Thai govt to meet EC for permission to borrow to repay rice farmers

[webfact]

Government to meet EC for permission to borrow to repay farmers



BANGKOK: -- The government will meet with the Election Commission next Tuesday to explain the need for the use of budget to pay farmers for rice crops many of them have pledged with the government since last October.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittirat Na Ranong insisted that the government is not broke as widely suspected, saying that a budget to fund the rice pledging scheme was endorsed by the government last September before the dissolution of the parliament.

He maintained that the budget was binding between the government and the farmers and it was perfectly legal.

The Election Commission earlier rejected the government’s proposal to raise a huge fund, amounting to more than 100 billion baht, for the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives so that the bank will be able to pay the farmers for the delayed payments.

Farmers nationwide have threatened to protest and to sue the government for its repeated failures to honour the rice payments.

Under the rice pledging scheme which was launched two years, the government, through BAAC, had spent 680 billion baht to “buy” 45 million tonnes of paddy from farmers. About 20 million farming households were involved in the scheme.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/government-meet-ec-permission-borrow-repay-farmers/


-- Thai PBS 2014-01-17

[poisonus]

But the rice budget has run out of money and all further payments will need to come from extra-budgetary borrowing.

The more the government resists the EC's calls for an election postponement, the more the EC will continue to say NO!

Yingluck, you messed up so don't expect the EC to bail you out.... Live with it or step down.

[poisonus]

I will add that this government say they are all about reform, and in the same breath are asking the EC to endorse their vote buying to secure the rice farming vote. But they don't realise that even the farmers lucky enough to have their money from this harvest know they won't have the same chance of that for the next harvest if they continue to vote for this pile of <deleted>.

Sorry guys, but no money left for you..... Maybe if we had not stolen 400 billion so far, we would be able to pay you all twice over.

[Thaddeus]

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittirat Na Ranong insisted that the government is not broke as widely suspected, saying that a budget to fund the rice pledging scheme was endorsed by the government last September before the dissolution of the parliament.

So pay the farmers then, simples.

[noikrit]

Yep , Election time so gotta do something .....

[poisonus]

About 3,000 farmers from five central and lower northern provinces have blocked the Asian highway in Phichit province on Friday to demand payments of their rice crops from the government.

During the protest, the protesters burned an effigy of caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra accusing her of being insincere to farmers.

Darling of Isaan..... my arse!

[EricBerg]

So lil sis finally decided to contact the EC. Or was she told to do so by the missunderstood fugitive? Perhaps they will offer the EC a deal: postpone the elections and then be allowed to borrow billions more to throw away for vote-buying. The EC most certainly will not allow the shinaclan to borrow more money. If they would they would actively support the reds.

[rubl]

I wonder if the 'endorsed' budget is visible in the National Budget which was agreed last year. It did have provisions outside the budget

"The national budget also takes into account the issuance of an executive decree to allow the Ministry of Finance to secure 350-billion-baht loans for water resources management and future development and a royal decree empowering the Ministry of Finance to secure 2.2-trillion baht loans for investment in infrastructure development."

http://thailand.prd.go.th/view_news.php?id=6788&a=2

Edited January 17, 2014 by rubl

[rubl]

About 3,000 farmers from five central and lower northern provinces have blocked the Asian highway in Phichit province on Friday to demand payments of their rice crops from the government.

During the protest, the protesters burned an effigy of caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra accusing her of being insincere to farmers.

Darling of Isaan..... my arse!

Those Lower North and Central regions are not really 'Isaan'.

[Mampara]

About 3,000 farmers from five central and lower northern provinces have blocked the Asian highway in Phichit province on Friday to demand payments of their rice crops from the government.

During the protest, the protesters burned an effigy of caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra accusing her of being insincere to farmers.

Darling of Isaan..... my arse!

Wazza matter with it? is it painful from all the 'Shafting?'

