BANGKOK, June 21 — Representatives of 56 state enterprises on Saturday attended a meeting with the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and were told that their board members must be efficient while their offices must be equipped with transparency and accountability, said an NCPO spokesman.
NCPO spokesman Yongyuth Mayalarp said participants who attended the meeting — held at the Army headquarters this morning and chaired by Gen Chatchai Sirikalya, deputy chief of NCPO supervising economic affairs — were told that the NCPO leader Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha wanted to see board members of state enterprises work for the benefit of the people.
According to Dr Yongyuth, participants were told by Gen Chatchai that only some state enterprises, such as those involving energy and the communications sectors still needed to be improved in order to create fairness for consumers and prevent monopoly.
The order was given as board members at several state enterprises have already resigned from their posts in order to pave ways for an NCPO-led reshuffle.
Quoting Gen Chatchai’s directive to the meeting participants, Dr Yongyuth said efficient and knowledgeable persons, particularly in management, marketing, finance and security fields would be recruited to join executive boards at state enterprises in the near future in a bid to promote transparency, accountability and efficiency.
Also, lavish benefits offered to board members at state enterprises in the past would be “reduced to an appropriate level” while disbursement of budget expenditure for fiscal 2014, which ends this September 30 must be asked if necessary only and “there must be no more corruption,” said Gen Chatchai.
State enterprises whose projects must be carried out this fiscal year and carry an investment of over Bt100 million must be proposed to the NCPO via the Finance Ministry for consideration, Gen Chatchai said.
In a related development, Panadda Diskul, deputy permanent secretary for Interior and acting permanent secretary for Prime Minister’s Office, said he would study the operations of MCOT Plc, as proposed by its workers’ union, carefully.
The MCOT workers’ union earlier asked NCPO to help in appointing the firm’s new board members who can be efficient in running the company, and also proposed that MCOT is ready to become a model for the junta to suppress corrupt practices prevailing at state enterprises.
