Graftbusters fearful of 'unrealistic' policies

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has voiced deep concerns over the likelihood of corruption cases resulting from the push for unrealistic populist policies by parties to win the upcoming election.

In an article entitled "How much have we lost to policy corruption?" published on its website on Thursday, the NACC analysed the amount of state budget required to fund the campaign promises of each political party.

The anti-graft body reasoned that it is committed to cautioning all voters, particularly grassroots voters, to question whether populist policies promised by the political party of their choice could truly be implemented without later hurting the country's budgetary security.

The Pheu Thai Party has proposed up to 70 policies and stated that it would require more than 3 trillion baht to fund them, the NACC said, noting that three of the most costly ones will need 1.36 trillion baht in funding.

The Move Forward Party has proposed 52 policies, which will require a total of 1.28 trillion baht to be implemented, it said.

The Palang Pracharath Party has proposed 14 policies, which will require about 1 trillion baht in funding when implemented, while the Democrat Party has come up with 11 policies that will need 685.4 billion baht, the NACC said.

Meanwhile, the United Thai Nation Party has also proposed 11 policies, which will require 250 billion baht in funding, it added.

Every political party is required under Section 57 of the 2017 organic law on political parties to submit to the Election Commission the details of their proposed policies so the EC can inspect the budgetary requirements, it said, added that it does so to determine policy worthiness, consequences and risks.

The EC will judge these policies when deciding whether or not they are aimed at misleading voters to boost the popularity of parties or candidates, an offence that could lead to a party's dissolution, it noted.

After analysing party policy reports submitted to the EC, the NACC said it found that several of them failed to provide clear enough details on how proposed policies could be implemented in the future. They only mentioned goals and budget requirements, it said.

Some political parties even tried to make the required budgets smaller than what is actually needed by vaguely claiming that the rest of the funding would come from sources outside the annual national budget, it said.

The budget for the 2024 fiscal year, starting October, has already been prepared, and the amount is only about 200 billion baht, the NACC said, adding that each aforementioned party had stated that they will require far more than what's been set aside.

Wanwichit Boonprong, a lecturer at the Faculty of Political Science at Rangsit University, criticised the NACC for issuing the article ahead of the May 14 election, saying the NACC is responsible for investigating suspected acts of corruption and trying to prevent them from happening, not to criticising political parties over their budgetary plans.

"This clearly shows the NACC itself doesn't believe in the existing corruption-checking system," Mr Wanwichit said. "Otherwise, the NACC would not have been that concerned [about corruption that has yet to exist]."

When asked if he agrees that a policy requiring a large budget to fund usually comes with a high risk of policy corruption, Mr Wanwichit said he agrees, but there are still independent bodies and civic groups who keep the government accountable in the implementation of campaign promises.

Deputy Pheu Thai Party leader Sutin Klungsang, meanwhile, said the party carefully studied its policies before presenting them to the public.

In his opinion, the amount required to stimulate the economy should never be used as the sole factor to evaluate such a policy. Although these policies may require substantial funding, Pheu Thai has already determined how its policies will yield economic value, he said.

Niwatchai Kasemmongkol, secretary-general of the NACC, said the agency does not mean to discredit political parties with the article.

However, it would like to ask the EC to scrutinise money policies introduced by political parties to determine whether they lack financial discipline and would lead the country into a financial crisis.

He insisted that the act was not intended to harm political parties. However, said he would like to issue a warning so the public can carefully think about the policies that may cause financial risks and burden the country in the future.

Source:
courtesy of BANGKOK POST

by AEKARACH SATTABURUTH AND APINYA WIPATAYOTIN

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