Myanmar: Why are National Budgets Important?
As Myanmar responds to the COVID-19 crisis, understanding the government budget becomes even more important. Whether we realize it or not, government budgets have a huge impact on everyday lives. The availability of roads, schools, medical facilities, and delivery of community services such as garbage collection and ensuring street lighting, all depend on how the Union and state/region governments allocate money based on revenue collected from tax payers. Knowledge and use of budget data can help inform public demands.
In Myanmar, the public has actively demanded better health and education services. Noting how the country spends on health and education in comparison with other ASEAN countries or whether all the money allocated to such Ministries is fully spent can strengthen such demands and highlight potential solutions.
This video on the budget provides an overview on how budgets are developed in Myanmar, where to access budget data, and how civil society and the public engage can with the budgeting process. This video is generally funded by the U.S. Department of State.