Late budget won’t affect govt spending, local polls, says deputy PM

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Late budget won’t affect govt spending, local polls, says deputy PM

By THE NATION

 

(File Photo)

 

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said on Monday that government spending and local elections should not be affected by the delay in the 2021 budget.

 

The Budget Bureau announced earlier today that the 2021 Budget Act will miss its deadline for enactment on October 1, the first day of the fiscal year.

 

The act will undergo its second and third reading in the House of Representatives on September 16-18 before being sent to the Senate on September 21. Seven days late it will be presented to HM the King for approval.

 

“We expect the Budget Act’s enactment to be delayed by about one month, which should not be a problem compared to last fiscal year when the Act was delayed by six months. Meanwhile, the government can still use leftover budget from fiscal 2020 to ensure continuous operations,” said Wissanu.

 

Asked about local elections scheduled from October, Wissanu said that the Election Commission had already provided a budget of Bt800 million to organise the polls. This should be enough for areas that wish to hold elections in October, he said.

 

“Each province will also get a budget to organise elections for provincial administration organisations [PAO], the total Bt2.4 billion of which will come from the 2021 budget. There should be no problem if the [PAO] elections are held in November or December, when the new budget act will already be enacted,” he added.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30394514

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-09-14

 

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