Leaders of the opposition have criticised the government’s economic policies for lack of clarity in terms of funding, time frames and details of implementation, saying that it would exacerbate the problem of income disparity and household debt.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha delivered his government’s policies to the parliament today, followed by a debate session in which key opposition leaders criticised the economic policies for lack of clarity, especially on how the government would fund the proposed projects.
“The government has only given a general outline of their policies without disclosing sufficient details to members of parliament, on agriculture in particular,” said Pheu Thai Party leader Sompong Amornwiwat.
On agricultural policy, Prayut stated that the government would guarantee income for farmers as well as implementing appropriate measures to stabilise the prices of agricultural produce.
Sompong questioned how the government would guarantee farmers’ income, criticising it for not releasing enough details of the budget plans.
He also recommended that the government should first reduce the level of household debt before inject money into the economy to stimulate spending.
“The level of household debt is currently at its highest level. If the government rushes to inject capital into the economy through welfare cards and other welfare policies, low-income earners will likely save the money to pay off their debt instead of spending it, contrary to the government's intention of stimulating the grass root economy," he said.
Prachachat Party leader Wan Muhammad Nor Matha added: “The economic policies lack substance and details. Their vagueness will not boost investors’ confidence in Thailand as it has no clear time frames for implementation, especially on urgent issues such as agricultural prices, income guarantee and economic stimulus measures.”
Korn Chatikavanij, a Democrat party member and former Finance Minister stated that the government should clarify the details of their economic policies towards the goal of economic sustainability.
Prayut also stated that the government will continue to maintain a high standard of financial discipline, undergo tax restructuring to expand its tax base and increase the efficiency of its tax collection system.
Secretary-General for the Future Forward Party Piyabutr Saengkanokkul commented: “The government’s promise on financial discipline and tax reform lacks transparency and clarity, especially when it plans to spend a large amount of capital in agriculture to stimulate growth and compensate farmers.”
The prime minister should explain how the government intends to maintain the level of financial discipline and identify the winners and losers of the new tax system, he said
The Nation
