Drafters mull more clout at local bodies

Drafters mull more clout at local bodies

The Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) has endorsed guidelines to ensure more efficient decentralisation of powers and greater independence of local administrative organisations.

Under the new charter, the state will be required to empower local bodies and allocate appropriate funds to assist them in doing their jobs, said CDC spokesman Gen Lertrat Ratanavanich.

The CDC has also debated widely on the proposal that one-third of the members of local bodies must be women. The proposal has been put on hold because of differing views.

According to Gen Lertrat, the Thai name of the local bodies will be changed from pok khrong [govern] to borihan [administer] to better reflect their roles and responsibilities.

Their responsibilities include providing public services, such as transportation, education and recreational facilities, in cases where the national administration cannot provide them.

They will be encouraged to take an active role in management and protection of the environment and natural resources as well as to promote local art and culture, he said.

The CDC spokesman said two pieces of legislation will be needed to support the local organisations. One involves its financial resources while the other was related to the establishment of a body to oversee the process of decentralisation of powers.

Gen Lertrat allayed fears the decentralisation effort will affect the status of tambon chiefs and village heads, saying it will not affect the work of the Department of Provincial Administration under the Interior Ministry, which oversees so-called regional administration.

However, he admitted that once the local administrative bodies are strengthened, the role of officials in charge of regional administration will fade.

CDC chairman Borwornsak Uwanno said the key elements in the constitution's chapters on decentralisation of powers concern greater independence for local bodies, wider public participation in local administration, and capacity-building for the local bodies in providing public services.

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