The Ministry of Commerce has quashed rumors suggesting the government might downscale its highly anticipated policy to provide a 10,000-baht stipend through the digital wallet system.
Julapun Amornvivat, Deputy Minister of Finance, clarified this following the postponement of the digital wallet policy committee’s recent scheduled meeting.
The meeting was deferred, pending suggestions from the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) on the matter. Julapun emphasized the importance of listening to comprehensive opinions, stating that rushing the meeting could lead to accusations of haste.
When queried about whether the government remains confident in implementing the project by May, after receiving the NACC’s feedback, Julapun affirmed that the original target is still in place. Regarding news circulating about a potential reduction in the scale of the project from 500 billion baht to 300 billion baht, Julapun assured that no such discussion had taken place.
Deputy Minister Julapun also mentioned the emergency decree on borrowing as an alternative, should the borrowing act be unfeasible for the policy. However, he noted that the government has not yet considered this option, as issuing an emergency decree is a power reserved for the Cabinet, to be used as needed, and has not been discussed at this time. (NNT)
