PM's Office minister defends Yinluck's travel expenses
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PM's Office Minister Varathep Ratanakorn Thursday said all spending of funds from the government's central budget in cases of emergency and for other necessities such as the prime minister's official trips required the approval not only of the prime minis
The Cabinet did not always grant such spending requests, he added.
He was speaking in the Parliament during the Budget 2014 Debate to respond to the Opposition's accusation that the premier spent the country's budget to go overseas trip.
Varathep said spending on Yingluck’s trips abroad was necessary – especially for trips made at other countries’ invitation – as this is her first term and she had to strengthen international relations. Spending was always done according to the regulations, the minister said.
The biggest portion of travel costs went towards airfares. For each of the years 2011 and 2012, the budget for airfares was set at Bt61 million. The airfare budget was set at Bt80 million for 2013, while Bt55 million was set for next year, he said.
Meanwhile, Varathep said there had been no budget allocation for Yingluck’s proposed political reform council.
The House voted 291:126 to pass Article 4 of the 2014 Budget Bill on the allocation of the central budget, following the Vetting Committee’s proposal that Bt343 billion be approved for the central budget, down from Bt345 billion originally.
