Thailand wins UN award for cutting red tape for five years running

Deputy government spokesperson Ratchada Thanadirek said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed all state agencies to continue making reforms in line with the national master plan to improve people’s quality of life and public services.

She added that efforts to improve state services over the past five years has led to better public satisfaction and helped Thailand win the UNPSA award every year from 2017 to 2021.

The UN surveyed and evaluated public satisfaction with the efficiency of government services before granting the award.

Ratchada said the biggest contributor to public satisfaction was the fact that the government has either reduced or abolished fees and eased rules for the acquisition of 111 types of licences and has also unlocked certain restrictions in public administration.

The authorities have also reduced the time it takes for the approval of 532 types of licences and the process has been accelerated by 41.71 per cent, she added.

Citing several surveys, the spokesperson said the level of public satisfaction in government agencies has been rising and stands at 84.81 per cent as of 2021.

She also claimed that 86.53 per cent of the population appears to be happy with e-services provided at the district administration level and the Damrongtham public complaint centres.

Thailand’s standing in the World Competitiveness Ranking of the IMD Business School has also started improving. In 2021, Thailand rose three points to be ranked 20th among 64 countries and jumped to 21st in 2020 from 49th in 2016 for Ease in Doing Business.

Ratchada added that Thailand has also risen 20 points to be ranked 57th among 193 nations in 2020 in the UN’s E-Government Development Index.

She said state agencies in the provinces are also improving their digital service capabilities in the past five years under the master bureaucracy reform plan.