The Prime Minister revealed that the Cabinet has approved the exemption of electricity fees in September and a 30% reduction in October to help people in flood-affected areas. He also approved the rehabilitation of debtors of the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) in phases 2-3 and ordered a feasibility study to use the “State App” to report themselves and divide volunteer duties.
Prime Minister Paethongtarn Shinawatra said after the cabinet meeting that the meeting agreed with the proposal of the Ministry of Interior regarding measures to help with electricity bills for electricity users affected by floods in the northern and northeastern regions for electricity bills in September to October 2024. In September, there will be no electricity bills collected, and in October, there will be a 30 percent discount on electricity bills, which is set to be a discount before calculating VAT.
In addition, the Cabinet meeting also approved the Ministry of Finance’s proposal for debt repayment s
uspension measures for retail debtors in accordance with the government’s policy in phases 2-3, rehabilitating and developing the potential to rehabilitate debtors of the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) so that farmers participating in the project will receive continuous assistance from the government. Phase 2 will start from October 1 to September 2023, October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025, and phase 3 will start from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026.
The Prime Minister also revealed that from the opening of the hearing of opinions from relevant agencies and volunteer officers, he has ordered the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society and relevant agencies, including the Subcommittee of the NESDB and the NESDB to conduct a study on the feasibility of using the ‘State Path’ application in an emergency situation from this flood incident, to be used for volunteer reporting, to divide duties and responsibilities, and to be used for reporting emergency incidents. He has received
advice that volunteer reporting to help the people involves duplicate reporting, which wastes time. He is preparing to use the application for registration to receive compensation and to coordinate with officials to integrate them in order to speed up the government and public sectors, including expediting the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) to implement the emergency warning system or Cell Broadcast Service in order to warn the public more effectively and quickly.
When asked whether the public should download the app to use in the future to pay compensation and check their rights, the Prime Minister revealed that the digital wallet project had been publicized to allow people to download the app because in addition to registration, it is also an extension to provide convenience, whether it is compensation or other matters, which the government is trying to develop this system to directly link information to the public as much as possible. When we pay money for speed, when the governme
nt has to pay compensation, it will be faster. Therefore, the public is asked to download the app and register by filling in all important information.
Source: Thai News Agency