[tomyummer]

I love this movie called Braveheart. That's all I'm saying. Not that it wouldn't be cool for the farmers to adopt a blue and white color scheme and paint their faces while marching into Bangkok and screaming 'freeeedom!'

Edited January 17, 2014 by tomyummer

[JRSoul]

OK the money was budgeted last September, so where is it now? Why do they need to borrow an obscene amount to meet their commitments? Were they budgeting money they didn't have, expecting revenue from G2G deals that didn't exist (known as believing your own lies)?

[FangFerang]

But the rice budget has run out of money and all further payments will need to come from extra-budgetary borrowing.

The more the government resists the EC's calls for an election postponement, the more the EC will continue to say NO!

Yingluck, you messed up so don't expect the EC to bail you out.... Live with it or step down.

farmers are using their coupons ars promissory notes for loan sharks. I think it is far better the EC tell them: "Okay, get the money from sales for this. The Chinese want rice, so sell it."

[wonder6281]

Incompetent!

[ramrod711]

How the mighty have fallen, Yingluck has to go hat in hand to the EC to be bailed out. Please give me money, i'm incompetent, unable to balance the books, Pulleeeze loan me money.

[Ricardo]

Can't the caretaker-government take the funds from the B350-billion flood-prevention funds, or did they too unaccountably disappear, from the bank-accounts ?

Are the government paying any of their other suppliers late ?

And why does all the money seem to have to be borrowed, that only defers having to fund it properly & generates interest/admin-costs, why isn't it coming out of taxes, like most other spending ?

It all stinks of PTP mismanagement & incompetence !

[icommunity]

But the rice budget has run out of money and all further payments will need to come from extra-budgetary borrowing.

The more the government resists the EC's calls for an election postponement, the more the EC will continue to say NO!

Yingluck, you messed up so don't expect the EC to bail you out.... Live with it or step down.

"But the rice budget has run out of money and all further payments will need to come from extra-budgetary borrowing."

Where did you get the information???

"The more the government resists the EC's calls for an election postponement, the more the EC will continue to say NO!"

If this is the case, the commissioners are guilty of abused of power, conflict of interest, dereliction of duty.

[LevelHead]

But the rice budget has run out of money and all further payments will need to come from extra-budgetary borrowing.

The more the government resists the EC's calls for an election postponement, the more the EC will continue to say NO!

Yingluck, you messed up so don't expect the EC to bail you out.... Live with it or step down.

Another way of looking at this is :

PTP want to pay so farmers are happy with that.

EC keeps saying no which makes farmers angry.

Farmers blame Suthep and Democrats for making problems.

Farmers blame EC for not allowing payment.

YL appears to be doing fine out of this.

[rubl]

But the rice budget has run out of money and all further payments will need to come from extra-budgetary borrowing.

The more the government resists the EC's calls for an election postponement, the more the EC will continue to say NO!

Yingluck, you messed up so don't expect the EC to bail you out.... Live with it or step down.

"But the rice budget has run out of money and all further payments will need to come from extra-budgetary borrowing."

Where did you get the information???

"The more the government resists the EC's calls for an election postponement, the more the EC will continue to say NO!"

If this is the case, the commissioners are guilty of abused of power, conflict of interest, dereliction of duty.

Agreed, if the EC would say 'no' because the government doesn't want to do anything about postponement apart from talking, that would be abuse of power, etc., etc.

Luckily that's not the case. It's just a matter of bad budgetting by the government. They took the 350 billion Water Mgmt loan out of the National Budget, they took the 2.2 trillion load for infra structure out of the National Budget. For transparancy reasons of course. That should have created enough margin for rice price pledging policy. It would seem it didn't. Poor fiscal planning.

[JRSoul]

Another way of looking at this is :

PTP want to pay so farmers are happy with that.

EC keeps saying no which makes farmers angry.

Farmers blame Suthep and Democrats for making problems.

Farmers blame EC for not allowing payment.

YL appears to be doing fine out of this.

