Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has dismissed a rumour that the government plans to shut down the Thailand Creative & Design Centre (TCDC), saying he has ordered officials to look into whether the centre's funds are being spent effectively.
Speaking yesterday after a cabinet meeting, Gen Prayut said the Office of the Public Sector Development Commission (OPSDC) will run thorough checks on operations of all public organisations -- including TCDC, TK Park and Museum Siam -- to ensure their budgets are spent properly.
The OPSDC will also conduct performance appraisals and evaluate the management of each organisation. "Don't worry. I don't want to hurt anybody. We just want authorities to improve their performance," he said. The institutions will have three to six months to improve if they get a poor assessment.
Many public organisations have chief executive officers who earn a monthly salary of several hundred thousand baht -- three times more than ministers, according to Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam. "It's time their performance is scrutinised," he said, adding a total of 39 public bodies had never been checked.