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KINSHASA (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's parliament approved spending limits in the 2010 budget on Saturday that were demanded by President Joseph Kabila to try to ensure the country qualifies for more debt relief.

"There were 92 of us, 82 voted yes and 10 abstained," Damien Ilunga of the majority Unified Lumubist Party (PALU) told Reuters of the vote on spending controls in the upper house of parliament. The lower house voted the same way on Thursday.

Ilunga said the assembly had complied with Kabila's instructions to cut spending on public sector wages and divert funds earmarked for an increase in parliamentarian salaries to other workers, including police and military.

Kabila asked for changes amounting to some $675 million, including transfers to local authorities which have yet to be implemented. The total size of the 2010 budget is estimated at around $6 billion.

The move comes after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said last month that Congo's external debt was unsustainable even after it won a $550 million loan. The Fund urged the government to take extra measures in order to win further debt relief.