But the farmers are protesting about the government, not the EC or the protesters. They may be uneducated but they are not as stupid or gullible as some.

[LevelHead]

Another way of looking at this is :

PTP want to pay so farmers are happy with that.

EC keeps saying no which makes farmers angry.

Farmers blame Suthep and Democrats for making problems.

Farmers blame EC for not allowing payment.

YL appears to be doing fine out of this.

But the farmers are protesting about the government, not the EC or the protesters. They may be uneducated but they are not as stupid or gullible as some.

I think you will find they are protesting about not being paid, thats all.

[Crushdepth]

About 3,000 farmers from five central and lower northern provinces have blocked the Asian highway in Phichit province on Friday to demand payments of their rice crops from the government.

During the protest, the protesters burned an effigy of caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra accusing her of being insincere to farmers.

Darling of Isaan..... my arse!

Wazza matter with it? is it painful from all the 'Shafting?'

I think you mean probing? The National Anti-Corruption Commission's has scheduled another one.

[icommunity]

But the rice budget has run out of money and all further payments will need to come from extra-budgetary borrowing.

The more the government resists the EC's calls for an election postponement, the more the EC will continue to say NO!

Yingluck, you messed up so don't expect the EC to bail you out.... Live with it or step down.

"But the rice budget has run out of money and all further payments will need to come from extra-budgetary borrowing."

Where did you get the information???

"The more the government resists the EC's calls for an election postponement, the more the EC will continue to say NO!"

If this is the case, the commissioners are guilty of abused of power, conflict of interest, dereliction of duty.

Agreed, if the EC would say 'no' because the government doesn't want to do anything about postponement apart from talking, that would be abuse of power, etc., etc.

Luckily that's not the case. It's just a matter of bad budgetting by the government. They took the 350 billion Water Mgmt loan out of the National Budget, they took the 2.2 trillion load for infra structure out of the National Budget. For transparancy reasons of course. That should have created enough margin for rice price pledging policy. It would seem it didn't. Poor fiscal planning.

How and when the government took the 350 billion Water Mgmt loan out of the National Budget, they took the 2.2 trillion load for infra structure out of the National Budget.

I don't understand what you meant by "out of the National Budget". The 2,2 trillion load you mentioned is an off budget loan. A budget to fund the rice pledging scheme was endorsed by the government last September before the dissolution of the parliament. There is enough money for it.

[JRSoul]

Another way of looking at this is :

PTP want to pay so farmers are happy with that.

EC keeps saying no which makes farmers angry.

Farmers blame Suthep and Democrats for making problems.

Farmers blame EC for not allowing payment.

YL appears to be doing fine out of this.

But the farmers are protesting about the government, not the EC or the protesters. They may be uneducated but they are not as stupid or gullible as some.

I think you will find they are protesting about not being paid, thats all.

That's bloody obvious innit? But who are they burning in effigy, Suthep, the EC or Yingluk (who appears to be doing fine out of this)?

[JRSoul]

How and when the government took the 350 billion Water Mgmt loan out of the National Budget, they took the 2.2 trillion load for infra structure out of the National Budget.

I don't understand what you meant by "out of the National Budget". The 2,2 trillion load you mentioned is an off budget loan. A budget to fund the rice pledging scheme was endorsed by the government last September before the dissolution of the parliament. There is enough money for it.

"There is enough money for it."

Really? Where? Why aren't they using it to pay the farmers?

[LevelHead]

Another way of looking at this is :

PTP want to pay so farmers are happy with that.

EC keeps saying no which makes farmers angry.

Farmers blame Suthep and Democrats for making problems.

Farmers blame EC for not allowing payment.

YL appears to be doing fine out of this.

But the farmers are protesting about the government, not the EC or the protesters. They may be uneducated but they are not as stupid or gullible as some.

I think you will find they are protesting about not being paid, thats all.

That's bloody obvious innit? But who are they burning in effigy, Suthep, the EC or Yingluk (who appears to be doing fine out of this)?

