After all, a mortgage from a state-owned agricultural bank might not be necessary for a digital budget.
PUBLISHED: 10 Jul 2024 at 15: 22
According to Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat on Wednesday, the Thai authorities has sufficient funds to pay for the 500-billion-baht digital wallet handbook and may not need to use as planned from a state-owned banks as planned.
He claimed at a press conference that the Pheu Thai government has prepared 450 billion baht from the fiscal budgets for the program for 2024 and 2025 and that it may not require funding from the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives ( BAAC ).
” I can ensure that this job is progressing.” The people will benefit from the money in the third quarter, he said.
However, Mr. Julapun noted that the flyer was not anticipated to be fully utilized, noting that in prior state projects, no more than 90 % of the target number of registered voters had been registered.
The digital budget includes a gift of 10,000 baht per person to 50 million Thai people to use in their local areas. Due to concerns over how much money may be spent, it was originally scheduled to begin in February, but it was moved to May and then resumed in the third quarter of this year.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin announced earlier this week that the start date, membership, and other details may be disclosed in an official announcement on July 24.
The schedule, which the Pheu Thai Party used as its main policy in the 2023 election, has been criticized by academics and two previous central banks governors, who also claim that it is fiscally irresponsible.
Prior to this time, the state had promised to use the BAAC and the budget to fund the plan.
Questions have been raised regarding the legal ramifications of requesting a payment from the BAAC, and it was anticipated that the Council of State, the president’s legal advisory body, would be asked for an opinion. However, a proper ask has not yet been received, said Pakorn Nilprapunt, the mayor’s secretary-general.