November 2011 : Flooding became national crisis Flooding became national crisis FROC director survived no confidence motion Economic impact of the flood Estimated flood damage Tablet PC assist with too few teachers Reducing Rice Pledging budget Energy credit cards start on 1/12/11 Telecom Plan approved 4 universities ready to be autonomous Flooding became national crisis In November, flooding in the Central region receded to almost normal, but in Bangkok it went from bad to worse when the northern, northeastern and northwestern areas including two adjacent provinces, Nonthaburi and Patumthani, became flood ways of diverted water. As the Chao Phraya River was already at its highest capacity, Tha Chine River in the west and Bang Prakong River in the east were designated auxiliary floodways. Bang Prakong River was effective in this role because of its higher terrain and effective flood prevention network that saved eastern Bangkok. But western Bangkok could not be spared and the area was submerged for a long time with an average depth of 1.00 m. People who thought they were being treated unfairly lost their patience and started protesting. Their dissatisfaction was quickly responded to but the outcome encouraged more and more protests. FROC’s inefficient operation forced the Prime Minister to restructure the agency to operate under her sole command and in better cooperation with the army. In the beginning of November, there were criticisms in social media networks and newspapers about FROC’s method of procuring flood relief materials. Differences in price between similar items led to debates in Parliament. The Opposition Party submitted a motion of no-confidence against the Justice Minister and FROC director, Pracha Promnog . The Prime Minister appointed 2 commissions: the Strategic Committee for Reconstruction and Future Development (SCRF) chaired by Dr. Weerapong Ramangkul, and the Strategic Committee for Water Resource Management (SCWSM), chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Kittirat na Ranong. Dr. Weerapong made visits to Japan to try to restore confidence amongst foreign investors. He also sought to reassure foreign insurance companies that the government was conducting a comprehensive water management plan. The government announced plans to provide Bt. 5,000 to every affected household. Both homeowners in the Household Registration and tenants with leases endorsed by a local district authority were eligible. Owners and tenants living in ground floor condominiums were also entitled if their accommodations were flooded. During parliamentary debate on the 2012 Fiscal Budget, Opposition Party leader, Abhisit Vejjajiva, criticized expenditures as not reflecting the current situation since the Budget was settled long before the flooding. He anticipated a higher deficit budget and noted that the lack of detail in the 120 billion baht alleviation proposal could lead to corruption. He called for the government to terminate populist schemes and concentrate resources on flood remedies. After a long debate, Agriculture Minister, Teera Wongsamut, confessed that he ordered officials to minimize the release of water from dams until farmers finished their harvest. “BIG BAG” a large sandbag retaining wall was effective in preventing flooding, but resulted in different flood levels on each side of the wall. This produced conflict amongst local residents. On 13th November, a group of frustrated people dismantled BIG BAG on the Vipavadee Rangsit Road causing floodwater to spill into the Prem Prachakorn Canal. In response, FROC lowered the height of BIG BAG until it became a model for other localities but both FROC and BMA had to work harder to solve flood problems. By mid November, flooding in Bangkok improved due to the effectiveness of the Bangkok water management network particularly in the eastern part of the city. Some inner areas of the city were flooded for a few days before drying but a few districts in north Bangkok remained flooding until the end of November. Their residents commuted by boats and military trucks. On 30th November, an official report stated that water still remained in 15 out of total 65 flooded provinces. There were 652 dead, 3 missing and a total of 1,800,043 households or 4,827,958 people affected. By the end of November, there were heavy downpours in the Southern region and 8 provinces were flooded. 9 deaths were reported and 134,853 households and 437,312 people affected. FROC director survived no confidence motion Following a motion of no confidence on the FROC director, the House of Representatives convened on 27-28 November and voted 273 to 188, with 5 abstentions and 15 no votes to save the Director of FROC and Justice Minister, Pracha Promnog. He was accused of failing to conduct proper flood management operation in 5 aspects: Inefficient flood operation, Poor communication that resulted in misunderstanding and conflict amongst the public, Abuse of power in appointing government MPs to FROC’s positions. The appointments were later cancelled, but his guilt was undeniable, Failure to distribute flood relief materials, and Allowing corruption in the purchase of flood relief materials. Economic impact of the floods The Secretary-General to the National Economic and Social Development Board, Akom Termpittayapaisith, revealed that economic damage from flooding was Bt. 1.3 trillion, equivalent to a capital loss of Bt. 200-300 billion. The impact caused economic growth rate to drop from the predicted 4.2% before the floods to minus 3.7%. GDP in Q4 also dropped by 8.7%. The Office of Agricultural Economic also estimated that 11.48 million rais of agricultural land were flooded causing a total loss was Bt. 76,673 million, equivalent to Bt. 14,646 million of agricultural GDP. As a result, annual growth dropped from anticipated 4.80% to estimated 0.96%. Though flooding caused paddy rice yield to drop from the anticipated 25 million to 20 million tons, it would not affect the domestic market as there is a supply of 10 million tons of off-season rice and 11-12 million tons in government stock. The total available supply is 42 million tons