Thai rice farmers rejoice after junta head orders immediate cash payment

[ratcatcher]

Where is the cash coming from?

Not that you are really concerned, but just to add a little levity to an otherwise serious topic,

imagine this scenario.

It is not as if the Kingdom is bankrupt, there's plenty of money in responsible hands and now that General Prayuth is in officially in charge and sanctioned by the highest authority in the land, these funds will continue to be available to help the farmers and get the country back on its feet.

That's where the cash is coming from.

[Piichai]

Farmers will be pleased to be paid. It's great. However, they will not forget that it was the old guard who blocked the payment in the first place.Nothing to do with the policy itself , just pure bloody-mindedness by Sutphep and the cronies.

Yingluck failed to pay the farmers before PDRC hit the streets, and Yingluck failed to provide for the farmers when she dissolved parliament.

It's Yingluck's fault !

[belg]

dont bite the hand that feeds you, comes to mind

in this case, the farmers feed us, but the army is promissing them their long overdue money

the army's money? mhhh, the tax payers money!!!!!

[Prbkk]

Farmers will be pleased to be paid. It's great. However, they will not forget that it was the old guard who blocked the payment in the first place.Nothing to do with the policy itself , just pure bloody-mindedness by Sutphep and the cronies.

How do you justify writing lies like this to yourself? You know very well PTP ran into difficulties with paying the farmers months before the protests against the corrupt amnesty bill forced them to dissolve parliament.

They were lying about having enough money months before any protest and then cocked up further by not bothering about paying the farmers before dissolving the house. They needed the 2.2.trillion to cover it all up.

Will be interesting to see what comes to light if/when the real books are found and audited.

There is nothing incorrect in what I have written. Yes, there were problems with the budget for it and in making the payment when the govt went into caretaker mode. It was at that point that Suthep stepped in and harassed and threatened the banks and the private sector, eventually bullying them into non-particiapation in the payment. There are WHOLE THREADS devoted to those events, including some lame brains on this forum suggesting that the banks would fail and everyone should rush to withdraw their money.

The govt didn't handle the payment/budget well and it was a deeply flawed policy but let's be honest...had it not been for Suthep and his bully boy tactics , the faremrs would have been paid 5 months ago or before

[rubl]

Where is the cash coming from?

Various sources.

The OP

"At the meeting BAAC bank assured it has 40 billion baht in hand to pay farmers, while private sector also vowed to extend loans to government for the purpose."

I also vague remember having seem a topic with "use reserves in the National Budget". IT may be that the 2013/2014 NB has such reserves with disbursement less than planned or maybe the 2014/2015 NB will have budgets for this.

Where ever the money comes from, it will need to be repaId, like the 700++ billion the BAAC is still owed and for which only the interest burden already causes it to grow without repayments.

[Gunna]

Farmers will be pleased to be paid. It's great. However, they will not forget that it was the old guard who blocked the payment in the first place.Nothing to do with the policy itself , just pure bloody-mindedness by Sutphep and the cronies.

How do you justify writing lies like this to yourself? You know very well PTP ran into difficulties with paying the farmers months before the protests against the corrupt amnesty bill forced them to dissolve parliament.

They were lying about having enough money months before any protest and then cocked up further by not bothering about paying the farmers before dissolving the house. They needed the 2.2.trillion to cover it all up.

Will be interesting to see what comes to light if/when the real books are found and audited.

I suppose lies are OK if you believe in them yourself, shame no-one else does. Same as white lies from the ex Ministry of Commerce, it made him happy and believe he was doing a good job.

[mikemac]

How strange that in less than a week the Army can pay the farmers but the PTP exgovernment couldn't manage to do the same thing in more than 9 MONTHS.

My understanding is that when they had caretaker status, they were not able to borrow money as the government of Thailand. The army, however, can simply order banks to provide the loans necessary for the payments.

We have gone over this umpteen times ... the debts to the farmers predate the dissolution of parliament, so why did they not deal with the problem before they dissolved parliament...?! I think the answer is clearly that they had skimmed off so much from the nation that there were no funds left for them to pay the farmers...!! Anyone who says it was nothing of the sort, just the effects of the rice subsidy policy itself, is then clearly admitting that it was a failure all along...!!

@ GeorgeO,

Sorry to see your sensible and easy to comprehend explanation wasted on red flag waving drongos who either don't have the guts to admit they have been wrong all along or don't have the nous to understand it. Perhaps you should send them all a calendar with the appropriate dates and events highlighted on it.

[Eric Loh]

So it is banks that held back the loans because of Suthep shenanigans resulting in the farmers not being paid. Guess the previous government has been vindicated.

