Army ready for aerial patrol scheme investigations, Prawit says
The army is prepared for any investigations that may be carried out into its controversial 340-million-baht aerial patrol project, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said yesterday.
Gen Prawit was asked by the media to comment on the controversy surrounding the scheme.
He admitted the rarely used airship, which was part of the patrol project, was thought to be a good acquisition initially but after it was used it was found to be unable to carry several people at a time.
The Office of the AuditorGeneral (OAG) may look into the spending in the procurement of the airship if necessary because the army is confident that it used the allocated budget honestly, he said.
Political activist Srisuwan Janya, also secretarygeneral of the Association to Protect the Thai Constitution, previously petitioned OAG to investigate the matter.
Mr Srisuwan said if irregularities are uncovered, the OAG must forward its findings to the National Anti-Corruption Commission to punish Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda, who approved the purchase of the blimp when he was army chief.
Mr Srisuwan’s petition also targets former cabinet ministers of the Abhisit Vejjajiva government which approved the budget for the purchase and operation of the airship.
Auditor-General Pisit Leelavachiropas has also vowed to scrutinise the purchase.
The airship’s past performance will be assessed to find out whether it was worth spending national funds to buy it in the first place, and if something irregular is detected, various agencies will investigate further, according to Mr Pisit.
The blimp, which went into service in 2009, was decommissioned recently. The decommissioning was confirmed by army chief Chalermchai Sitthisad last week.
Asked what the army will do to take responsibility for wasted state budget, Gen Prawit said the army intends to prevent both soldiers and civilians from being attacked and the loss of lives cannot be measured in monetary terms.
On Friday, Gen Anupong came out in defence of the army patrol project, explaining the airship itself cost well under 100 million baht, and other systems, including cameras, are still usable and have been removed to equip helicopters.
He also said he would not object to a malfeasance probe to clear up any lingering doubts about the project and counter any inaccurate information.
After the airship went into service in 2009, leaks were detected in it, and since refilling with helium is costly, the airship was mainly kept at a hangar at the 15th Infantry Division in Pattani’s Nong Chik district, until Prime Minister Prayut Chano-cha became the new army commander.
The army reportedly had to spend up to 25 million baht in some years on refilling the airship with helium, even though it was almost never used.
Gen Prayut, as army chief, approved the hiring of a private company to maintain the airship at a cost of 50 million baht a year, which allowed the blimp to be flown again occasionally for surveillance.
The airship, however, was criticised as being substandard and it ended up stuck in a hangar until its useful life expired.