Cabinet eyes new loans to fund Khon La Khrueng subsidy scheme

Speaking to reporters after the weekly Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said the discussion about new loans and the relaunching of the co-payment scheme has not been concluded yet.

“We’re still discussing whether the government needs more loans or not,” he said, adding that measures have been put in place in case more loans need to be taken.

“[The new loans] must be adequate. We must consider how to spend the money. We must also see how much we have now and whether more is needed now that we cannot control external factors affecting the economy,” Prayut said.

He added that the government is thinking about launching the fifth phase of the Khon La Khrueng (Let’s Go Halves) co-payment scheme to help stimulate the economy. The fourth phase was approved by the Cabinet on December 21 last year before the third phase expired on December 31.

Under this scheme, the government subsidises 50 per cent of the price of food, drink and general goods, capped at up to 150 baht per person per day.

“I have told the Finance Ministry to see if the scheme should be relaunched. The scheme’s first four phases used a lot of money but also benefitted the economy. It led to the circulation of money several-fold. But the problem now is where will we get the money from,” he said.

Prayut also urged critics not to slam his government if it does decide to relaunch the co-payment scheme because he said previous administrations have never faced the same scope of crises this government is facing.

“My government will try its best, so I ask for understanding from the public. If we continue attacking each other, we will never be successful,” the premier said.

The government had issued a 1-trillion-baht loan decree in 2020 to tackle the fallout of the Covid-19 crisis.