Reform planned to make NESDB more ‘proactive’

The National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) must shift its role to focus on planning and mapping out a strategy for the country, says PM’s Office Minister Suvit Maesincee.

According to Mr Suvit, who outlined his policy yesterday to high-ranking NESDB officials, the state planning unit needs to be proactive and function more like a “future lab” capable of studying global changes and a “policy lab” advising the government.

“The world environment has changed rapidly and drastically, and the NESDB needs to come up with competitive measures to capture such global changes,” Mr Suvit said, mentioning the issues of the ageing society and urban planning and management.

The ageing society in particular requires suitable policies to handle the issue.

Mr Suvit suggested the NESDB set up a “research unit” to manage the future and policy labs and exchange information with global research centres.

The information exchange will make the NESDB more efficient, he said.

Founded in 1950 under the administration of prime minister Plaek Pibulsongkram as the National Economic Council, the NESDB’s primary mission is to provide the government with opinions and recommendations on economic issues.

In 1959, prime minister Sarit Dhanarajata restructured the council and gave it a new name, the Office of the National Economic Development Board.

In 1961, this office launched the nation’s first economic development plan to serve as a central framework for Thailand national development.

In 1972, social development was officially recognised as an essential part of the national plan. The newly renamed NESDB was brought under the Office of the Prime Minister.

The NESDB’s duties and responsibilities are to provide opinions and recommendations on national economic and social development to the cabinet; to scrutinize the National Economic and Social Development Plan and other proposals before submitting to the cabinet for consideration; to provide opinions concerning the economic and social development issues to the prime minister as requested; and to set up the coordination mechanism between the NESDB, concerned agencies and state enterprises regarding the planning and implementation of development programs and projects.

According to Mr Suvit, the NESDB’s representatives sit on 600 different committees — a cumbersome arrangement.

The NESDB also functions as a secretariat of the committee on national reform, strategy and reconciliation, per the order of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Gen Prayut has told the agency to come up with strategic development plans for all regions of Thailand.

In addition, the government has pledged to raise the annual budget of the NESDB from the current 600 million baht and recruit more quality people to work for the agency.