Opposition Says Govt Fails To Deal With Bird Flu

[george]

Opposition says Government fails to deal with bird flu

BANGKOK: -- The opposition Democrat Party has attacked the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) governing coalition for failing to address the country’s bird flu problems.

Conflicts between government agencies, especially the Public Health and Agriculture and Cooperatives ministries, has reduced the government’s ability to control the spread out of the epidemic, the Democrat’s Spokesman Ong-art Klampaiboon said.

The centralisation of the government’s operation has also weakened the government’s surveillance and monitoring system.

At the district level, there is no authority directly assigned to monitor and immediately report any outbreaks.

Reports the government has received are obsolete and the government’s actions too slow, Mr. Ong-art said.

Despite the Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra’s threat to sack ministers if they cannot solve the bird flu within the month, the situation is unlikely to improve, the Democrat spokesman insisted.

Non-performing ministers should be immediately fired and replaced.

Otherwise, the situation will only deteriorate further and the government will be unable to control the outbreak, he said.

Last week, the Public Health Ministry confirmed that four Thais were infected with the flu and raised fears that it may have been transmitted from human to human.

--TNA 2004-10-05