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 September 2010 : Supreme Court Halted 3G Service
Supreme Court halted 3G Service On 23rdSeptember, the Supreme Administrative Court affirmed the Central Administrative Court’s grant of an injunction against the National Telecommunication Commission’s (NTC) licensing plan for the provision of the 3G wireless broadband service. The Supreme Administrative Court found that NTC’s invitation to bid announcement, dated 23rdJuly 2010, was irregular. There had been no joint-committee to organize the National Telecommunication Master Plan and the Frequency Management Plan, as required by the Telecommunication Act of B.E.2543. The petition was filed by the Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT), the Thai state-owned telecommunication company that owns Thailand’s international telecommunications infrastructure including international gateways, satellite and submarine cable network connections. The grounds were that according to the Constitution, NTC had no authority to grant licenses since that authority belonged to the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC). However, NBTC had not yet been created and the Bill to create it is still before Parliament. Further, under draft NBTC law, there must be certain procedures prior to the granting of licenses, e.g. selecting NBTC commissioners, drawing up its frequency master plan, announcing bid regulations, auctioning and issuing the license. It is therefore, anticipated that it would be at least 2 years before NBTC is fully operational. New Amnesty Bill On 16th September, the meeting of the Government Whip decided to withdraw the Amnesty Bill from the House of Representatives in order to allay objections from coalition parties. Later, a new 9 article-draft was proposed, in principle to pardon everyone involved in protests between 19th September 2006 and 31st May 2010. Amnesty would be granted to all wrongdoers, supporters, followers and state officials in Bangkok and the provinces. The Amnesty Bill is a part of the roadmap to reconciliation, advocated by Newin Chidchob, leader of the Bhumjaithai Party. Ratchadapisek land purchase void On 24th September, the Civil Court ordered the Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF), an affiliate of the Bank of Thailand, to return the purchase price of 772 million Baht with interest at 7.5% per annum, starting from 25th November 2009, to Khunying Pojaman Damapong, ex-wife of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. On 21st October 2008, the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions decided that Thaksin breached Articles 100 and 102 of the National Counter-Corruption Act B.E. 2542 in facilitating his wife to purchase 33 rais of land at a discount price of 772 million Baht from the FIDF. Following the decision, the Attorney-General filed a petition seeking a ruling that the purchase was void. Khunying Pojaman counterclaimed for the return of the purchase price, damages for the architectural fee of 39 million Baht and interests. As the Court decided that the purchase was void, it ordered FIDF to return the purchase price with interests to Khunying Pojaman. Govt advised to replace BMTA with private On 30th September, the National Economic and Social Advisory Council (NESAC) proposed that the government grant public transport concessions to private companies. At present the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority’s (BMTA), the public transport agency, has debts of 70 billion Baht, increasing at the rate of 12 million Baht daily or 3 billion Baht annually. If the concessions are granted, the government would immediately receive a down-payment of 80 billion Baht plus a monthly income of 1 billion. Moreover, NESAC noted that the hiring of 4,000 NGV buses will not alleviate BMTA financial problems. Eight Bills sailed through the House On 29th September, the House of Representatives approved 8 Bills which the Senate had amended. They are:
Another two amended by the Senate, the Organic Law on Counter-Corruption and the Government Pension Fund failed to pass the House. AMLO panel approved On 29th September, the House of Representatives approved the appointment of 9 honorary panel-members of the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO). They are:
These names had already been scrutinized by the House’s Extraordinary Committee, so they will be submitted to the Senate for approval. One card fits all The Ministry of Public Health announced that in order to improve efficiency for 48 million people under the National Health Care Program, as of 1st October 2010, personal Identification Cards (ID) can be used when applying for medical care in registered hospitals. Moreover, in case of accident or emergency, ID cards can be used for admission to the nearest hospital. The Health Care Scheme currently covers all medical conditions including AIDS, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, and kidney disease excluding dialysis, for which the patient must pay 500 Baht per treatment. Joint-committee to scrutinize NBTC Bill On 29th September, the House of Representatives decided 296 to nil to reject the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission Bill amended by the Senate. Instead, the House appointed a 22 member joint parliamentary committee to consider it. Article 147 of the Constitution which authorizes the joint-committee, however, does not limit the length of time required to consider the amendment. More loans for victims of Red Shirts On 28th September, the Cabinet approved a further 5,000 million Baht Finance Ministry loan for small and medium enterprises affected by Red Shirt violence in April and May 2010. The loan, divided into tranches of 3,000 and 2,000 million Baht, will be granted through the SME Bank to those who have not received insurance compensation. Previously, a sum of 10,000 million Baht had been authorized to help those businesses in the Ratchaprasong area and it was reported that 5,000 million Baht had already been used up to 1st September. Deputy PM to run in Surat Thani by-election Executive members of the Democrat Party unanimously approved the resignation of its Secretary-General, Suthep Thaugsuban, and nominated him as the candidate in the by-election in Surat Thani province. That seat was vacated when the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions ruled that former Democrat MP, Chumpol Kanchana, was guilty of falsifying his assets and stripped him of political rights for five years. Suthep is also Deputy Prime Minister, so he is expected to resign from the Cabinet on 8th October. Five billion for Thai Kem Kaeng On 28th September, the Cabinet approved the Finance Ministry’s proposal to allocate a further 5,612.24 million baht to 17 new projects in the economic revitalization scheme, known as the “Thai Kem Kaeng 2555” (Thailand: investing from strength to strength). The Ministry is authorized to borrow this amount and to extend contractual and implementation deadlines. However, projects that cannot be implemented in time are to be cancelled and funds returned to the Ministry. Public debt management plans On 28th September, the Cabinet approved a Finance Ministry’s Public Debt Management Plan total 1.29 trillion Baht for 2011 fiscal year. The Plan comprises of 3 sub-plans as follow;
TOT to expand 3G network On 28th September, the Cabinet approved a TOT Public Co. Ltd. business plan to re-structure its organization and to establish an affiliate company to provide services for the new 3G wireless broadband. It is anticipated that total investment would be approximately 190 billion Baht, 100 billion less than the previous estimate. In order to save costs, the new company will also use TOT’s existing network. GDP expected 7.5% this year The Fiscal Policy Office increased its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) forecast for 2010 from 5.5 to 7.5 percent due to a 3.4 percent rise in inflation in July. For 2011, GDP is expected to grow at 4-5 percent with inflation at 3.5 percent. The policy is for the rate of interests at the end of 2010 and 2011 to be at 2 and 3 percent respectively. ATM fees to increase next year On 27th September, the Governor of Bank of Thailand stated that as of 1st January 2011, ATM fees will be as follow;
These new fees have been agreed by all commercial and state-owned banks. |
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