the inability to commence certain projects for various reasons, including the return of unspent funds.

Therefore, GDP is calculated based on both revenue and expenditure.In the section comparing the deficit to the GDP ratio, if all the revenue is not utilized for expenditures, the GDP will decrease in proportion to the revenue and  expenditure imbalance. However, if the ministries that need to spend the funds can do so early, the projects and activities will be completed, which will in turn increase the GDP of those ministries. This matter holds significant importance. In this regard, the Head of State issued instructions during the  Finance Commission (2/2024) meeting, stating, We must scrutinize the budget and ensure responsible spending. There are requests that are unnecessary, some made for contingency purposes, and others where funds are requested without the ability to implement the associated projects. Therefore, through thorough scrutiny of these requests, the original budget estimate could be significantly reduced. Therefore, I would like to urge ministries and union organizations to scrutinize and submit budget requests based on projects that need funding and those that do not.

The newly established Industrial Development Commission, Electricity and Energy Development Commission, and Agriculture and Livestock Development

Commission key drivers of the country’s economic growth will collaborate with ministries formed by the Prime Minister to boost the economy, leading to increased necessary expenditures. Additionally, surplus revenues will be allocated to relevant ministries as needed, significantly enhancing GDP.

As GDP rises, state revenue will also grow. Therefore, when submitting the original budget estimate and revised estimate in the future, the Union-level organizations and ministries should submit them only after calculating and verifying the actual needs. If we look at the situation that has arisen according to the findings of the Pre-Screening Committee and officials, it is found that the ministries initially reported that the deficit to GDP ratio was 7.04 percent according to the revenue and expenditure budget.

On this, the two departments and three committees under the Ministry of Planning and Finance scrutinized it and found that the deficit to GDP ratio was 6.56 percent. On this, the Deputy Minister and the team further scrutinized it and found that it was 5.85 percent. Next, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Union Minister for Planning and Finance scrutinized it and found that the deficit to GDP ratio was 5.24 percent.

At the final stage, the Pre- Screening Committee Chairman and important ministries jointly reviewed the mandatory expenditures and the budgeted GDP was calculated based on the budgeted budget for the 2025-2026 FY after deducting the expenses of unnecessary projects. As a result, the deficit to GDP ratio can be reduced to 4.74 percent compared to the deficit. The amount of money that does not exceed 5 percent of the deficit-to-GDP ratio can be provided to the ministries related with the newly formed three commissions and other mandatory support topics, depending on the need.

In addition, the budget should include the cost of preparing for and maintaining natural disaster damage, social protection expenses, and education and health expenses. After the preliminary screening commission has completed its screening, the Prime Minister may issue additional instructions to implement projects for the development of the national economy as needed, so it is necessary to take precautions to allow for approval. Therefore, he said he would like to ask ministries and organizations to submit any additional comments they have regarding the revenue and expenditure budget for the 2025-2026 FY.

Then, the Secretary of the Commission, Union Minister U Win Shein, explained the status of the verification of the Union’s budget for the 2025-2026 FY, the budgets of the Union for the fiscal year submitted by departments and organizations, the status of the ministries’ allocations to meet the foreign exchange and tax revenues to be received in the fiscal year, Deputy Minister U Min Htut explained the status of the preliminary verification of the Union’s budget for the 2025-2026 FY, and the Auditor General of the Union, Dr Khin Naing Oo, explained the processes to be carried out for the audit of the budgets of the Union.

After that, Union Ministers and officials from Union-level organizations discussed and presented according to the respective departments and organizations, and the Secretary of the Financial Commission made supplementary discussions.

Then, Vice Chairman of the Financial Commission, Vice Chairman of the State Administration Council, Deputy Prime Minister, Vice-Senior General Soe Win coordinated the discussions and requested that ministries should submit requests for expenditures only after systematic scrutiny. In addition, ministries and organizations must work to fully obtain the available funds and scrutinize the use to ensure that there is no waste, and the meeting was adjourned.

Source: https://myawady.net.mm/