Guan Eng: Some govt agencies only received Budget 2019 funds in June

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has revealed that some government agencies only received development funding from Budget 2019 as late as June this year, despite the allocation being given to the respective ministries in January.

"I want to say that the Finance Ministry gave money to the ministries on Jan 2019, but the money was distributed to the respective agencies as late as May or June.

"So this caused many of these development projects, these projects will not be spent this year because if you do it in May... the tender can then only be called in September or October.

"By the time the whole tender valuation is completed, the project can only start and money spent in the following year. So this type of delays are unnecessary," he said in a press conference at the Selangor DAP convention held in Petaling Jaya today.

He said meetings have been held to ensure that Budget 2020 will not experience delayed disbursement of the allocations.

Since part of the Budget 2019 development expenditure will be spent in 2020, Lim said this "double-barrel" will have the unintended effect of boosting the economy next year.

"So next year, it will not be worse than this year because of the double-barrel," he said.

Lim declined to reveal which agencies received their development funding late, as it is an internal problem which they are solving stage by stage.

He had used this delay as an example of a deep state which was still resistant to the new Pakatan Harapan government's policies.

This was a similar situation to when he first entered the Penang state government in 2008, said the former Penang chief minister.

"We have to be patient so that the civil service will come in line with the government's policies," he said. - Mkini