[mikemac]

How strange that in less than a week the Army can pay the farmers but the PTP exgovernment couldn't manage to do the same thing in more than 9 MONTHS.

My understanding is that when they had caretaker status, they were not able to borrow money as the government of Thailand. The army, however, can simply order banks to provide the loans necessary for the payments.

We have gone over this umpteen times ... the debts to the farmers predate the dissolution of parliament, so why did they not deal with the problem before they dissolved parliament...?! I think the answer is clearly that they had skimmed off so much from the nation that there were no funds left for them to pay the farmers...!! Anyone who says it was nothing of the sort, just the effects of the rice subsidy policy itself, is then clearly admitting that it was a failure all along...!!

@ GeorgeO,

Sorry to see your sensible and easy to comprehend explanation wasted on red flag waving drongos who either don't have the guts to admit they have been wrong all along or don't have the nous to understand it. Perhaps you should send them all a calendar with the appropriate dates and events highlighted on it.

[Piichai]

So 40 million baht will be paid from the government coffers, and an additional 50 billion baht will be loaned by banks which have guns pointed to their heads? Which banks are these and what do their shareholders and customers think of having to forcibly loan the government this money? Why doesn't the junta order DSI to trace the original money that was stolen and force politicians involved to pay back the money?

The NACC is working on it.

[Piichai]

Very bad timing for the farmers.

The World Cup is only a few weeks away and the illegal bookies will be lining up to take their money.

Thais love their football!

They should hand out the money after the final

Shameful.

[Luger2]

Good to see that after all the long delays and broken promises from the old Yingluck government that the farmers are finally getting paid.

[SICHONSTEVE]

How strange that in less than a week the Army can pay the farmers but the PTP exgovernment couldn't manage to do the same thing in more than 9 MONTHS.

No, they shouldn't be paid!! this martial law is criminal and undemocratic - they should not pay the farmers until they have had an election and installed a democratically elected government voted for by the people, as per the red shirts insistence!!!

[rubl]

Farmers will be pleased to be paid. It's great. However, they will not forget that it was the old guard who blocked the payment in the first place.Nothing to do with the policy itself , just pure bloody-mindedness by Sutphep and the cronies.

How do you justify writing lies like this to yourself? You know very well PTP ran into difficulties with paying the farmers months before the protests against the corrupt amnesty bill forced them to dissolve parliament.

They were lying about having enough money months before any protest and then cocked up further by not bothering about paying the farmers before dissolving the house. They needed the 2.2.trillion to cover it all up.

Will be interesting to see what comes to light if/when the real books are found and audited.

There is nothing incorrect in what I have written. Yes, there were problems with the budget for it and in making the payment when the govt went into caretaker mode. It was at that point that Suthep stepped in and harassed and threatened the banks and the private sector, eventually bullying them into non-particiapation in the payment. There are WHOLE THREADS devoted to those events, including some lame brains on this forum suggesting that the banks would fail and everyone should rush to withdraw their money.

The govt didn't handle the payment/budget well and it was a deeply flawed policy but let's be honest...had it not been for Suthep and his bully boy tactics , the faremrs would have been paid 5 months ago or before

Manure of an exquisite kind.

The Yingluck government hadn't made proper provisions for the RPPS. A non-revolving funds outside of the National Budget, outside parliamentary scrutiny. A funds which was to be 500 billion only to be expanded to 700++ and still 130 billion more needed.

The caretaker government couldn't borrow and legal implications made banks hesitant. Some banks were threatened by the UDD, some by their own employees.

Already in November last year there were signs of non-payments emerging, that was before the House dissolution. Near criminal fiscal policies are to blame not the anti-government protests which started when the Yingluck government pushed their blanket amnesty bill which suddenly even included Thaksin's last two years in/out of office AND the Yingluck administration's first two years. Criminal, IMHO.

[tubby johnson]

A welcome and overdue first step in exorcising and annihilating the Shinawatra virus that has been feeding off Thailand far too long.

[djjamie]

The farmers and the north will never forgive the people who took away their right to vote and their democratically elected governments over the past 10 years!

I'm glad to see the farmers paid albeit by default but anyone who thinks that the reds are a spent force are living in a fools paradise!

The next election will prove me right

Watch this space!

Win win for you because if it does not prove you right you and like the next Shin party, will deny the results, cry electoral coup, state rigged elections, state the people were forced to vote DEM or any other plethitude of reasons that have been used for every other majority that has been ignored or demonized because it went against the Shin agenda.

