A National Assembly finance committee consisting of ruling party officials yesterday approved the government’s 2014 Draft Budget, Cambodian People’s Party spokesman Cheam Yeap said.

“This morning, the draft budget was approved within my committee and we are now preparing to send it to the National Assembly to prepare the agenda for official approval in an upcoming session,” he told the Post.

“We focused on three things in the budget law. First, floods and their effects on the provinces. Second, a salary increase for civil servants throughout the country. And, third, good governance in the finance sector when it comes to our macro-finance and public-finance policies.”

The government last month announced that the $3.5 billion proposed budget had been sent from the Council of Ministers to the National Assembly.

The figure was $500 million higher than this year’s budget, but details of spending were not revealed.

The government believes it has enough representatives to legally vote to pass the budget, despite the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party continuing to boycott the 55 seats it won at the July election.