Governor responds to PBTA
Sujarit Pajchimnan, Governor of Chonburi called a meeting
of all civil servants in the province to enquire about Pattaya’s various
problems. This meeting, arranged by the Pattaya Business and Tourism
Association (PBTA), was held at the luxurious Royal Cliff Beach Resort
Hotel.
Before the meeting began, the Governor gave a brief outline of his policies
to civil servants on what he expects from them. He told them they must do
their jobs with efficiency and quality and as quickly as possible. He wanted
concrete results, especially in solving Pattaya’s problems. He said he would
give support, help and encouragement to civil servants at all times and give
advice in areas in which he had knowledge. He said there were monthly
meetings of the civil servants of Chonburi to examine the results of their
work. These results would be their measuring stick of their work. Those who
ignored or were not serious about their duties would be transferred
immediately. He said efficient work by the government would draw support
from the private sectors.
The Governor said for him to do his work efficiently he required full
co-operation from those working with him. He said that after learning about
the problems of Pattaya and Chonburi, he would have to consult with the
supervising officials concerned to implement solutions as quickly as
possible.
Ms. Panga Vattanakul, after welcoming the governor, told him since his
tenure as the Chief of Banglamung District, which ended 10 years ago,
Pattaya’s economy and tourism had become abysmal. She said the drop in
tourism was due to many factors. The natural environment had been degraded,
the city was drowning in garbage, the sea was filthy, both male and female
child prostitution were endemic, and Pattaya had earned the image of “sex
city’. She said the world had levelled an especially condemning eye at child
prostitution. This also caused government and non-government agencies in
foreign countries to ask tour operators not to promote Pattaya. She said
there were also problems with public utilities, communications and many
other problems and that she felt there should be more joint public-private
sector committees’ work on these problems. These committees had been
disbanded 2 years ago and she felt they should be reformed with the governor
at the head of them. The Governor agreed.
The Governor also talked about his ideas on how to revive the natural
environment. He said as Sukhumvit Road was the entrance to Pattaya, a
seasonal tree planting should be done. Sukhumvit Road would then have the
various trees flowering according to their season and the road would be a
year round attraction. The committee which did this would receive
appreciation from all people, Thai and foreign and not be the subject of
opprobrium. He said to have face you must earn it. He said anyone wishing to
work on this committee must work and not sit around being proud of the fact
that they were on the committee. Those who didn’t work would be transferred
immediately. Discussing the traffic problem, he said that more access roads
and short cuts must be built. He said that the traffic system must be
changed and footbridges be built. He said the responsibility for the
implementation of this work would be delegated to deputies who had knowledge
in various areas, but, ultimately, he would be responsible for the results.
He told the assembly that the central government’s main concern was the male
and female child prostitution problem. Saying he was emphatically informed
by the central government that this must stop, it was his job to see that it
was. This has been the major detriment to tourism in Pattaya as it is known
world-wide as a destination for those who are paedophiles. He said if he
found one case that he could connect to the concerned official neglecting
their duty, they would be transferred immediately. He told the Pattaya
police to take care of this with all possible power that the new laws had
given them.
He said that Tourism Authority of Thailand should also have a firmly set
calendar of all events happening in Pattaya and make sure that they are not
carried out in a slipshod manner. He said that usually by the time people
are informed about events they have already happened. The Governor said that
if poster campaigns were done and posters put up sufficiently in advance in
conspicuous places, people would know about them. Mr. Sethaphan Buddhani,
the director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand for region three, will see
to this mater immediately.
Aside from this, there were other problems which needed serious attention,
such as the baht-bus problem, the trash covering the city, the mushrooming
of the number of hotel rooms, the floods which inundate Sukhumvit Road, the
zoning laws for entertainment establishments, the building of the Rama 9
expressway, the international sports centre, the foreign Mafia and the
closing of the Bang Pakong Bridge, just to name a few.
The closing of the Bang Pakong bridge will have adverse effects on tourism
in Pattaya, as the Royal Roads Department has scheduled the bridge to be
closed from March to May, 1997. This is at the height of the tourist season.
The president of the PBTA, Ms. Sophin Thepjug suggested that a request be
made to delay the work on the bridge until after the high season. The Royal
Roads Authority is considering this now. The Association has also
respectfully requested the authorities to complete the work within two
months, if possible.
The Governor has assured all that he will attend to these problems in an
expeditious manner because, he said, he doesn’t know how long he will be the
Governor of Chonburi. He said these solutions must also be long-term, and
must also please the business community of Pattaya.
One of the problems the Governor said he could not solve was the U-Tapao
Airport project, which is governed by regulations and has yet to be
approved. These regulations concern the use of the airport as an
international aircraft service and repair centre, and, as are all other
aviation problems, are out of his hands.
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