Jailing EC 3 will cause delays: Apirak
Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin said yesterday that the jailing of the three members of the Election Commission (EC) would cause proposed Skytrain extensions to be postponed, as the newly elected Bangkok Metropolitan councillors could not be endorsed until a new commission was appointed.
Following the verdict to jail the commissioners, the Bangkok Metropolitan Council (BMC) would not be able to convene in 15 days' time, in accordance with the Bangkok Metropolitan Admin-istration (BMA) Act, 1985, and this would affect the 2007 budget consideration, he said. A panel comprising the deputy clerk for finance, director of the BMA's Finance Department, director of the BMA Budget Division and the director of the BMA Legal and Litigation Division would be assigned to investigate budget-allocation guidelines, Apirak said. He said the city's fixed expenses such as salaries and utility bills would not be affected because he was authorised to withdraw 25 per cent of the 2007 budget for use in advance. The city's new projects - including construction of a 5.1-kilometre Skytrain extension from Mor Chit to Kaset Intersection at a cost of Bt1 billion - had to wait for the BMC to be opened and the 57 new councillors to consider the budget allocations first, he said. Apirak said he was confident that the new election commissioners would be recruited in August.
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