Covid help needs work
As the Prayut Chan-o-cha government put in place a swathe of restriction measures — something very close to lockdown — to curb the Covid 19 outbreak, it started considering a rehabilitation scheme to relieve people’s hardships. It’s an open secret the government has tried to avoid a complete lockdown over fears of an economic crisis. The Monetary Policy Committee has warned that national GDP growth this year could drop below the 3.2% baseline projection due to lower international arrivals amid uncertainties over vaccine efficacy and reduced fiscal stimulus. Lockdown or restrictions on some service sectors like traditional massage parlours and spas place many out of jobs, and that will exacerbate the economic situation.
In response to criticism that the government is too slow, Gen Prayut this week pledged relief measures “within two months.”
The prime minister had instructed Supattanapong Punmeechaow, the deputy prime minster in charge of economic affairs, the Finance Ministry, the National Economic and Social Development Council and the Budget Bureau to find new measures to ease the economic impact caused by the new wave of infections. Gen Prayut said the government had enough money to help those affected. It is estimated that more than 40 million people are in need of help.
Currently, the state is making an impact assessment, the results of which are expected within a fortnight. Yet the state must not spend too much time in assessing the situation, given that it already has database of the recipients from the previous lockdown. The government must get its priorities right — assistance must go to those really in trouble, such as workers in closed-down businesses. It must also find immediate ways to ease financial burdens where possible, such as lower bank interest rates, delays in debt payments, and tax incentives for business operators.
Government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said measures to help those affected by the new surge of infections would be different from the first outbreak. That was because the government this time had not imposed a nationwide lockdown, and has only tightened restrictions in some areas. But the affected areas could be much larger than he originally thought.
For instance, some provincial governors have ordered fresh markets to close as a precaution, even though they are not in the red zone. It must be taken into consideration that some businesses have not fully recovered from the previous lockdown. The restrictions could hit them harder than anticipated.
More importantly, the government must learn from the mistakes of the first lockdown, avoiding all technical loopholes that hindered assistance that meant that those who were truly in need of help were unable to receive it as they were not on the correct list, or that help came for them far too late.
The Mental Health Department found the number of suicides in Thailand went up to over 2,500 during the first six months of 2020 when the coronavirus hit the country hard and the government announced lockdown measures. Many thought they were not qualified for the government’s schemes, or state assistance didn’t reach them in time.
The key is, all assistance must be relevant, timely and able to reach eligible recipients, and the registration process should be more user-friendly. On top of that, the government has to review unnecessary projects, such as military purchases, to ensure that all the money will be used to ease people’s hardships.