Tea touted as solution to budgetary woes
As the government has found itself without enough cash to complete development projects scheduled in the current fiscal year, one cabinet member has aired an unusual proposal for financing the shortfall: tea money. Speaking in parliament on December 1, the minister for agriculture, livestock and irrigation said that if the public truly wants all its roads and bridges, it should forgo tea, and pool the money into state government coffers. “If the people nationwide can perform this plan, we can send the money to the places where the state cannot fund the projects,” he told the Pyithu Hluttaw. Minister U Aung Thu’s statements were given on behalf of the Rural Development Department, following a question from Shan State MP Sai Ngo Seng Hein (USDP; Mawkmai) about the construction of a wooden bridge in his constituency. In response to the MP’s concerns, the minister outlined his thrifty plan to ensure that regional areas would receive the infrastructure investment they desperately need.
