IN BRIEF
fiscal 2007 budget
Cabinet agrees to Bt517 bn for local administrations
The caretaker Cabinet yesterday agreed in principle to the Budget Bureau's proposal to allocate Bt516.6 billion to local administrative organisations in the fiscal year 2007, deputy government spokesman Danuporn Punnakan said.The agreement will be submitted to the Decentralisation Committee for consideration before it is proposed to the new government, he said. About Bt32 billion will come from income collected by the local bodies, Bt204.891 billion from the government fund and Bt279.687 billion from subsidies to help with the transfer of responsibility for education, public health and others from central to local government control. If the transfers do not go as planned, the government may need to amend laws, extend the transfer period or consider allocating a budget from similar or redundant projects of its own to the local bodies' mission. - The Nation. --------------------------------------------------------- INTERIOR MIMISTRY: Senior appointments postponed Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday ordered the Interior Ministry to postpone the appointments of more senior ministry officials as the first batch of proposed appointments endorsed by the caretaker Cabinet have not yet obtained royal approval, Government Spokesman Surapong Suebwonglee said. The Cabinet approved the appointments of 13 senior Interior Ministry officials last Tuesday and received the Election Commission (EC)'s agreement. But under the Constitution, a Cabinet can not exercise its power to appoint, transfer or dismiss a permanent government official without both EC and royal approval. The prime minister decided it would be inappropriate to endorse the new appointments before His Majesty the King had approved the previous decisions, Surapong said. - The Nation. --------------------------------------------------------- DEMOCRAT PARTY: Taikorn makes a sudden exit The Democrat behind the bombshell allegation that the Thai Rak Thai Party hired small parties to contest the snap election said yesterday he was leaving the party. Taikorn Polsuwan said he would devote his time to scrutinising the government "with the goal of bringing down the Thaksin regime". The Democrat Party had earlier set up a committee to investigate whether he was a qualified member of the party. Thai Rak Thai recently accused Taikorn of acting as a Democrat pointman in hiring smaller parties to join the three former opposition parties' boycott of the election. Democrat secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban denied that Taikorn was being forced out so that no incriminating links could be established with the party. - The Nation.
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