Bangkok: “Prit” has suggested merging agencies to reduce redundancy within the civil service system.
According to Thai News Agency, Prit emphasized that the 2016 budget fails to adequately prepare for the looming economic crisis. He proposed merging agencies to minimize duplication in the bureaucracy.
Mr. Pris Wacharasindhu, a party-list MP for the People’s Party, spoke about the draft Budget Act for the fiscal year 2026 (B.E. 2569). He stated that the Special Committee for the Draft Budget Act for the fiscal year 2026 (B.E. 2569) allocated insufficient funds to brace for impending economic challenges arising from agreements with the United States and an unpredictable global order, which could significantly impact various sectors.
Mr. Pris highlighted that the special committee’s budget was trimmed by only 8.92 billion baht to tackle the crisis resulting from US retaliatory tariffs. He argued that Thailand’s main issue is not the budget size but the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of its utilization.
He proposed reallocating parts of the budget from each ministry to address pressing public issues. This could include reducing spending on luxurious office buildings, underutilized application development, or seminars that do not yield significant results.
Mr. Pris identified problems in budgeting, such as project splitting, competing efforts, and task duplication. He noted that beneficial projects often overlap across multiple agencies, citing the example of labor skills upgrading platforms spread across five ministries without consolidation.
He pointed out that overlapping tasks at the mission level occur when agencies expand their missions, risking duplication. Similarly, at the agency level, new agencies are sometimes established with missions overlapping those of existing ones.
Mr. Pris argued that a serious examination of agency mergers could simplify government projects, promote resource sharing, and enhance unified efforts among government agencies. He warned that without reducing redundancies at every bureaucratic level, the country might deplete funds needed to address critical public issues and lack the flexibility to handle crises and new challenges.