Loan bill dangerous for fiscal discipline, legal expert warns
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The Bt2-trillion loan bill could lead to a lapse in fiscal discipline by looping around the legal and regulatory framework, a legal expert warned Tuesday.
The bill is very dangerous because it has been designed to facilitate off-budget borrowing,” Thammasat law lecturer Preecha Suwannathat said.
Under Article 169 of the charter, state spending has to conform to laws, such as provisions on budget allocations and reserves, but the government wanted to bypass constitutional and fiscal laws, he said.
That might lead to the squandering of funds by government MPs meddling in spending plans, he said.
The bill has loopholes, such as the provision on raising the borrowing ceiling, so the actual debt might exceed Bt2 trillion, he said.
Opposition lawmakers, including the Democrats, and senators should petition for a Constitution Court review, he said.
The Democrats should concede their mistake in setting a precedent for Pheu Thai to fund projects offbudget and atone for it by initiating a judicial review aimed at negating the precedent, he said.
The Abhisit Vejjajiva administration erred in issuing an executive decree for an Bt800billion loan to revitalise the economy and Pheu Thai cited this to justify its loan bill, he said.
