A much-anticipated meeting of the board overseeing the government’s digital wallet programme ended on Thursday with the establishment of a sub-committee to thoroughly study all rules and regulations and report back in 30 days.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said afterward that the new panel would look into the concerns and suggestions raised by the Council of State and the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).
Mr Srettha, who is also the finance minister, denied that the project was falling behind schedule, saying it still fell into the timeframe set by the government. Its introduction has been pushed back to May from an original target of February, and might yet be delayed further.
“I have never said whether the project would be deferred or not because it is still within the study timeframe,” he said. “It all depends on the study of the sub-committee.”
The handout of 10,000 baht in digital cash to 50 million people was the signature economic policy of the Pheu Thai Party during last year’s election campaign. The government plans to borrow the 500 billion baht needed to finance the scheme.
Mr Srettha has said that the cash handout will deliver the consumption-led stimulus the sluggish economy needs. But the huge sum required has raised questions about public debt and sustainability.
Government spokesman Chai Wacharonke said the new study would out an end to all worries ahead of the launch of the programme.
The Council of State, the government’s legal advisory arm, has highlighted the need to carry out the project by adhering to financial discipline, while the anti-graft agency has expressed concern about loopholes that could possibly lead to corruption.
The NACC has also questioned the government’s repeated declarations that the country is facing an economic “crisis” in order to justify the handout scheme.
High interest rates and household debt are the main negative factors weighing on the economy, Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat told reporters.
“The economy is fragile and so the government will continue with its stimulus policies,” he said.
The Ministry of Finance recently cut its 2024 economic growth forecast to 2.8% from 3.2%, and has estimated that the economy in 2023 expanded by only 1.8%, down from 2.7% estimated earlier.
The National Economic and Social Development Council is scheduled to release official 2023 growth figures on Monday.
