Myanmar’s Parliament Urges Plan to Deal with Ministerial Debt

Myanmar’s parliament has called on the government to come up with a plan to deal with an estimated $1.1 billion in ministerial debts that was collected during the country’s many years under military rule.
A report by the Union Auditor General’s Office, which is examining expenditures for the 2013-14 fiscal year, found that 15 ministries are yet to repay outstanding loans that were borrowed from central government in the years that the country was run by the military junta, which came to an end when a quasi-civilian government came to power in 2011.
It was reported that the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation owes the largest amount of money, an estimated $400 million, with the Ministry of Electric Power next with debts of $270 million.
The report was presented to parliament by the Public Accounts Committee and urged the government to develop a plan for the ministry to clear the debts.
Speaking to local media group Democratic Voice of Burma, Aung Tun Htet, economic advisor to the president said that it would be a challenge for ministers to resolve the situation as the money had been borrowed long before the current ministers took office.
“A collective effort is needed to sort out this issue – it could be tough for the current ministry officials to resolve the debts incurred throughout previous years and they will have to conduct a detailed inquiry into past spending,” Aung Tun Htet reportedly said.