BANGKOK, 5 March 2015 – Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has told state agencies to cut back on foreign study trips in order to save on budget, according to Deputy Government Spokesperson Major General Sansern Kaewkamnerd.
Maj. Gen. Sansern said that General Prayut had told state agencies to conduct self-monitoring in order to prevent and suppress acts of corruption, telling the agencies that they needed to act as role models in graft prevention.
According to the deputy spokesman, General Prayut has asked the agencies to consider reducing less crucial study trips abroad, and to consider inviting foreign experts to give lectures in Thailand instead of the more costly study trips. State agency executives, such as directors-general, who need to attend conferences abroad have been asked to consider economy class travel to save travel expenses. Officials with positions of deputy director-general and below have also been asked to travel in economy class.
The prime minister has also assigned the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology to work on development of mobile device applications that will provide the public with information on the undertakings of the government and updates of data relevant to people’s daily lives, such as the prices of produce and food items, Maj. Gen. Sansern added.
