The government's 157-billion-baht economic stimulus plan is drawing mass attention and its share of critics. The government is to blame for the unwanted criticism because it has failed to convince the public that the huge budget will be spent wisely and transparently.
With ministries and state agencies now submitting proposals in a rush, the public is right to ask whether these projects deliver real value or simply throw money at familiar projects without solutions.
Among the top contenders for the funding is the Transport Ministry. Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit says his ministry has requested 56 billion baht, roughly 36% of the full package.
That includes about 4,000 projects from the Highways Department, worth 37.6 billion baht, and another 3,700 projects from the Rural Roads Department, totalling 17 billion baht. Projects under the departments, mostly for road construction, account for almost 98% of the total amount of the ministry's proposal.
The Highways Department often receives among the largest shares of public investment each year. Despite the huge sums spent on roads, the results on the ground often fail to inspire confidence in safety.
How many times have motorists seen roads crumble just a few years after being built? Why do repairs seem to go on endlessly? These patterns raise legitimate concerns over construction standards, project oversight, and law enforcement around issues like overloaded vehicles.
Meanwhile, local governments, which must maintain streets and public transport in cities, often struggle with limited budgets. This disparity in budget allocation is a long-standing problem, and won't be solved by another round of top-down allocations.
Oddly enough, while road budgets continue to rise, the number of road accidents and related fatalities in Thailand remains high. It's true roads can help drive economic development. Towns often grow where highways go. But does today's road spending actually support that kind of growth? Or are we just repeating old habits without thinking carefully about outcomes?
Originally, the 157 billion baht was meant to fund the next phases of the government's digital wallet scheme, giving 10,000 baht each to 15 million people. Now that plan has been paused, with the money redirected to economic stimulus plans amid global economic challenges.
The government is intent on spending the money on infrastructure, water systems, transport, tourism, exports, and local economic development. These are worthy goals, but how these plans are being conceived is questionable. State agencies were given less than a week to submit their proposals.
That's hardly enough time for thorough planning. It's no surprise that many of the 10,000-plus project proposals submitted so far appear to be recycled ideas or rough sketches, not fully studied or costed-out initiatives. Some may even overlap with programmes that already exist.
There's also still no clear explanation of how projects will be chosen, or what criteria will guide the budget allocations. This lack of clear purpose is fuelling scepticism among the public and taxpayers.
At this stage, the government must act as a responsible steward of public funds. That means choosing projects that are practical, measurable and well-managed, while doing everything possible to prevent corruption. If it fails, this stimulus measure will not revive the economy, but only deepen public distrust.