Ministry chiefs risk job loss if new law target not met
State agencies must expedite efforts to finish working on legislative bills within the 240-day time frame after the charter is promulgated or their chiefs will lose their jobs, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Kreangam has warned.
Mr Wissanu made the remarks after attending a meeting of ministry permanent secretaries at Government House yesterday to discuss their duties under the new constitution.
Apart from the constitution’s 10 organic bills which must be completed by the Constitution Drafting Committee within 240 days before they head to the National Legislative Assembly, some important legislative bills also must be ready by that time, Mr Wissanu said.
They include a bill on fiscal and financial discipline, a bill on gathering public opinions, and a bill allowing the public to take part in anti-corruption efforts.
State agencies which are responsible for drawing up the bills must finish them in time, or the chiefs of those agencies will be removed from their positions as stipulated by the charter, Mr Wissanu said.
He also said the Council of State, which is the government’s legal advisory body, and the secretariat of the cabinet will explain new work arrangements to state agencies over the next 12 months after the new constitution comes into force, setting the stage for the roadmap leading to the next general election.
Based on the new constitution, the election is expected to be held in the next 18 months or October next year at the latest.
According to a Royal Household Bureau statement in the Royal Gazette on Monday, His Majesty the King will today attend a ceremony at the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall where he will officially endorse the new constitution.
However, Mr Wissanu said he was confident that state agencies would be able to finish those bills in time because some of the bills are only amendments of existing laws.
Speaking after the meeting, permanent secretary for justice Charnchao Chaiyanukij said the Justice Ministry has been assigned to keep an eye on the ministries drawing up the bills.
Each ministry is required to report on its progress at the Justice Ministry’s website on the 30th of every month, Mr Charnchao said, adding the public can also check the website to follow the progress of each bill.
Meanwhile, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Busadee Santipitaks said foreign envoys in Thailand have been invited to attend the royal ceremony during which His Majesty the King will officially endorse the new constitution today.