Depends on who is paying them to protest perhaps, if they are rent-a-mob ?

[Scamper]

So now - now - the Yingluck administration deigns to meet with the EC - who has been calling Yingluck on the phone on a daily basis. Except the administration doesn't want to talk about the election, or the reasonable recommendation that the EC has made about it, in their constitutional capacity. No, what the administration wants is for the EC to OK billions and billions of baht before an election, in order to salvage the rice farmer vote. So why does the administration set Tuesday for the meeting with the EC ? Why don't they talk to them right now on the telephone ? Why speak to the EC through the press ? And what's with the smile ? Do you not know the administration has acted abominably in every aspect of fiscal malfeasance ? Is that something particularly to smile about ? And what about the election that Yingluck says is going to solve the whole crisis. How ? By having a stillborn parliament, that won't be able to open ? Is that the promised oasis the country can greet in two weeks ? And what about the grenades that are being dropped on innocent Thai men and women on the streets ? Does that not justify national attention of the most unctuous kind ? Again, what's with the smile ?

Edited January 17, 2014 by Scamper

[rubl]

But the rice budget has run out of money and all further payments will need to come from extra-budgetary borrowing.

The more the government resists the EC's calls for an election postponement, the more the EC will continue to say NO!

Yingluck, you messed up so don't expect the EC to bail you out.... Live with it or step down.

"But the rice budget has run out of money and all further payments will need to come from extra-budgetary borrowing."

Where did you get the information???

"The more the government resists the EC's calls for an election postponement, the more the EC will continue to say NO!"

If this is the case, the commissioners are guilty of abused of power, conflict of interest, dereliction of duty.

Agreed, if the EC would say 'no' because the government doesn't want to do anything about postponement apart from talking, that would be abuse of power, etc., etc.

Luckily that's not the case. It's just a matter of bad budgetting by the government. They took the 350 billion Water Mgmt loan out of the National Budget, they took the 2.2 trillion load for infra structure out of the National Budget. For transparancy reasons of course. That should have created enough margin for rice price pledging policy. It would seem it didn't. Poor fiscal planning.

How and when the government took the 350 billion Water Mgmt loan out of the National Budget, they took the 2.2 trillion load for infra structure out of the National Budget.

I don't understand what you meant by "out of the National Budget". The 2,2 trillion load you mentioned is an off budget loan. A budget to fund the rice pledging scheme was endorsed by the government last September before the dissolution of the parliament. There is enough money for it.

"2014 National Budget Set for Driving Thailands National Strategies (30/05/2013)"

http://thailand.prd.go.th/view_news.php?id=6788&a=2

It has

"The national budget also takes into account the issuance of an executive decree to allow the Ministry of Finance to secure 350-billion-baht loans for water resources management and future development and a royal decree empowering the Ministry of Finance to secure 2.2-trillion baht loans for investment in infrastructure development."

Funding endorsed should mean funding allocated. It would seem no allocation has been made.

[englishoak]

Another way of looking at this is :

PTP want to pay so farmers are happy with that.

EC keeps saying no which makes farmers angry.

Farmers blame Suthep and Democrats for making problems.

Farmers blame EC for not allowing payment.

YL appears to be doing fine out of this.

But the farmers are protesting about the government, not the EC or the protesters. They may be uneducated but they are not as stupid or gullible as some.

I think you will find they are protesting about not being paid, thats all.

That's bloody obvious innit? But who are they burning in effigy, Suthep, the EC or Yingluk (who appears to be doing fine out of this)?

They arnt burning anything they want to be paid, look get it in your head that they arn't going to not vote the same as always they just want to be paid. These people dont have time or interest in the goings on in BKK they just want to be paid. They will still vote for the only party that has ever appeared to benefit them.

Just because people protest sometimes about things does not mean they want a revolution about everything else.

[hughben]

I think an election postponement will be required til they get the farmers back on the payroll.