Thaksin To Convene Meeting On Tsunami Relief

PM to convene meeting on tsunami relief

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has agreed to convene a meeting to assess the progress of tsunami relief efforts, following a series of complaints from survivors of the December tragedy.

According to a source from the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Thaksin will ask representatives from all agencies concerned to the meeting on Friday.

The meeting will both look at the progress that has been made on tsunami relief, and also the obstacles to relief work which have yet to be addressed.

The government has received a deluge of complaints from businesses and individuals who survived the tsunami on 26 December, who have accused the government of failing to provide adequate assistance.

In particular, many have complained that they have not been provided with bank loans to help them rebuild their livelihoods although the banks are insistent that they have only refused loans when the customers appear to be a bad debt risk.

By 27 April, state-owned banks had already released credit to 11,297 tsunami survivors, worth over Bt18.5 billion, while the Office of Education Loans had provided Bt360.9 million to 721 students.

Others are due to receive assistance money at the start of the school term.

Private sector banks have also released the majority of the money they initially offered in loans although, according to the Ministry of Finance, some of the loan requests have run into delays because the companies have altered their business plans, or are waiting for the development of supporting infrastructure before they press ahead with their proposals.

--TNA 2005-06-16