New unit under NESDB to handle inequality

New unit under NESDB to handle inequality

Part of government's pre-election overhaul

Passengers walk at Hua Lamphong station after using the free-train service. APICHIT JINAKUL
Passengers walk at Hua Lamphong station after using the free-train service. APICHIT JINAKUL

The government is setting up a new unit to specifically handle income disparity and poverty and evaluate the performance of the annual social welfare budget.

The move is part of the government's ongoing socioeconomic reforms that it wants implemented in the eight months before the scheduled general election.

Kobsak Pootrakool, the Prime Minister's Office minister, in his capacity as chairman of the committee tasked with driving social and economic reform, said the new unit will be under the state planning agency, the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), or the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), the NESDB's planned successor.

The cabinet on Tuesday approved a draft bill for the NESDC to replace the existing NESDB, with the goal of transforming the state planning unit into a think tank that shapes the country's long-term vision and mission.

The draft bill, which has already gone through a reading by the Council of State, will later go to the National Legislative Assembly for vetting.

The NESDC will also be allowed to hire private experts, both from Thailand and abroad, to conduct R&D to support the country's future development and social and economic reforms, as well as map out the 20-year national strategy.

Mr Kobsak said the new unit will work closely with the Budget Bureau in monitoring the use of the annual state budget allocated to address income disparity and poverty.

The new unit will be also tasked with conducting R&D to tackle such problems.

For fiscal 2019, the government has allocated 500 billion baht to finance state social welfare projects such as the 30-baht universal healthcare scheme and social welfare programmes for children, the elderly and the disabled, and 397.5 billion baht to battle poverty and income disparity.

Under the 20-year national strategy plan (2018-37), the government aims to narrow the widening income disparity gap in the country to 15 times over the next 20 years, down from 20 times.

The plan has the ultimate goal of narrowing income disparity, focusing particularly on the richest 10% and the poorest 10%.

To reduce the income gap, the government needs to focus on income distribution, economic development and legislative reform to give low-income earners access to education, economic opportunities and justice.

The government has prioritised the introduction of more policies to shore up the plight of low-income earners, who account for 20% of the population.

The national strategy aims to raise per capita income to US$15,000 (482,044 baht) a year, with average GDP growth of 5%. That goal further entails raising Thailand's competitiveness ranking to break into the global top 20.

Thai per capita income is $6,000 a year, while Thailand was ranked 30th in the IMD World Competitiveness rankings in 2018, slipping from 27th place in 2017.

Mr Kobsak said the government also plans to approve about 20 new laws related to social and economic reform over the next eight months in a fast-track effort to tackle poverty and income disparity issues.

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