The government has instructed state agencies to cut unnecessary expenses so funds can be diverted for crucial investments to drive economic growth.
Government spokesman Chai Wacharonke said on Thursday Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said the national budget must be spent in a way that achieves optimal benefits for the public and pushes the country's development forward.
Mr Chai said during a March 3 cabinet meeting, Mr Srettha was informed by the House committee tasked with vetting the 2024 budget bill and other subcommittees that budget requests from some agencies duplicate those from other agencies while their fixed expenses are higher than investment budgets.
In response, he said Mr Srettha had told deputy prime ministers overseeing plans to integrate the operations of state agencies for the next fiscal year to ensure their budget is spent efficiently without any duplication.
"The prime minister also instructed all state agencies to consider cutting unnecessary expenses such as spending on PR, training, overseas trips and expenses on the rental of vehicles," Mr Chai said. "They have also been told to submit documents electronically and hold online meetings more often as well as to curb new recruitment.
"They are allowed to recruit [new civil servants] only when necessary, in line with regulations and criteria set by the Office of the Civil Service Commission so the budget can be allocated for state investment to steer the economy forward," Mr Chai said, adding that the prime minister's instruction was endorsed by the cabinet on Thursday.
Mr Srettha also stressed that investment is crucial to the industrial, manufacturing and agricultural sectors, transport, logistics, and clean and green energy. These measures are intended to boost the country's competitiveness in the global economy in line with the country's financial standing and economic circumstances, the spokesman said.
According to a Government House source, the Secretariat of the Prime Minister on March 1 announced a procurement project for the renovation of Government House, worth about 138 million baht.
The project, which will be carried out in the current 2024 fiscal year, includes renovating the front lawn at the premises at a cost of about 498,000 baht, buying computer equipment worth about 4.3 million baht, improving the government's main website at a cost of five million baht.
The project also includes hiring suppliers to provide and install nine hand-woven wool carpets at a cost of more than 10 million baht, developing a digital office system worth more than 11 million baht, buying equipment for the development and installation of a cyber security system costing 58 million baht and buying a smoke detector system worth 32 million baht, according to the source.
The second and third readings of the 2024 fiscal budget bill will be held on March 20-21, following a delay caused by the transition from the previous to the current government. The current parliamentary session is due to end on April 9.
Previously, the opposition described the 3.48-trillion-baht budget bill for fiscal 2024 as a "lame duck", decrying the vague wording used to explain its spending targets and complaining about its potential inefficiency, among other issues.
Of the total budget, 2.53 trillion baht is allocated for fixed government annual expenditure, accounting for 72.8% of the total planned spending. Another 118.36 billion baht (3.4%) is designated to boost treasury reserves, 717.72 billion baht (20.6%) for investment spending and 118.32 billion baht (3.4%) for repaying loans. Of the loan repayments, 7.23 billion baht is for loans for state enterprise investments.
The top five ministries to which the highest allocations will go are the Interior Ministry, which sought 353 billion baht; Education Ministry, 328 billion baht; Finance Ministry, 327 billion baht; Defence Ministry, 198 billion baht; and Transport Ministry, 183 billion baht.