PM Has Some Big Plans for Phuket

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has proposed forming an executive board to speed up development in Phuket, a move some say would interfere with local authorities. Mr Samak did not go into detail when floating the idea during his weekly TV programme yesterday, only saying the 15-member board should be made up of government and provincial representatives.

Its duty would be to oversee developments on the country’s most popular resort island, as work on Phuket’s development was slow and without clear direction, he added. The proposed board would end the problem of provincial officials having no authority to make decisions on important matters and depending on directions from Bangkok, said the prime minister.

Mr Samak will discuss the matter with Interior Minister Chalerm Yubamrung soon.

The prime minister also said the government would divert water from the Ratchaprapha dam in Surat Thani to solve the water shortage on the tourist island and its two neighbouring provinces of Krabi and Phangnga. He would soon set up a committee to make a feasibility study of the estimated three-billion-baht project.

Paiboon Upattisin, Phuket’s new president of the Provincial Administration Organisation, thanked Mr Samak for his concern about slow development of the island. “But I disagree with his idea because I don’t know exactly how much authority this planned committee will have to develop Phuket and solve its problems,” said Mr Paiboon, also a former Phuket senator. Instead of establishing a committee, he suggested the government allocate a bigger budget to the province in view of the unexpected growth in tourism and the huge influx of people from other provinces in recent years.

He said Phuket only received about 20 million baht every year for development and that was not enough to solve existing problems such as pollution, traffic congestion, wastewater management and the shortage of water.

Wuthisarn Tanchai, the deputy secretary-general of King Prajadhipok’s Institute, said he could not say now whether the planned panel will overlap the work of the existing local administration. “I disagree [with the idea] if it interferes with 19 local administration agencies in the province and if it is set up to serve political purposes,” Mr Wuthisarn said. The academic, who is an expert on power decentralisation, also suggested the government conduct a study about turning Phuket into a special administration zone like Bangkok and Pattaya.

Written by Anucha Charoenpo
Published on Bangkok Post - bangkokpost.com