BANGKOK – Opposition MPs accused the government of mishandling the COVID-19 crisis during the third day of House debate on three COVID-19 decrees on Friday.
The House of Representatives began the five-day debate on the three decrees on Tuesday. The first three days were devoted for the first decree that will allow a borrowing of 1 trillion baht for financial aid, health-related plans and economic and social rehabilitation projects.
The other two decrees authorize the Bank of Thailand to provide soft loans to help small- and medium-sized enterprises and to buy corporate bonds.
Seeking mammoth loans reflected the government’s failures in administering crisis management, one of the Pheu Thai Party MPs said.
Others accused Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha government for disproportionately distributing relief assistance for Thai people.
“The rich is getting richer while the poor faces hunger,” Pheu Thai’s Niyom Kama said.
Since Tuesday, the opposition parties have also attacked the government for unnecessarily imposing the emergency decree, leaving many businesses in peril.
Prayut government has maintained that the three executive decrees for a combined 1.97 billion loans and budget transfer are aimed at funding COVID-19 relief and stimulate the economy.
The prime minister and his Cabinet members stressed that the decrees were needed to stabilize the economy hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. They assured that allocations of the funds would be transparent. (TNA)
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