We DON'T NEED this massive debt
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It is inarguable that Thailand needs a comprehensive overhaul of its infrastructure. It is also irrefutable that huge social and economic losses have been incurred due to flawed planning, the sorry state of existing infrastructures, and lack of far-sighte
The stomach-turning joke about our rail system is that King Rama V, in his desire to make the railways accessible to all citizens, created the country’s railway system as a non-profit entity, and government officials thereafter have made sure it remains forever thus.
To skim off profits, should there be any, high-ranking officials of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) have set up repair and parts shops and gained concessions from the SRT to do the work. The parts are substandard, but the prices are in the uppermost bracket. Many locomotive parts and engines have been bought at prices 40-50 per cent above value.
The scope of official corruption when it comes to infrastructure deserves a chapter in the “Guinness Book of World Records”. This is one of the reasons why the public opposes the Bt2 trillion loan bill proposed by the government. The bill, should it pass Parliament, will allow the government to spend the borrowed money as an off-budget account beyond the realm of budget scrutiny mechanisms.
Do we need the Bt2 trillion to upgrade our infrastructure? Perhaps we do. The country also needs hard cash to go into the financial system to resuscitate the economy, without which hardship will visit most citizens by the end of the year. The economy is in ruins due to the miscalculated rice price-pledging scheme. The government cannot stop the populist policy because it is afraid of doing an about-face. This policy alone has caused significant damage, with outcomes that are beyond fixing. This is a place where looking good is valued more than being honest.
So the government plans to throw more good money after bad. It is like having to do more surgery to correct damage done by the first botched operation.
To make every Thai pay for this debt over the next 50 years does not make the powers-that-be even blink. We are just flies. The life span of a fly is short compared to the longevity of the wealth of the sons, daughters, grandchildren and great-grandcildren of the people who will handle the schemes. These people know the value of zeroes, while mortals like us just lose count.
There are alternative plans to raise funds for the infrastructure overhaul. One proposed by former finance minister Korn Chatikavanij calls for a lot less borrowing. But in a “democratic” country that is run by numbers – the number of parliamentarians in the government camp, that is – his initiative is DOA, “Dead On Arrival.”
Other countries have raised monies for infrastructure restructuring by other means, without plunging the country into a deep hole of sovereign debt. Australia and India have created Infrastructure Funds that can borrow and are run proficiently by a board and managers. Investors can be outside of the government. The funds have proper by-laws that establish mechanisms for financial deployment and expected returns. The terms and conditions of each project are clearly established; the selection process and implementations are monitored. Professionalism, auditability and transparency protect the all the stakeholders in the fund.
In Australia, the government created a Public Private Partnership Policy (PPP) that is vital to the development of social and economic structure. The policy was implemented earnestly and it has worked well.
But in Thailand, the government has a different agenda that does not coincide with the country’s long-term sustainable development. For future generations to carry a debt created without their knowledge or approval does not trouble the consciences of those who are pushing for the bill to pass in Parliament quickly.
The government is building a new parliament – bigger, shinier and away from the zoo that many of us hold in higher regard than its next-door neighbour. Perhaps, the word “conscience” should be carved deep into the stone or concrete or faux marble at every entrance and exit of the new parliamentary building, and projected on to the walls of the House during every session. Maybe the same word should be permanently attached to the office door of every Cabinet member.
Our country does not have to be shouldered with a Bt2 trillion debt that, with interest, will turn into Bt5 trillion. A PPP Infrastructure Fund could be created and run adroitly with transparency and stringent monitoring and auditing measures.
But in a democracy like ours that is run by numbers, we will unavoidably and unnecessarily be left with a pile of debt that is larger than any before or after it. It is heartbreaking.
