Plan to push spending by state agencies

“The government and the Budget Office are confident that the government can reach this year’s target of 87 per cent [budget disbursement] if the new plan is effective for the nine state agencies, which have a combined investment budget that is more than half of the total government investment budget in fiscal 2015,” Somsak Chotratanasiri, director of the Budget Office, said yesterday.

The nine agencies account for Bt244.65 billion of the investment budget.

If the speed-up plan works well, it will be extended to the remaining 198 agencies.

As of last Friday, 39.6 per cent or Bt1.02 trillion of the total budget of Bt2.575 trillion had been disbursed, which is lower than the target of 48 per cent. 

Disbursement of the investment budget was even slower. Just Bt67.593 billion or 15 per cent of the total investment budget had been spent, and that is much lower than the target of 41.8 per cent or Bt120 billion.

 “We expect the rate of disbursement of the nine state agencies to be more than 87 per cent once the plan is fully and successfully implemented.

“And the plan will be used as a blueprint for other state agencies if it is effective,” he said. 

Only Bt31.14 billion or 12.7 per cent of the combined investment budget of the nine agencies had been disbursed as of February 6.

The Cabinet approved the seven-point acceleration plan yesterday. The agencies have to report on the effectiveness of the plan. Progress will be reviewed by the Budget Office every 15 days. The disbursement rate of each agency would be counted as one of the key performance indicators for the evaluation of the heads of the agencies at the end of the year

Meanwhile, Prime Minster Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed agencies such as the Finance Ministry to look into the possibility of lowering taxes to help small and medium-sized enterprises and farmers lower their production costs.

 

R&D proposals

For example, taxes might be cut for the procurement of means of production such as tools and equipment that are used in agriculture. 

Prayut also instructed agencies to find ways to support investment in research and development that are related to the new special economic zones established along the borders where companies wanting to invest in R&D but are not situated in the SEZs could file for the same benefits if what is being researched is related to development of the zones.

He also proposed, and the Cabinet approved, the setting up of an “economic cabinet” to oversee and screen economic issues before recommendations can be reviewed by the main Cabinet to lessen the agenda that the latter has to go through. 

The committee would be chaired by Prayut himself. 

The Cabinet also approved the talent-mobility concept that was introduced by the Science and Technology Ministry to allow for the further freedom of academics on the government side to join R&D departments of the private sector to help raise the competitiveness of manufacturing.