This my friend is why we had a coup and why reform is needed. To ensure the majority are heard (2007 constitution) and the voice of the people are reflected in parliament (amnesty bill voted 307 - 0 when the majority didn't want it)

Thank you for highlighting why this is a necessary coup.

Look at the silly comments in this OP to see why reform is needed as well? "Hold off farmer payments for the World Cup". "They will all blow it on beer". "They will spend it at karaoke bars". Do you realize these are the people that voted PTP last election and you are making a mockery of there circumstances and worse are making jokes on their behalf not because they are receiving payments, but because they are receiving it from the Army. I have stated red buffalo on a few occasions, I have stated the farmers need to be educated and you guys are the first to staunchly defend them then. Yet when they get paid, not by the PTP, but by the army you denounce them. Look at yourself because you are becoming the very thing you purport to hate.

I don't care if they received payment from Elliot Rodger. They got it. Finally got it. The army made one promise that they would be paid in 3 weeks. They were paid in 5 days. Irrespective of what your hollow excuses are for the non payment by the PTP (I actually highlighted the reasons above) they made 5 promises. 5. Can you count that high? Don't make a promise unless you can keep it. PTP failed. The General passed. He did not hold the voters in contempt.

They have been paid. Get it?

Edited May 26, 2014 by djjamie

[SanSaiExPat]

How strange that in less than a week the Army can pay the farmers but the PTP exgovernment couldn't manage to do the same thing in more than 9 MONTHS.

PM Ying Luck tried everything in her power to get the farmers paid but the democrats and others (behind the scenes (ARMY) blocked her at every move. Unlike Gen Prayuth she did not have absolute power. Now the Dems and the Army can come out smelling like hero's when in fact they were both behind stopping PM Yingluck from getting the farmers paid.

[ratcatcher]

The die-hard Thaksin supporters on here will grasp negatively at anything Prayuth does. One week ago we had martial law. In one week he has rounded up all the suspects, minus a few hard core patriots, and managed to start paying the farmers who most needed the money.

Thaksin must be chewing himself up.

[webfact]

Thai rice growers enthusiastically waiting for promised payment
By Digital Content



BANGKOK, May 26 -- Crowds of farmers gathered at branches of the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) nationwide to wait for money that they have longed for for as much as 5-6 months for the rice that they pledged with the government under the rice-pledging scheme.

Farmers showed up after Gen Prayuth Chan-Ocha, chief of the National Council for Peace and Order, announced the start of overdue payments today.

The BAAC branch in Nakhon Sawan province received 2.8 billion baht and the sum will be completely paid within this week.

The BAAC branch in Muang Phichit district of Phichit was also packed with farmers. The branch will transfer money to farmers' accounts for safety. About 10,000 farmers will receive the payment first and over 20,000 others will have to wait for the next round of payment.

In Buri Ram province, about 34,000 farmers have waited for the payment for about six months and officials of local BAAC branches are arranging for the payment outside their branches for quick service.

The BAAC branch in Nakhon Phanom has not received funds for the quick payment and only a small number of farmers arrived there. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2014-05-26

[OnTheRun]

How strange that in less than a week the Army can pay the farmers but the PTP exgovernment couldn't manage to do the same thing in more than 9 MONTHS.

PM Ying Luck tried everything in her power to get the farmers paid but the democrats and others (behind the scenes (ARMY) blocked her at every move. Unlike Gen Prayuth she did not have absolute power. Now the Dems and the Army can come out smelling like hero's when in fact they were both behind stopping PM Yingluck from getting the farmers paid.

For some reason I cant post a roll on the floor laughing smiley.

[SanSaiExPat]

The die-hard Thaksin supporters on here will grasp negatively at anything Prayuth does. One week ago we had martial law. In one week he has rounded up all the suspects, minus a few hard core patriots, and managed to start paying the farmers who most needed the money.

Thaksin must be chewing himself up.

It doesn't take much effort or intelligence go get the farmers paid when you wield absolute power.

[chotthee]

The die-hard Thaksin supporters on here will grasp negatively at anything Prayuth does. One week ago we had martial law. In one week he has rounded up all the suspects, minus a few hard core patriots, and managed to start paying the farmers who most needed the money.

Thaksin must be chewing himself up.

All farmers will now vote for Prayuth.

It is time he run for PM, we will surely get it.

Go Prayuth go. We all will vote for you.

[khunken]

Farmers will be pleased to be paid. It's great. However, they will not forget that it was the old guard who blocked the payment in the first place.Nothing to do with the policy itself , just pure bloody-mindedness by Sutphep and the cronies.

