The government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday proudly presented its achievements after having assumed management of the country two years ago, following the the May 22, 2014 coup.
The government bragged about the fact it has managed to bring about a period of peace to the country that has consequently resulted in an improving tourism industry. Gen Prayut stressed Thailand was in chaos before he and his men in uniform stepped in and laid out a strategy for the country.
He reiterated the relevance of the 20-year strategy he has laid out while at the same time saying that Thais were now "smiling" once again after a period of "awkwardness".
There is no doubt that a lot of things have improved. Among these improvements is the sharp decline in corruption, especially in the public sector which was famous for having a bad track record.
The country's transparency rating has indeed gone up and these are issues that we need to be happy about. But behind this rosy veneer are major issues that still need to be addressed.
A clear example of problems that need more attention is the fact the economy continues to remain wobbly. While we have seen the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) raise the country's gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate projection for this year from 3.1% to 3.2% thanks to some stimulus from the government, the overall outlook in terms of consumption and private investment remains grim.
According to the MPC, private consumption was likely to see a growth rate of a mere 2.7% from the 1.8% growth projected earlier while private investment growth was trimmed to 1.3% from 3.1% projected earlier.
If one takes a look at economic growth, there are a few key indicators of particular relevance, and one of them is private investment, as this is what provides a glimpse into the confidence investors have in the manufacturing sector.
A decline in confidence would indicate lower investment and this would then lead to a lower number of jobs being created, effectively thinning the wallets of average Thais.
This notion of slimmer wallets is evident from the fact that overall household debt has remained high in the country. The average Thai continues to borrow money to keep the basic necessities flowing into the house.
The latest survey by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, out yesterday, cements this notion, as the survey has found household debt has reached a nine-year high.
The survey says the average household debt stands close to 300,000 baht. The survey also showed a double-digit debt growth rate in households can partially be blamed on the country's economic situation.
Consumption, private investment and exports along with public investment are the key driving forces of GDP growth, but many of these engines are starting to slow down.
The export sector continues to stumble amid a global economic slowdown and the MPC expects exports to decline by 2.5% this year.
Also, one of the key approaches to boosting GDP growth, pouring money into infrastructure projects, is far from materialising.
Many of the big infrastructure projects earmarked by the government, such as rail transport, are still on the drawing board although some projects are starting to take shape.
The government needs to push public investment to make a real impact on GDP growth.