Cabinet considers huge aid package

Money for businesses, families hit by tsunami

AMPA SANTIMATANEEDOL

The cabinet will today consider a multi-billion baht financial assistance package to help people and businesses affected by the Dec 26 tsunamis.

Deputy Prime Minister Suwat Liptapanlop, in charge of supervising relief efforts, said families of each foreign visitor killed, injured or missing would receive 30,000 baht from the state. The Tourism Authority of Thailand would also pay the expenses of those foreigners searching for missing relatives.

Families of Thais who died will also get 30,000 baht but this figure will be doubled if the dead person is the family head. Compensation amounts for families of missing Thais have yet to be finalised.

Currently, relatives of the missing can claim compensation once they have been confirmed as disappeared for three months. Assistance for the families of about 3,000 missing Thais will come from the annual budget of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.

Each of more than 27,000 small marine farming businesses affected will receive 20,000 baht. The compensation rate is for small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs. Over two billion baht will also go to owners of damaged fishing vessels.

The Labour Ministry will spend 116 million baht on employing for one month 22,000 people whose workplaces were damaged in the disaster and 45 million baht on career training for 10,000 others.

About 3,000 beach vendors and masseurs will receive 20,000 baht each.

For large-scale operators, Mr Suwat said, the government would provide them with soft loans worth a total of 37.5 billion baht. The Government Savings Bank, the SME Bank and the Small Industry Credit Guarantee Corporation will also lend them 12 billion baht. State venture-capital funds will give out loans of five billion baht.

More than 3,500 houses worth 493 million baht will be built for those made homeless. The Education Ministry will provide 600 students with 20,000-baht scholarships and spend 489 million baht on learning materials, meals and uniforms.

Over 2.4 billion baht will be provided to government departments that used up their budgets in the tsunami relief efforts such as agencies that helped to transport people away from the devastated areas.

Mr Suwat said the cabinet would discuss where to source the requested money and, if the spending was approved, it would be made available immediately.

Budgets for the rebuilding of damaged infrastructure were not included in today's requests to cabinet.

Source: bangkokpost.com

thanks for nice positive post !

somehow no comments here - do people like only to criticise and mock, not to appretiate the efforts made by local government ?

thanks for nice positive post !

somehow no comments here - do people like only to criticise and mock, not to appretiate the efforts made by local government ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Just called our part time rep in Phuket. She's lost her job at a tour agency and has moved in with friends to share living expenses (they lost their jobs as well). She hasn't heard a thing about how to or where to get financial assistance and noone has approached her either. Then again, these things take time.

Certainly want to believe everyone affected will be taken care of. Until then, we'll do our bit to help her out and happy to do so. TIT, wait n see. Anyone whom knows how she (and the many, many other locals unemployed) can apply for this financial aid that's apparently in the pipe, pls post.