2013 National Budget to Rise Above $3 Billion

Government spending next year will total more than $3 billion, a 16.2 percent increase from the $2.6 billion set aside for 2012, according to a draft of the national budget obtained Friday.

The first draft of the budget, which was distributed to lawmakers at the National Assembly on Thursday, calls for spending increases of between 10 and 20 percent across the board, with the military and security sectors seeing a sizeable increase in their budgetary allocations.

The budget states that the government will allocate some $400 million, or 13.32 percent of all spending, toward the defense and security sectors, a 17.3 percent increase over last year's allocation. Of that amount, the Ministry of Defense will receive $245 million, with the rest of the spending going toward the Interior Ministry.

The largest allocation of funding will be distributed to the social affairs sector, which includes nine ministries: education, health, women's affairs, social affairs, labor, culture, information, religion and environment.

According to the draft budget, social affairs spending in 2013 will increase 15.8 percent to reach more than $686 million.

Funding for education, according to the draft budget, will increase from $245 million this year, to almost $280 million in 2013, while a total of $225 million will be allocated to the health sector, up from $193 million in 2012.

The Ministry of Women's Affairs has been allocated just $7.7 million next year.

The economic sector - which includes agriculture, commerce and tourism - has been earmarked for slightly more than $254 million, compared to $231 million this year.

"The draft budget was prepared in the context of Cambodia recovering quickly from the global economic crisis [in 2009] and because it is showing economic growth likely to reach 7 percent this year despite inherent risks," the draft budget states.

Source: Cambodia Daily