The Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Planning and Finance Maung Maung Win said that US$ 60 million from a World Bank loan of US$ 100 was not for a salary hike to government employees as the wording was misunderstood in the communication sent to parliament by the government.
Maung Maung Win told the Union Parliament on August 16, “The loan for monetary sector development presented to parliament is absolutely not for a salary hike to government employees. The rumour that the loan was to supplement insufficient funds to pay salaries to government employees is baseless and groundless. The loan is not concerned with the salary of government employees.”
A message dated August 5 sent by the President to the Chairman of the Union Parliament said US$ 60 million out of total World Bank loan of US$ 100 million was for, “expansion of current account expenditure in salaries, allowances and benefits to public servants” under the World Bank budget assistance programme.
This message was spread on social media and fanned rumours of an imminent salary hike for public servants.
Maung Maung Win clarified to parliament, “The World Bank proposed to Ministry of Planning and Finance to use this loan for expenditure of salaries, allowances and benefits under the current account expenditure. In this proposal, current account spending for the expansion of the work was included and it led to misunderstanding and was misquoted.”
“In the last salary hike made in 2014, the state spent 261 billion kyat. The salary hike in 2015 was 834 billion kyat. The current proposed World Bank loan is just US$ 60 million and it is equivalent to Myanmar Kyat 70 billion. Moreover it will be paid in four instalments so this loan is absolutely not connected with the salary hike of public servants. And also I’d like to clarify to parliament that this loan is not because of insufficient government funds for salaries,” he added.
House of Representatives MP Tin Tun Naing told reporters after the parliament session, “If they had submitted their message to parliament clearly, the rumours would not have spread like that. Every rumour has an impact on the people. The ministries should take care and they should be cautious in future to avoid such things.”