Budget debate to focus on public debt: Abhisit
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Deliberations on the final passage of the 2013 Budget Bill started on Wednesday with the Democrat leader saying the opposition would be focusing on two issues - questionable borrowing plans and lack of transparency in spending during the three-day budget
“I am worried about flawed fiscal management,” Abhisit Vejjajiva said.
He was speaking before entering the House chamber to kickstart the deliberations on the budget bill.
He said today’s debate would point out such budgetary flaws as the rising budget deficit and the plan to take out additional public loans in order to finance the Bt350 billion flood prevention scheme and the rice pledging scheme.
The government has failed to ensure transparent spending plans, particularly for populist policies like the intervention on paddy price, he said.
He also said he was puzzled as to why the government wanted to borrow additional funds for the flood scheme as it had disbursed less than five per cent of the Bt350 trillion earmarked for the scheme.
House Speaker Somsak Kiatsuranont said the debate will last 15 hours each day, starting in the morning and ending around midnight. Some 193 MPs have lined up to speak on the floor and each will be allotted 10 minutes.
Of the 193, 112 are the Democrats, followed by 12 from Bhum Jai Thai Party and two from Rak Prathet Thai Party.
From the coalition bench, 66 Pheu Thai MPs and one Chart Thai Pattana MP have reserved their right to speak.
PM’s Office Minister Woravat Auapinyakul said the House committee in charge of vetting the 2013 Budget would be responsible for rebutting the opposition, hinting that the prime minister would not be taking part in the debate.
