March 19, 2024
BANGKOK – The Move Forward Party on Tuesday vowed to attack non-transparent government projects and those with inflated prices during the second reading of the fiscal 2024 budget bill on Wednesday.
Pakornwut Udompipatskul, a Move Forward party-list MP and the chief opposition whip, said the party would assign its MPs on the special House committee that is vetting the bill to take charge of the debate during the second reading.
Pakornwut said Move Forward MPs would focus on projects that they have found to not be worth the money assigned in the budget, mostly because of inflated prices.
As well, some of the proposed projects were found to lack transparency, especially those of the Defence Ministry, he added.
Pakornwut said Move Forward MPs on the budget panel had previously reserved their right to ask the House to cut or trim the budget for such projects during the second reading, when the budget bill will be deliberated article by article.
He added that several of the Defence Ministry’s projects were seen as lacking transparency and Move Forward would highlight just a portion of them.
He said Move Forward is hoping that the second reading debate would send a warning signal to government agencies to prepare their fiscal 2025 budget with transparency and reasonable costs.
He added that Move Forward had not yet heard from the Democrat Party its plan for the second reading of the budget bill.