In her “Empowering Thais” programme broadcast yesterday (June 1) morning, Ms Paetongtarn said the spending shift responded to warnings from many parties including the Bank of Thailand, the National Economic and Social Development Council and the opposition regarding the impacts of negative factors including reciprocal tariffs from the United States.
According to the prime minister, the B157bn remaining budget from the handout scheme will fund water management projects including flood and drought prevention and the provision of clean water for consumption and water for farming and industries, reports the Bangkok Post.
“Water is a big issue for everyone in the country… Solutions will be costly,” Ms Paetongtarn said.
Apart from water management, money from the handout scheme will go to road projects to facilitate public transport and the logistics of products, especially perishable farm products, the prime minister said.
For tourism promotion, Ms Paetongtarn said that money from the handout scheme would be spent on convenient and clean facilities for tourists as well as on CCTV networks to ensure tourist safety.
The revised spending plan would quickly stimulate the national economy amid changing circumstances, the prime minister said.
The government has already spent about B185bn on the first two phases of the B10,000 handout scheme, with previous recipients including poor elderly citizens, people with disabilities and government welfare card holders.
Earlier, the Paetongtarn administration planned the handout scheme to cover people aged 16 years old and over whose wealth was limited and met its criteria.
Ms Paetongtarn said that the handout scheme would not be scrapped but would be delayed until the situation is more promising for its resumption.