Thai Govt Will Have To Sacrifice Some Populist Schemes

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EDITORIAL

Gov't will have to sacrifice some populist schemes

The Nation

With flood victims in dire need and investors losing confidence, the new priorities must be recovery and reducing long-term risk, not endless handouts to garner political support

The government has set as its priority winning back the confidence of foreign investors after the flooding crisis. But domestically, the government should also do the same for locals who are still directly suffering from the deluge, by providing them with support that will eventually enable them to stand on their own two feet again.

In addition to donations of emergency relief supplies, the government should try to work out a system to help flood victims become financially independent instead of relying on longer-term government support and the raft of populist policies. The point being that the public should not be instilled with the perception that the government is the provider and its constituents are the recipients.

In fact, the government should merely provide people with best infrastructure to enable them to work hard and thrive.

A recent report released by the World Bank has shown the severity of the flood disaster in Thailand. It estimates that this year's massive deluge has caused damage worth Bt1.357 trillion. Damage to assets and property is estimated at more than Bt600 billion, including damage to basic infrastructure in transportation and communications, the agricultural sector, the tourism sector and the industrial sector. The World Bank said the flooding has also caused damage in terms of lost economic opportunities to the tune of Bt700 billion.

The damage figures have yet to include those from the South, where nine provinces have just been declared disaster zones. Although the flood water in the South is expected to recede faster than that surrounding the capital, a large number of people in the region are expected to suffer from this latest emergency.

The government has recently announced a series of measures to help the flood victims. Most of the programmes, in the initial stage, are cash give-aways to enable people to repair their homes and survive financially after the water subsides. For instance, the government has promised Bt5,000 in assistance money to each flood-affected family, and an additional Bt30,000 to each home-owner if their house is severely damaged by the flooding. The government will also have to assist farmers who are unable to grow crops because their land has been, or still is, inundated. And this is not to mention the emergency assistance necessary to help more than 800,000 workers whose workplaces or factories have been submerged and remain shut until repairs can be executed and production can resume.

The House has approved a budget of Bt2.38 trillion for the fiscal year 2012. The question is how the government will allocate the funds in a fair and transparent manner to serve the purpose of recovery, and at the same time finance efforts to prevent a recurrence of this year's disaster. The biggest problem is that a large proportion of this budget has already been earmarked for the government's controversial and potentially damaging populist policies.

The government should review the priorities for all these projects. It may have to make sacrifices by putting certain populist schemes on hold or reducing the scale of those that are not necessary or urgent. This money could then be used to pay compensation to flood victims and to rehabilitate the country, as well as to implement sustainable flood-prevention projects.

Without these proper systems in place, no one will have full confidence in Thailand. The country has emerged from this massive flood as a natural disaster-risk nation, and therefore the government has to incorporate this risk into its overall strategy and expenditure in response to the changing situation. This will be a test for the vision and leadership of the Yingluck government.

-- The Nation 2011-12-01

[ratcatcher]

"This will be a test for the vision and leadership of the Yingluck government."

Indeed it will.

[drdoom6996]

"This will be a test for the vision and leadership of the Yingluck government."

Indeed it will.

What leadership. She just cries and blames the Democrats.

[OzMick]

Don't expect the rice pledging scam to be dropped. It may be the most expensive, but it's also Thaksin's own - a big pay-off for the rice barons that support him.

[E1717007]

Don't expect the rice pledging scam to be dropped. It may be the most expensive, but it's also Thaksin's own - a big pay-off for the rice barons that support him.

+1

[Toany]

"This will be a test for the vision and leadership of the Yingluck government."

Indeed it will.

What leadership. She just cries and blames the Democrats.

I thought the Yingluck Government had already been tested by the flooding and has failed miserably. Do they get to take another test?

The best thing that Ms Yngluck could do for Thailand would be to resign.

[renaissanc]

What??? Abandon the handout of computer tablets? The rural people need them to sell for extra income. The rural poor also need the 100,000 Baht to buy a new car and 100,000 Baht to buy a 1-5 million Baht house. And yes, those poor rice barons should not have to face the indignity of driving a 2011 Mercedez Benz in a month's time.

[ramrod711]

"This will be a test for the vision and leadership of the Yingluck government."

Indeed it will.

What leadership. She just cries and blames the Democrats.

I thought the Yingluck Government had already been tested by the flooding and has failed miserably. Do they get to take another test?

The best thing that Ms Yngluck could do for Thailand would be to resign.

WHAT??????, leave chalerm in charge???? poor thailand, what a choice