Ekniti pushes ahead with Thai Help Thai Plus Phase 2 after 26 million users, 160 billion baht in circulation
3▲0 ▼0Impact / 5
Ekniti Nitithanprapas, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, announced the continuation of the 60/40 "Thai Help Thai Plus" Phase 2 programme to sustain purchasing power and reduce the cost of living for the public. He said the programme's starting point was the Middle East crisis, which drove up oil and goods prices and squeezed purchasing power as incomes failed to keep pace with expenses. The programme caps spending at no more than 200 baht per day and gives priority to small traders in markets, street stalls and small shops. Over the past three months, about 26 million people have used the scheme and roughly 1.2 million small shops have taken part, generating more than 160 billion baht to shore up purchasing power. Shops in Bangkok accounted for only 16%, reflecting that the money spread to the provinces nationwide. Ekniti said the government cannot keep injecting aid indefinitely because it must maintain fiscal discipline, so it must accelerate efforts to reduce reliance on imported energy in the long term, including solar power, biodiesel from palm oil, and ethanol from sugarcane and cassava, in order to cut gas imports and reduce payments abroad while generating income for Thai farmers.