Cabinet goes on wild spending spree

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra addresses the Cabinet meeting at the Chiang Mai Night Safari yesterday.

It seems Christmas has arrived extremely early this year for the northern provinces, following the approval of infrastructure projects worth more than 18 billion baht for the North at yesterday’s mobile Cabinet meeting in Chiang Mai.

In stark contrast with previous Cabinet meetings, in or away from, Government House, yesterday’s session was held amid grandeur at the newly opened Chiang Mai Night Safari. The ministers’ meeting room was elaborately decorated to create a jungle atmosphere, with lush foliage and zebra-striped chair covers.

The open-range park in Hang Dong district is the newest tourist attraction in the North. It was officially opened by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Monday night.

Chiang Mai is Thaksin’s birthplace, and the political stronghold of his Thai Rak Thai party. The city, known as the Rose of the North, is also where the prime minister chose to go to on Saturday, when a massive rally was staged in Bangkok to call for his ouster.

At yesterday’s meeting, 13 items were on the agenda. Most of them were related to pumping funds into developing large-scale projects in the North, with Chiang Mai taking the lion’s share. Nearly all were proposed by Deputy Prime Minister Suwat Lipatapanlop, who overseas the northern provinces.

His first proposal included five grand strategies and 13 projects to develop the economy of the cluster of provinces under his supervision, made up of Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, Lamphun, Lampang, Chiang Rai, Phayao and Phrae.

In total, the Cabinet approved 879.53 million baht for them over the next two years. There are 23 other northern development projects that will be proposed in the future.

The Cabinet also approved 165.97 million baht for three projects – two environmental and one structural – for Chiang Mai. They include a new learning facility to emulate the ICT Learning Center in Bangkok.

In addition, another four projects, worth 193.57 million baht, will be submitted to the Cabinet for consideration in the middle of this year.

The Cabinet also approved an urgent 300-million-baht project to prevent floods in Chiang Mai.

One of the costliest projects approved by the Cabinet yesterday was the 1.9-billion-baht construction of an international convention and exhibition center in Chiang Mai.

Suwat also revised the details of a sport development project for the next four years that he had proposed to the Cabinet on December 14. Thirteen of the projects approved by the Cabinet were worth more than 14 billion baht.

Four expensive, but vague, strategies focused on developing basic sports (1.8 billion baht), community sports (3.8 billion baht), sport excellence (7.73 billion baht) and professional sports (833 million baht).

Source: ThaiDay - 8 February 2006 15:06

This must be a photograph of The Mad Hatter's Tea Party?

But what puzzles me da most is "Why is he spending so much money in the North?

Has he forgotten the South?

This must be a photograph of The Mad Hatter's Tea Party?

But what puzzles me da most is "Why is he spending so much money in the North?

Has he forgotten the South?

Brilliant! If the hat fits wear it. They've been repairing the pavements along my road as well so you don't have to be Indiana Jones to navigate it safely.

Of course, one of the biggest question regarding the Cabinet meeting at the Night Safari remains:

WHAT WAS ON THEIR DINNER MENU??

btw, excellent job, ratcatcher...

Has he forgotten the South?

Or the poor North East ?

Has he forgotten the South?

Or the poor North East ?

His family comes from the CM province...