Graft threatens national bankruptcy

Graft threatens national bankruptcy

Democrat Party list MP Ong-art Klampaibul says eight of the government's programmes are riddled with corruption and warns if it completes its four-year term, the country will end up being in so much debt it will be at risk of becoming bankrupt.

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He said if the Pheu Thai-led administration lasted its four-year term, it would leave the country heavily in debt and perilously close to bankruptcy.

He warned state-owned banks involved in the government's policies could be left in a parlous position.

Mr Ong-art accused the government of not being sincere about solving corruption and in fact had introduced schemes which were completely susceptible to being tampered with for personal benefit.

The eight schemes he claimed were rife with corruption were:

1. Procurement of flood relief supplies during last year’s floods, in which examinations by the Department of Special Investigation and the National Anti-Corruption Commission indicated there were irregularities in procurement deals.

2. The red onion-pledging programme in Si Sa Ket province, in which a sub-committee on policies and subsidy measures for agriculturalists said corruption caused 241 million baht in damage. 

3. The 2011-2012 cassava mortgage scheme in which several forms of corruption were reported, for example the circumvention of the mortgage scheme using imported cassava, reporting false weights and offering purchase prices less than the stipulated rates. 

4. The 15 billion baht-natural rubber price stabilisation scheme which was hit by a circumvention scam. Many rubber farmers did not receive financial handouts as a result of corruption among officials. 

5. The controversial rice-pledging programme which has been criticised as being vulnerable to widespread corruption, as the cabinet had approved a budget of 405 billion baht to extend the initiative into its second year. Mr Ong-art said findings by the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) found that only 35-40 per cent of the money under the scheme truly benefited farmers.

6. The Small, Medium and Large (SML) village funds. Mr Ong-art alleged some officials in the government were involved in selling substandard goods to villagers in the Northeast and withdrawing money from the funds using communities that did not exist. They also claimed the money had been given by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to thank the red shirts. 

7. The 120 billion baht post-flood rehabilitation and disaster prevention fund in which irregularities in the use of the money had been found in all of the 30 schemes in five northeastern provinces. 

8. The 350 billion baht water management scheme. The Democrat MP said although contractors had not been selected, there had already been allegations of abnormalities in the tendering for projects.

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