How do you justify writing lies like this to yourself? You know very well PTP ran into difficulties with paying the farmers months before the protests against the corrupt amnesty bill forced them to dissolve parliament.

They were lying about having enough money months before any protest and then cocked up further by not bothering about paying the farmers before dissolving the house. They needed the 2.2.trillion to cover it all up.

Will be interesting to see what comes to light if/when the real books are found and audited.

There is nothing incorrect in what I have written. Yes, there were problems with the budget for it and in making the payment when the govt went into caretaker mode. It was at that point that Suthep stepped in and harassed and threatened the banks and the private sector, eventually bullying them into non-particiapation in the payment. There are WHOLE THREADS devoted to those events, including some lame brains on this forum suggesting that the banks would fail and everyone should rush to withdraw their money.

The govt didn't handle the payment/budget well and it was a deeply flawed policy but let's be honest...had it not been for Suthep and his bully boy tactics , the faremrs would have been paid 5 months ago or before

A half-truth omitting a significant part of the problem.

Many farmers had not been paid since September. The protests started in late November. Why omit that fact?

When the government resigned why didn't they ensure that funds were available to pay farmers? Why omit or obfuscate that fact too?

Yes, initially Suthep did scare off banks from providing extra cash for the rice payments. But that subsided into Suthep actually welcoming some farmers at protest sites and supporting them.

Lets be really honest, it was PTP, especially the lieing Kittirat & commerce minister who failed to provide funds for the repayments. Suthep certainly didn't help but it is totally dishonest to blame him solely for the failed payments.

[leosuntime]

they borrowed to pay

now who will they steal from to cover the interest on the loan

the world is a bunch of sick violent thieves

[umbanda]

How strange that in less than a week the Army can pay the farmers but the PTP exgovernment couldn't manage to do the same thing in more than 9 MONTHS.

Edited May 26, 2014 by umbanda

[rubl]

How strange that in less than a week the Army can pay the farmers but the PTP exgovernment couldn't manage to do the same thing in more than 9 MONTHS.

PM Ying Luck tried everything in her power to get the farmers paid but the democrats and others (behind the scenes (ARMY) blocked her at every move. Unlike Gen Prayuth she did not have absolute power. Now the Dems and the Army can come out smelling like hero's when in fact they were both behind stopping PM Yingluck from getting the farmers paid.

OK, one more time.

Yingluck government had a revolving funds setup outside the National Budget, outside parliamentary scrutiny. That funds was depleted rapidly and extended a few times till the BAAC had a non-revolving funds in 700++ billion debit. And still the Yingluck government wanted 130 billion more.

If the RPPS had been budgetted within the National Budget the payments would have been reserve in there and farmers could have been paid. No such thing in the National Budget. Before the Yingluck government stepped aside already payment problems arose. The House dissolution meant that the caretaker government couldn't just 'borrow' more money as they didn't have the legal status to accept fiancial burdens which a next government would have to honour.

All in all the Yingluck government was not transparent, didn't act accountable and left the country with a 700++ billion debt at BAAC, farmers unpaid upto 90 billion still, rice export damaged for the coming years, etc., etc.

Criminal, IMHO.

[Skywalker69]

How strange that in less than a week the Army can pay the farmers but the PTP exgovernment couldn't manage to do the same thing in more than 9 MONTHS.

PM Ying Luck tried everything in her power to get the farmers paid but the democrats and others (behind the scenes (ARMY) blocked her at every move. Unlike Gen Prayuth she did not have absolute power. Now the Dems and the Army can come out smelling like hero's when in fact they were both behind stopping PM Yingluck from getting the farmers paid.

For some reason I cant post a roll on the floor laughing smiley.

Here. I give you two!

[tubby johnson]

Thaksin had the power, the influence and his grubby hands on the national budget. So why didn't he pay the farmers?

A huge blunder by that greedy reptile. Let's hope the NACC get to the bottom of this scandal soonest!

[DerickInnes]

My wife in Bankruat Burriram. has been waiting 7-8 months for this money, which is approx 650,000 baht a lot of money in any ones eyes. As i do not like military intervention in its all entirety. I believe it is well justified in these circumstances. I am not just happy for my family, i am also very happy indeed for the thousands of hard working farmers and their families that produce these crops. This money should have been payed out months ago, if it had been paid out the country would not be under martial law. Long live The king and Thailand...

[Strangebrew]

Now this is the way to run a government give your word then make good on it fast as possible. I guess the Buck stops at the General.instead of making excuses find solutions problem solved Kudo's to the Coup leaders.