The government plans to reduce military spending to 12.26% of the budget in the financial year beginning April 1, down from 13.66% in the 2013-2014 financial year, parliament has been told.
Addressing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw on January 14, Defense Minister Lieutenant-General Wai Lwin, said the allocation for 2014-2015 was about 127 billion kyats less than what had been proposed in the budget.
Lt-Gen Wai Lwin said the total allocation for military spending would be 2,282 billion kyats, of which about 1,215 billion kyats would be spent on construction for defense purposes.
Spending on economic development did not cover the Defence Ministry’s infrastructure needs, he said.
“I want to make clear that the Defense Ministry’s draft national plan is not directly related to national economic development but is indirectly related to it,” Lt-Gen Wai Lwin told the joint sitting of parliament.
He also said the amount in taxes owed by the ministry to the state had risen to 138 billion kyats.
The ministry generates revenue from its communication networks, including Tatmadaw Television and a publishing
house.
The defense budget for 2012-2013 totalled 1,877.7 billion kyats and for 2011-2012 was 1,101 billion kyats.
