MYANMAR – The junta council announced on July 25 that they will be giving out an additional 30,000 Kyats to the government staff and retirees on August 1.
This is the second time they are paying an additional 30,000 Kyats after previously giving out an additional 30,000 Kyats as a stipend on top of the salaries in October, 2023.
The announcement however raised concerns among the citizens that the junta council would print out more bank notes leading to further inflation.
“They are calling it a stipend to avoid saying they raised the salaries. If they print out money, the prices will rise again. The Kyat is already losing value. The government employee and retirees would only number around 700,000 or 800,000, at most 1,000,000. Those who will be affected by this are the over 50 million citizens. Printing out so much money will no doubt lead to more inflation and higher prices,” said a business owner from UMFCCI.
Currently, inflation has pushed the currency exchange rates to 5,000 Kyats per USD and the gold price to around 6.2 million Kyats.
