General public seeking salary hike amid growing inflation

The general public wants the National Assembly (NA) to push the government to increase salaries for officials to keep pace with the rising cost of living, according to a senior NA official.
Speaking at the end of the NA conference on Friday, NA Secretariat Head, Mrs Suansavanh  Viyaket said the parliament opened a hotline to welcome public recommendations on what the NA should pay attention to.
Throughout the 8th Session of the 8th legislature of the NA from November 7 to December 6, the NA received 731 telephone calls on 113 issues from the general public nationwide, she said.
Mrs Suansavanh, who is also a member of the National Assembly for Saravan, said hotline callers wanting the NA session to push for increased salaries for officials was one of the pressing issues.
The call comes as the cost of living in Laos is increasing rapidly.
Data from the Lao National Statistics Bureau indicates that domestic inflation rose to 5.4 percent in October from 3.92 percent in September and 3.45 percent in August. The country’s inflation rate was only 1.50 percent in January.
The rising price of food, particularly rice, is a crucial factor contributing to the increasing inflation rate. Rice has seen more than a 20 percent surge over the past few months.
Mrs Suansavanh said the PS company case, drug trafficking and land issues were other pressing issues which the public wanted the NA to raise with the government to address.
Road construction, education and the policy for war veterans were among other important issues, which citizens expected the NA to address.
Mrs Suansavanh said the NA secretariat had completed a list of the pressing issues, adding the next stage was to forward this to concerned National Assembly committees so they could coordinate with the government to address the problems according to the law and regulations.
The Lao National Assembly has been playing a greater role in holding the government and other state agencies more accountable. The NA not only serves as the legislative body of Laos but also approves the appointment of key public officials.
During the 8th Session of the 8th Legislature of the National Assembly, NA members debated the performance of the government. At the end of this session, NA members also assessed the performance of key officials, which they elected and endorsed.
NA President, Mrs Pany Yathotou said the result of the assessment indicated that lawmakers maintained their confidence in 69 officials from executive, legislature and judiciary branches, which they appointed.
According to the Current Constitution of the Lao PDR, the National Assembly is named as the highest state organisation and has the role in electing the Lao PDR President and making primary decisions for the country.

By Ekaphone Phouthonesy
(Latest Update December 10, 2019)