Govt priorities questioned as flood relief donations reach Bt130m
While flood relief donations have already reached Bt130 million, questions have been raised about the government's spending on military weapons instead of aiding flood victims.
Aomsin Cheevapruek, the Minister to the Office of the Prime Minister Aomsin Cheevapruek on Friday said that the government’s use of the country’s budget to buy new weapons for the Army was a separate issue.
“This is a good day that PM Prayut personally donates Bt100,000 to the flood relieve fund. He and the Cabinet will also help receive calls for donations this evening,” Aomsin said.
People can make donations until September, he said, and they can apply the donation receipt for a tax reduction. Donations have reached Bt130 million already, he said.
“I am not feeling well about questions on social media asking why the government spends a lot of the country’s budget on the Army’s new weapons while the budget is not used to help flood victims. It is a different issue and the donations signify that Thai people want to help each other during this hard time,” Aomsin said.
He said he expected donations to reach between Bt300 and Bt500 million, but this was just a support fund and it will be combined with the government fund for flood damage restoration of up to Bt15 billion.