BANGKOK POST EDITORIAL: Save govt cash for real needy

If being judged on the government’s criteria by which recipients of the state welfare card scheme for low-income earners are selected, Bhumjaithai Party MP for Pathum Thani Phitsanu Poltee could have been one of them. Unlike many of his fellow Bhumjaithai MPs who are billionaires, his total assets amount to 5,064 baht in savings, and nothing else, according to the asset declaration he recently submitted to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

But Mr Phitsanu does not live in a state of poverty. He uses money from income generated from his parents’ poultry transport business and drives a car borrowed from a friend. If he applied for the welfare card, however, he would eventually get it.

His story has brought up, again, a debate on loopholes in the Finance Ministry’s process of screening applicants for the scheme, which depends mainly on their personal savings and property ownership records. Despite similar questions being raised following its introduction in 2017, the loopholes have yet to be fixed. And the number of recipients has now increased from 11 million to 14.6 million.

Yet, the new government has been quick to put more money in people’s hands via the scheme as part of its latest stimulus measures to boost the economy. For this and next month, each welfare card recipient will receive an additional cash handout of 500 baht.

Judging from the long queues of people waiting to withdraw the additional money from ATMs as featured on social media, this latest cash handout, which is costing about 15 billion baht in state funds, has made an impact. But whether or not those in the queues of people are eligible to get the cash is another question.

Welfare card recipients are supposed to be low-income earners or unemployed in accordance with criteria set by the ministry.

Apart from the additional allowance, each recipient receives a monthly credit of either 200 baht or 300 baht for grocery shopping at designated stores. Those residing in Bangkok and its six adjacent provinces get another 1,500-baht credit for public transport.

The Finance Ministry has insisted all recipients meet its criteria: being 18 years old or older, earning no more than 100,000 baht a year and having savings of no more than 100,000 baht. If they own property, it must be no larger than 25 square wah for a house or 35 sq m for an apartment.

But these criteria are not effective enough. Those with no assets or savings or income who live on cash from their well-off family can be eligible for the scheme. People running informal businesses not registered with commerce and tax authorities can also successfully claim the money.

There have been several cases exposed on social media suggesting that some welfare card recipients should be disqualified.

Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha seems to realise the problem. He said on Thursday that registration must be reviewed as complaints have come in that some recipients have nice houses, cars or land.

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In fact, the Finance Ministry’s Fiscal Policy Office earlier planned to re-evaluate the eligibility of cardholders. In June, it said it would replace the current individual income-based criteria with a family-based benchmark that will take into account the earnings and assets of an applicant’s family. Under this method, it is estimated that about 4.5 million current recipients will be disqualified.

Unfortunately, the government has rushed to splash out taxpayers’ money on the new cash handouts, forcing them to subsidise millions of the “fake poor”.