13 June marks Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt’s one year in office. The governor has used the occasion to announce the results of his work, adding that he was looking to amend the law so Bangkok City Hall would have more power over tax collection.
Chadchart asserted that after 365 days in office, he was still enjoying his work and had “more than enough energy” left to continue performing in the capacity of Bangkok governor. He noted that his 1-year work results stemmed from the cooperation of his team as well as the residents of Bangkok and partner networks, saying that the cooperation among these entities enabled work to be seamless.
The governor elaborated that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s (BMA) fiscal 2023 budget had already been concluded when he entered office in June last year. Budgets that funded the current City Hall team’s policies started to be distributed in earnest afterward when 9 billion baht of additional funds were secured.
Chadchart said the public can inspect his team’s undertakings at the http://openpolicy.bangkok.go.th website.
According to the governor, 5 main agendas were initially pursued by his administration, with efforts having been made to address longstanding underlying problems. He noted that these underlying “capillaries” help to make the main “arteries” of Bangkok strong. BMA civil servants had to adapt to a public-centered mindset change and greater engagement with the Bangkok public. Senior officials had to perform as role models for their subordinates. Technology such as Open Data, online permits issuance and telemedicine was used to increase efficiency and transparency.
Chadchart added that BMA executives also had to change their mindset about transfers and appointments, for the purpose of greater fairness, as well as avoid under-the-table fees collection. (NNT)
