Calling in favours doesn't always work

At a rare press conference held last week, Boonsong kept evading relevant questions and only provided stammered responses to other non-essential queries. 

The minister appeared nervous, wiping away his perspiration and fiddling with his glasses. Also present at the event was his deputy Natthawut Saikua. 

To make things worse, opposition Democrat MP Kiat Sitthee-amorn gave reporters copies of three documents that showed the rice-pledging scheme was a loss-making project. 

The first document was a letter dated October 3, 2012, in which Deputy Finance Minister Tanusak Lek-uthai warns the Commerce Ministry that the project could result in a debt of Bt224.5 billion per annum and increase the government’s financial burden. He advised the ministry to sell the rice in the government stockpiles as soon as possible in order to settle the debt. 

The second document showed that farmers were unable to sell their rice at the pledged price and earned almost Bt5,000 less per tonne. 

The third document showed that as of May 15, the government’s Bank for Agri-culture and Agricultural Cooperatives spent Bt591.9 billion on the project, but only got about Bt83.8 billion from the sale of rice, which is about seven times less than the cost of the project. 

Moreover, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) is threatening to take legal action against certain officials in the Commerce Ministry for failing to provide information on the amount of rice brought into the project or the amount sold or exported. NACC member Wicha Mahakhun said on Monday that the agency had repeatedly asked for such information from the ministry and would file charges of dereliction of duty against concerned officials if they failed to cooperate. Perhaps this was another reason why the minister was feeling so uncomfortable. 

In fact, as government head, it is Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s duty to clarify things, especially since this project is part of her government’s policy. 

Yingluck had previously called on the Commerce and Finance ministries to submit details about the project, but the information provided did not match.

Then, at a mobile Cabinet meeting in Kamphaeng Phet earlier this week, Boonsong was unable to provide a satisfactory answer to the prime minister. Hence, she had to ask PM’s Office Minister Varathep Ratanakorn to gather information and explain the project to the public. 

It is obvious that the commerce minister has become a liability for this government, yet it remains unclear if he will be replaced or transferred. It is no secret that Boonsong is close to Yingluck’s sister, Yaowapa Wongsawat, who recently won a by-election in Chiang Mai to become a new Pheu Thai MP. 

Yaowapa had a lot of clout in the ruling party even before she became an MP, and her faction has a significant quota in the Cabinet, which includes the Commerce seat. So, it is likely that she will have a say in who takes over should Boonsong be moved in the next Cabinet reshuffle. 

Yaowapa has little to lose when it comes to who becomes the next commerce minister. It is her sister, Yingluck, who will suffer from having a weak and inefficient Cabinet and she will find it difficult to stay afloat if problems like this continue battering her.