BANGKOK, 17 September 2014 – Defense Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan is gearing up for expenditure planning for fiscal 2015 while admitting that a smaller budget has been set aside for his ministry compared to the previous year.
After the National Legislative Assembly’s deliberation of the 2015 budget bill came to a conclusion, Gen Prawit pointed out that there has been a reduction to the Defense Ministry’s allocation for the next fiscal year. The approved amount is 192.95 billion baht, equivalent to 1.4 percent of the national GDP, as opposed to 1.7 percent in 2014.
The minister has assigned newly-appointed Permanent Secretary for Defense Gen Sirichai Ditthakul to arrange a meeting with all departments and offices in order to draw up an expenditure plan in accordance with the given budget.
Meanwhile, Deputy Defense Minister Gen Udomdej Sitabutr commented on the ministry’s ongoing mission to resolve unrest in the Deep South, saying Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has already laid out a clear operational guideline. He affirmed the ministry will carry on with the security operations to its fullest ability and that improvements will be evident.
