Prayut defends economic effort after Chuan letter
GOVERNMENT spokesman Lt-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said yesterday that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had expressed his thanks to former Democrat prime minister Chuan Leekpai for his concerns and suggestions on plunging household incomes of people in the South.
The government, the spokesman said, had not overlooked the problem and tried to address it via its initiatives.
Chuan submitted the letter via Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam to express concern about dropping household incomes in the South and to recommend action to improve the situation.
While the premier appreciated Chuan’s outreach, Sansern said, it was necessary to look at the causes of the problem and address them properly.
During a recent trip to the South, the government learned that especially Yala, Trang and Ranong lacked adequate development, particularly in infrastructure, Sansern said.
Most residents, he added, made their livings based on conventional agriculture and lacked access to loans.
Politics prior to the 2014 coup was plagued with conflicts and divisions, Sansern said, which partly disrupted the work of past governments to improve people’s living conditions.
The junta government had been working to lift people’s standards of living and the overall economy had improved, as noted by a number of economic agencies, Sansern said.
The government realised that it is not easy to quickly raise people’s quality of life and their incomes, he added.
A number of recommendations made in the letter by Chuan had already been pursued by the government, and a number of initiatives were being worked on to improve people’s living conditions, Sansern said.