National strategy panel set up
The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) has set up a 38-member committee to study the draft 20-year national strategy in 22 days before sending it back for endorsement next month.
The move came after the assembly convened yesterday to consider the draft national strategy presented by the cabinet. After four hours of debate, the meeting agreed to set up the committee to study the draft and resubmit it to the NLA for endorsement by July 7.
The country’s first 20-year national strategy’s draft faced hurdles during the reading as some NLA members still found its guidelines lacked clarity.
“Developing and empowering human capital must be handled with clear guidelines and goals. Failure to achieve these goals will threaten the success of the remaining five goals of the 20-year plan,” Tuang Antachai, an NLA member said.
NLA member Klanarong Chanthik said he thought the plan for rebalancing and adjusting state administration, which is part of the strategy, still lacked substance.
“The strategy emphasises transparency to prevent corruption. However, everyone knows that favouritism is a poison. There is no clarity on how we will pursue these goals,” Mr Klanarong said, adding the way to effectively tackle favouritism and corruption is to set up a solid framework which protects those who expose such crimes.
The military regime hopes the 20-year national strategy will help Thailand have a continuous set of goals to achieve without interruption.
The strategy will make it legally binding for future governments to fine tune development policies, and ensure their budgets are aligned with it.
Under the National Strategy Act which took effect on Aug 1 last year, the NLA must endorse the draft national strategy within 30 days of it being presented by the cabinet.
Addressing the assembly, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said the country has never had a formal national strategy and the draft, if approved, will be the first.
What has been most similar to a national strategy is the national social and economic development plan issued every five years by the National Economic and Social Development Board, he said.
“But if we think of long-term goals the country needs to achieve, we have to look beyond five years. Investors want long-term plans so we’ve come up with a 20-year national strategy. Implementation will begin this year,” Mr Wissanu told the assembly.
However, the deputy premier tried to allay concerns the strategy will impose a straitjacket on future governments, crippling their ability to run the country.
The strategy law stipulates that it can be reviewed and adjusted every five years to respond to changing circumstances, Mr Wissanu said.
PM’s Office Minister Korbsak Pootrakool told the assembly that a long-term strategy is needed to address a lack of continuity. Often, projects initiated by a government are scrapped and replaced when a new administration takes office, he said.