Pridiyathorn calls for revocation of off-budget funding to ThaiHealth and Thai PBS

[webfact]

Pridiyathorn calls for revocation of off-budget funding to ThaiHealth and Thai PBS



BANGKOK: -- The Constitution Drafting Committee was told by Deputy Prime Minister M.R. Pridiyathorn Devakula to modify the draft Constitution in a way that the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth), Thai PBS and Sports Development Fund will in the future receive funding from fiscal budget instead of directly from sin tax or earmarked tax.

Well-informed sources said the deputy prime minister wrote to CDC chairman Bovornsak Uwanno proposing modification of Section 204 of the draft charter regarding the allocation of off-budget funding from earmarked tax to organizations which are not local administration organisations or political parties.

The reason cited by M.R. Pridiyathorn to justify the modification was that the spending of the off-budget funds was not properly checked by representatives of the people and, as such, led to debt creation and legal obligations causing financial burden to these organizations.

The modification, if endorsed by the National Reform Council, will directly impact on Thai PBS and ThaiHealth each of which received funding amounting to 1.5 and two percent respectively of the sin tax per annum because allocation of funding will have to go through the fiscal budget and endorsed by the parliament, the sources explained.

Thai PBS receives not more than two billion baht a year from the earmarked tax.

Thai PBS policy committee chairman Narong Petprasert said Tuesday that Thai PBS would accept the new rule but he cautioned that the new rule might pave the way for possible political interference in the performance of the independent TV station in the future.

ThaiHealth manager Krisda Ruang-areerat, meanwhile, said it was a misunderstanding that ThaiHealth received a two percent cut from the six tax collected by the government. As a matter of fact, he explained that his organization and Thai PBS received funding from the two percent and 1.5 percent on top of the sin tax charged on liquor and cigarette businesses.

Sports Authority of Thailand governor Sakon Wannapong in his capacity as manager of National Sports Development Fund said that without off-budget funding, the 50 million baht annual budget from the government would be enough as rewards to national atheletes and not for sports development.

CDC spokesman Kamnoon Sitthisamarn said that, as a matter of principle, allocation of funds to all organizations must go through normal budgeting process.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/pridiyathorn-calls-for-revocation-of-off-budget-funding-to-thaihealth-and-thai-pbs


-- Thai PBS 2015-08-04

[catterwell]

The Thai Health Promotion Foundation, with its excessive budget, has been running amok. Health issues and promotion should be with the MOPH.