The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) has announced a reduction in “unnecessary” expenditure by a number of ministries in order to save money to battle COVID-19. The reduction in some ministries’ spending follows the Feb 20 community event and the lockdown measures that have affected the 2021 national budget, according to the ministry’s statement. The MEF said the expenditure reduction is to ensure the socio-economic stability of Cambodia.

Fifty percent of budgets approved by the 2021 Budget Bill have had “unnecessary” expenditure and spending that does not significantly affect the work activities of ministries and institutions cut.

Expenditures on office supplies, domestic and foreign training expenses, national and foreign reception fees, meetings, seminars and conferences, exhibitions at home and abroad, domestic missions, festivals, building maintenance and fuel and lubricants at ministries and institutions are to be reduced from 50 percent to 75 percent in 2021.

The ministry said the reduction also applies to the provision of funding for reserved projects of the Ministry of Public Works, the Ministry of Rural Development and the Ministry of Water Resources, but there are exceptions for projects that have already been approved, such as the flood-damage rehabilitation project in 2020.

The cost of repairing and maintaining work by the APSARA Authority, Preah Vihear Authority and Sambo Prei Kuk Authority are excluded from cuts, the statement noted. Exceptions are also applied to all necessary expenditures at the sub-national and national administrations of all specialised departments of the capital and provinces that are in charge during the fight against COVID-19, as well as expenditures by the health, defence and interior ministries’ public security sections. “Strengthening expenditure effectiveness is within the framework of ensuring the efficiency of state institutions and saving budget resources to meet the needs and urgency of the government in the fight against COVID,” read the statement.

• Tags: COVID-19 in Cambodia, MEF, save money