Pita promises to lift two-term limits on local administrators
Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat on Thursday reached out to elected local administrators, promising to lift the current two-tenure limit on them.
Pita held an official meeting with CEOs of provincial administrative organisations and mayors of municipalities and tambon administrative organisations at the National Municipal Association of Thailand head office at 1.30pm.
The unofficial meeting was also joined by core Move Forward members, including party secretary-general Chaithawat Tulathon.
After his party won the May 14 election, Pita has been holding meetings with key organisations, mostly private ones, as part of his preparations to implement the next government’s policies.
Earlier, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha had said it would be inappropriate for Pita to meet government agencies as he has not taken office yet.
Pita told the local administrators that he wanted to hear their proposals on decentralisation of power and on charter amendments to boost the power of local administrations.
Pita said he also wanted to hear their ideas on how to find revenue sources for local governments.
During the meeting, Pita promised them that their tenure limit of two terms of four years each should be lifted and voters should decide whether to elect them again or not.
Speaking to reporters before attending the meeting, Pita said that decentralisation would be the key to developments. But the decentralisation would have to be done step by step under a master plan with people’s inclusion.
During the meeting, representatives of the association thanked Move Forward for attaching importance to local administrations and coming to meet and hear their views.
Somchai Rangsiwatanasak, president of the association, congratulated Move Forward for winning the election.
Pita thanked Somchai and other local administrators for joining the meeting.
Pita said he looked forward to working in cooperation with the local administrators during his first 100 days in office and he hoped to score a “quick win” with them in the country’s administration.
Pita promised to speed up decentralisation of power and developments during his first year in office.
The meeting was also attended by Pol Lt-General Khamronwit Thupkrajang, CEO of Pathum Thani provincial administrator organisation, and Pattaya City Mayor Poramet Ngampichet.