while annual domestic consumption is only 20 million tons. In addition, the current global economic crisis has diminished worldwide demand while there is increasing rice export from countries as such India and Vietnam. Payungsak Chartsutipol, the President of the Federation of Thai Industries disclosed that in October industrial confidence index dropped from 100 to 89 which is the lowest in the previous 26 months. The industrial sector was badly hit by the flood since important manufacturing industries such as: cars, electrical goods and electronics were located in the 7 flooded industrial estates. Production costs rose but productions, selling prices and sale volumes were down. For the industrial sector, its foremost concern was the internal political and social conflict that must be solved by reconciliation. The Office of Insurance Commission disclosed that flooded industrial and household sectors were insured at Bt. 754,398 million and their primary loss was estimated at Bt. 149,000-216,000 million. Insurance companies have no problem with paying out because they had reinsurance with international companies. Estimated flood damage Ms. Kirida Paopichit, senior economist, at the World Bank estimated that Thailand needs a budget of Bt. 756 billion to revitalize the country: Bt. 520 billion and Bt. 235 billion for private and public sectors respectively. In calculating these figure, the World Bank takes into account effects on four key areas: Public infrastructure: water management Bt. 69,100 million, transport and telecoms Bt. 25,500 million Manufacturing: agriculture Bt. 1,290, industry Bt. 151,000 million, financial Bt. 430,000 million Social: public health Bt. 3,629, education Bt. 14,000 million, social Bt. 21,800 million Others: environment Bt. 8,184 million The World Bank representative to Thailand, Mrs. Annette Dixon, said that the Thai government should have no financial difficulty, but the first priority must be to focus on flood prevention planning. Industrial relocation is not a big threat since Thailand is one of the most attractive countries for investments at regional and global levels. The World Bank has estimated that flooding had caused a loss of Bt. 1.36 trillion in economic opportunity and resulted to a fall of 1.2% to GDP growth rate. The growth rate would tumble to 2.4% instead of 3.6% as originally predicted. Nevertheless, according to Dixon, it is not all bad news. Growth would rebound next year as a result of rehabilitation and rebuilding undertaken by both private and public sectors. Tablet PCs to assist with too few teachers The Secretary-General to the Office of Basic Education Commission (OBEC) Dr. Chinnapat Phumirat said that currently there are no certain criteria for the provision of tablet PCs to 400,000 grade 1 students in OBEC schools countrywide. School preparedness should be the first consideration. Tablet PCs should assist with the insufficient number of teachers in certain topics such as mathematics, English and the sciences. OBEC had already settled hardware specifications so schools can conduct their own procurements accord to these. However, a tablet must not exceed Bt. 3,400 per unit. The Secretary-General to the Office of Vocational Education Commission (OVEC) Chaiyapruek Serirak, said that a budget of Bt. 1,800 million had been allocated since 11th November and will be reallocated to schools. OVEC has prepared some programs that can work with PCs and tablet PCs and will coordinate with higher educational institutions in writing more programs. Reducing Rice Pledging budget Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister, Kittirat na Ranong, revealed that the Cabinet resolved to reduce the Rice Pledging Scheme budget for 2011-2012 from Bt. 410 billion to Bt. 359.16 billion because annual rice production has decreased by 3.10 million tons due to the flood. Energy credit cards start on 1/12/11 On 29th November, Energy Minister, Pichai Naripthaohan, said that the Ministry had assigned PTT Public Company and Krung Thai Bank to be responsible jointly for issuing energy credit cards to taxis, three-wheel vehicle drivers and public mini-vans using NGV. It is estimated that in Bangkok and peripheral provinces there are a total of 65,500 vehicles and 130,000 drivers. Cardholders will have a monthly credit line of Bt. 3,000 or a total of Bt. 6,000. They will get a discount of Bt. 0.50 to Bt. 2.00 per kilogram when purchasing NGV at retail outlets. On 1st December, a pilot project will be launched for 100 taxis, 35 mini-vans and 15 three-wheel vehicles. PTT CEO, Pairin Choo-chot-tavorn, gave further details that cardholders must present 2 cards at the purchase point: the vehicle card and the driver card. Discounts on energy credit cards will operate between 16th January 2012 and 31st December 2014. Telecom Plan approved On 23rd November, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commissions (NBTC) approved in principle a Telecommunication Management Plan to: provide a fair distribution of public accessibility to the utilization of telecommunication frequencies. allow public participation in the accessibility and utilization of telecommunication. use telecommunication frequencies effectively and in accordance with technology. prevent interference of radio frequencies among various users and in accordance with international agreements and regulations. According to the Plan all designated public frequencies, except those under concessional agreements, are to be return to the state after the Plan had been implemented for 5, 10 and 15 years, for radio, television and telecommunication respectively. NBTC will inform public and private agencies and conduct public hearings on this matter. 4 universities ready to be autonomous The Deputy Secretary-General of the Office of the Higher Education Commission, Kamchorn Tatiyakawee, said that 4 universities have reaffirmed their intention to become autonomous, they are: Kasetsart, Khon Kaen, Silpakorn and Ratchabhat Suan Dusit. While another four: Sukothai Thammathirat, Ramkhamhaeng, Thammasart and Sri Nakarintaravirot, are waiting for the University Council’s final decision.