Govt says loan-bill report transparent
The Democrats' attempts to fault the government in regard to the Bt2.2-trillion loan bill are unjustified, Deputy Government Spokeswoman Sunisa Lertpakawat said yesterday.
"The Democrats are making a number of groundless allegations against the government," she said.
The government would submit a 268-page report outlining the details of more than 100 projects, she said, dismissing the opposition’s allegation that the bill had just three pages of spending plans.
She said the report would be made available to coalition and opposition lawmakers before this week’s House debate on the bill.
The Democrats could check the spending plans ahead of the first reading of the bill as well as during the vetting process before the final legislative passage, she said.
Following the passage of the bill, all projects would be scrutinised by relevant agencies under stringent procurement measures, she said, dispelling doubts over transparency cast by the Democrats.
In a related development, Suan Dusit Poll found that more than half of 1,580 respondents to a survey voiced concern that corruption would plague the spending plans.
Slightly less than half said they were uncertain if the government could carry the projects to completion. A slim majority of 52 per cent said they agreed with enacting the bill to finance infrastructure development.
Democrat MP Attavit Suwanpakdee said his main opposition party might present an alternate draft to the government-sponsored bill. The Democrats wanted to outline a viable alternative to the bill, Attavit said, arguing that the massive spending plans would impose excessive financial burden on the country.
Although the Finance Ministry insisted the public debt would not exceed 50 per cent of gross domestic product and that the loan could be repaid within 50 years, the Democrats still had doubts, he said.
He said the government had an ulterior motive to use the loan bill to finance off-budget spending plans, thus avoiding legislative oversight.
Furthermore, the government earmarked about Bt500 billion for road construction projects designed to dole out favours to Pheu Thai MPs, he added.
Bhum Jai Thai MP Bunjong Wongtrairat yesterday called on the ruling Pheu Thai Party to conduct a public referendum to get public approval of its plan to seek the Bt2.2-trillion loans for infrastructure development.
“The Pheu Thai Party must carry out a public referendum to see if Thais agree with its plan because this huge debt is not part of its election campaign promises,’’ he said.
Bunjong said he would take to the House floor to attack the government over its plan to splurge this massive amount of money
“There has never been any government since the birth of the nation to seek such a massive amount of loans. The debt burden will fall on the shoulders of our children,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, Pheu Thai Party Nakhon Phanom MP Paijit Srivorakarn has confirmed reports that some party ministers and MPs visited ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in Hong Kong, but said they did not discuss a Cabinet reshuffle.
He said Thaksin had made it clear there will not be a Cabinet reshuffle soon, because he wants the party to focus on its parliamentary duties with the Bt2.2-trillion borrowing bill and the amnesty bill due to be tabled for House deliberation at the end of the month.
Bhum Jai Thai party-list MP Supachai Jaisamut said the party was being allocated two hours to take to the House floor to grill the Bt2.2-trillion loans bill. He and party Nakhon Ratchasima MP Bunjong Wongtrairat would be among eight party MPs listed to question the government.
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