The digital wallet handout scheme sparked a fierce debate in parliament on Thursday, with Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin facing off against the opposition for the first time to defend the government's flagship policy.
Sirikanya Tansakul, deputy leader of the main opposition Move Forward Party, grilled the prime minister over the digital wallet programme and the government's handling of the economy.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin answers opposition questions raised during Thursday's debate. (Photo: Srettha Thavision Facebook account)
"I would like to thank the prime minister for showing up in parliament and recognising its importance.
"This is the first time the prime minister has come to answer questions from the opposition, and [I hope] it will not be the last," she said.
She criticised the government for confusing the public by scaling back the number of recipients eligible to receive the 10,000-baht digital money bonus from 50 million to 45 million.
This means the funding required for the scheme would be reduced from 500 billion to 450 billion baht, she said.
"Several people are wondering what is happening to the scheme. The criteria and details change all the time. Does this mean the government cannot find enough funding for the scheme?" she said.
In response, Mr Srettha said he recognised the importance of parliament and had no intention of avoiding questions from the opposition.
Regarding the reduced funding for the scheme, he said the government will use existing data from past welfare handout programmes to gauge how many people would register for the scheme so authorities could secure the funding accordingly.
"We have considered the matter carefully to ensure the handout scheme is in line with rules on budget spending," he said.
The prime minister said the handout scheme is intended to boost the economy in provinces with low economic growth rather than major provinces and cities. He said more details of the scheme will be released on July 24.
Initially, the government planned to hand out 10,000 baht each to 50 million people over 16 years old.
Only Thai citizens are eligible for the handout. To be eligible, they cannot earn more than 70,000 baht per month or 840,000 baht per year.
Recipients can spend the money within the districts listed on their ID cards.
On Wednesday, Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat, also chairman of a sub-committee working on the details of the handout programme, said the sub-committee agreed on a proposal to set aside only 80% to 90% of the overall 500-billion-baht budget.
This followed a study by the Fiscal Policy Office (FPO), which found that not all eligible parties actually registered for the previous government's welfare schemes.
These proposed changes to the budgetary planning for the handout will mean the scheme would no longer need loans from the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), as previously needed, said Mr Julapun.
Funding for the project will come from the 2024 fiscal budget and the 2025 fiscal budget, respectively,
To be taken from the 2024 fiscal budget is 122 billion baht earmarked specifically for financing the digital wallet scheme, and the other 43 billion baht is expected to be diverted from budgets that are not disbursed in time, he said.
In the 2025 fiscal budget plan, 152 billion baht is earmarked for funding the handout scheme, while 132 billion baht more will be diverted from budgets left unused this fiscal year.
