Budget bill easily passes first reading

After three days of debate, the Lower House voted 274-1 to support the bill, with 177 abstentions.
A 63-member vetting committee was set up, consisting of 15 Cabinet members, 25 MPs from the ruling Pheu Thai Party, 16 MPs from the opposition Democrat Party and seven from smaller parties. The panel is to complete its task in 45 days before the budget has a second House reading.
During yesterday’s debate, Democrat MPs complained about “double standards” in allocating state funds, saying that large amounts of money were going to constituencies of politicians in power while only small amounts were allocated to the South.
None of the government-coalition MPs are from the
South, which is dominated by
the opposition Democrat Party.
Apichart Sakdiseth, a Democrat MP from Nakhon Si Thammarat, said a request of funds for a road link to the province’s Pak Phanang district had been made for 10 years and there was still no approval.
He said that it was “painful” to learn that the Interior Ministry got Bt700 million to build new provincial halls in the northeastern provinces of Udon Thani, Ubon Ratchathani, Khon Kaen and Mukdahan to replace those that were burned down during the red-shirt protests in 2010.
“It is very painful. The cost of construction is funded by taxpayer’s money that could otherwise be used to build hospitals or schools,” Apichart said.
Warong Dejkitwikrom, a Democrat MP from Phitsanulok, criticised the government’s price-pledging programme for rice, which he said was a waste of taxpayers’ money and a failure due to rife corruption.
House Speaker Somsak Kiart-suranond, from the ruling Pheu Thai Party, reminded Warong that it was a debate on the Budget Bill, and not a censure debate against the Cabinet.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong told the House that although the government would borrow Bt1.1 trillion during fiscal 2013, he did not think the debt burden would be a big problem.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said that the government had made fair allocations of state budgets by carefully considering the benefits for the public and private sectors.
“The government prepares the budget bill with the goal of laying a strong foundation for Thailand in preparation for the Asean Economic Community in 2015 and strengthening the national economy,” Yingluck said.
She also thanked the MPs for offering useful information and advice to the government during the Budget Bill debate.