Dems launch parallel spending plan
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Democrat Party on Monday unveiled a parallel spending plan, whereby budgets are allocated to improve the country's transport network, education/research and development, public health and irrigation.
Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said that under the Bt2 trillion programme, about Bt1.2 trillion would be allocated to the transport sector; Bt400 billion for R&D and education; Bt200 billion for public health services and Bt200 billion for irrigation.
Under the transport-related spending, the budget of Bt37.6 billion is proposed for the high-speed train, against the government's proposal to spend nearly Bt1 trillion on the project.
"We believe that the allocation will send a more positive impact to the nation than the government's Bt2 trillion scheme," he said. First, as all investment would be included in the annual budgets, this will ensure the fiscal discipline. Second, it will be more transparent. Third, it addresses the bottlenecks that the country is facing. Fourth, the investment will benefit all stakeholders.
The spending plan was unveiled to beat the government's Bt2 trillion scheme, which allocates most of the funds to transport-related projects. The Democrats said that Thailand has more problems to address.
