Bangkok Post
Opposition sees fiscal risk in borrowing plan
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People’s Party deputy leader Sirikanya Tansakun has criticised the government’s 400-billion-baht emergency borrowing proposal, warning that it risks depleting the country’s fiscal capacity.
Key facts
- People’s Party deputy leader Sirikanya Tansakun has criticised the government’s 400-billion-baht emergency borrowing proposal, warning that it risks depleting the country’s fiscal capacity.
- Ms Sirikanya questioned the need for an emergency decree authorising the Ministry of Finance to borrow the funds during a debate in the House of Representatives on Thursday.
- She noted that the draft decree contained only 11 sections and divided the 400-billion-baht borrowing plan into two parts.
- The first 200 billion baht is earmarked for public relief measures. Of this, the government plans to allocate 120 billion baht to a new 60:40 “Khon La Khrueng Plus” co-payment scheme targeting 30 million people, while 52.8 billion would be used to top up state welfare cards. A total of 172.8 billion baht would be disbursed within the first four months.
- The remaining 200 billion baht would be devoted to funding various initiatives to help Thailand move away from fossil fuels and towards more green energy. However, Ms Sirikanya said details were scarce, making the “emergency” nature of the proposal hard to justify.
Summary
Ms Sirikanya questioned the need for an emergency decree authorising the Ministry of Finance to borrow the funds during a debate in the House of Representatives on Thursday.
She noted that the draft decree contained only 11 sections and divided the 400-billion-baht borrowing plan into two parts.