Opposition parties resolved today to vote against the supplementary budget bill, on the grounds that the digital wallet scheme is not worth the huge expenditure, estimated at 450 billion baht, and will not help to boost the GDP.
The spending on the scheme may also be against the law and will set a bad precedent for national budgeting and fiscal spending in the future, according to the opposition parties.
Meanwhile, Move Forward Party’s deputy leader Sirikanya Tansakul, called on coalition parties today to vote against the digital wallet scheme, the flagship policy of the Pheu Thai Party, otherwise they may be accused of being accomplices in violating the law and could put the country at serious financial risk.
Today, the Lower House debated the government’s mid-year budget bill, seeking a 122 billion baht supplementary budget to offset the shortfall in funding for digital wallet scheme, after the government decided not to borrow from the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC).
With registrations to join the scheme due to begin in 15 days, Sirikanya noted that it remains a mystery as to which ministry or government agency will be responsible for implementing the digital wallet scheme, adding that it is also unclear how the 10,000 baht benefit, promised to the Thai people, will be disbursed. Two companies have won the bid to design the disbursement system.
For the time being, she said it appears that major retailing outlets stand to reap the lion’s share of the scheme’s 450 billion baht, because they have strong financial backing, while small retail outlets, which have weak liquidity, will scarcely benefit because they will not receive cash when they make sales to scheme’s participants.
The funding has been scaled down to 450 billion baht, on the assumption that only about 90% of those eligible will actually register to join the scheme, but Sirikanya said that continuing with the problematic scheme appears to be just a face-saving exercise by the government to keep its election campaign promise.
As the GDP projection for this year has been adjusted down, from 2.7% to 2.5%, Sirikanya noted that the government has not reassessed its revenue projections, which should decrease in accordance with lower than expected economic growth.
Given that revenues for the past eight months fell short by 26 billion baht, she said that there is a slim chance that the government will meet the revenue forecast.
“Yet, the government is seeking parliamentary approval for a 122 billion baht supplementary budget,” she said, as she asked whether the government will have any money left to deal with emergency situations.
Regarding the 100 billion baht for the Central Fund, Sirikanya said that, after seven months, the Central Fund has been barely been spent.
Money from the Central Fund should have been used to ease the financial burden of electricity and oil prices for the needy, or to ease the hardships of people from flooding and drought, but the expenditure has been held up because the government is hesitant to use the money in case it needs it for the digital wallet scheme, she claimed.
She also questioned the government’s plan to transfer the funding for the 2024 fiscal year to the next, noting that it contravene fiscal discipline principles.
