Srettha Thavisin, the prime minister, faced off against the criticism for the first time in legislature on Thursday to justify the government’s premier plan. The digital wallet handout scheme sparked a heated debate.
Sirikanya Tansakul, assistant chief of the major opposition Move Forward Party, grilled the prime minister over the modern budget program and the administration’s handling of the business.
” I want to bless the prime minister for appearing in parliament and acknowledging its significance.
” This is the first time the prime minister has come to answer questions from the opposition, and] I hope ] it will not be the last,” she said.
She criticized the government for confusing the consumer by reducing the number of recipients from 50 to 45 million, thereby causing the 10, 000-baht electronic cash bonus to become complicated.
She claimed that this would reduce the amount of money needed for the system from 500 billion to 450 billion ringgit.
” Many people are wondering what is happening with the program. Requirements and details change constantly. Does this indicate that the state is unable to secure sufficient funding for the program? ” she said.
Mr. Srettha responded by saying he fully grasped the importance of parliament and that he had no intention of avoiding criticism questions.
He said that the government will utilize existing data from previous welfare handout programs to gauge how many people may register for the scheme so that authorities may secure the funding in accordance with the diminished funding.
We have carefully considered the issue to make sure the handbook program adheres to budgetary guidelines, he said.
The prime minister claimed that the handout program is meant to boost the business in regions with slow economic growth rather than big cities and provinces. He stated that more information about the system may be made available on July 24.
First, the government planned to hand out 10, 000 ringgit each to 50 million people over 16 years old.
The flyer is open to just Thai people. To be qualified, they may receive more than 70, 000 ringgit per quarter or 840, 000 ringgit per month.
The funds are available for use within the regions designated on their ID accounts.
On Wednesday, Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat, also chairman of a sub-committee working on the details of the handout programme, said the sub-committee agreed on a proposal to set aside only 80 % to 90 % of the overall 500-billion-baht budget.
This was in response to a study conducted by the Fiscal Policy Office ( FPO ), which discovered that not all eligible parties had registered for the previous government’s welfare programs.
According to Mr. Julapun, these proposed changes to the budgetary planning for the handout will eliminate the need for loans from the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives ( BAAC ) as they were previously required.
Funding for the project may come from the 2024 fiscal resources and the 2025 fiscal resources, both,
The remaining 43 billion baht are anticipated to be deducted from budgets that are not delayed, according to him, and 122 billion baht are intended to be taken from the governmental budget for 2024, which includes the 122 billion bass designated specifically for the financing of the digital wallet scheme.
The handbook plan will be funded by 152 billion baht designated in the fiscal budget for the year 2025, while 132 billion baht may be diverted from budgets that have already been used this fiscal year.