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PETCHANET PRATRUANGKRAI
THE NATION January 31, 2012 1:00 am
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will chair a new agency set up soon to oversee an integrated plan for national water management.
The new body will command all related agencies to work together to prevent floods and resolve problems related to them.
The "single command agency" is part of a plan drawn up by the Strategic Formulation Committee for Reconstruction and Future Development. It will be submitted for Cabinet approval shortly.
Increasing complaints about the huge budget allocated for this task - and a lack of detail about overall water management - has prompted the government to accelerate setting up of the new agency.
Virabongsa Ramangura, head of the Strategic Formulation Committee for Reconstruction and Future Development, said an initial task would be to set up the country's first catastrophe-risk fund with Bt50-100 billion to ensure compensation for businesses in the event of disasters in the future.
In a speech delivered to the Thai-Japan Association yesterday on "Thailand's Strategic Measures for Water Resources Management", Virabongsa said a "single command agency" would seek to increase efficiency in water management now carried out by national, provincial and village-level officials.
To date, water management has been handled by many organisations with overlapping tasks but they have been unable to stop flood problems.
Being chaired by the premier, the new agency would find it easier to manage all agencies under it and achieve its goals. The panel would be made up of representatives from related government agencies as well as water management experts.
"The 'single agency command' will be like a Cabinet order which everybody must follow," he said.
As a short-term measure, it will order government officials to soon start clearing all canals, rivers and water channels.
The National Economic and Social Development Board was considering an outlay of Bt1.9 billion to fund post-flood reconstruction for short and long-term water goals, which the government wanted to see completed on schedule.
"With Prime Minister Yingluck chairing the new body, if there is any delay in implementation of the plan by any agencies, she can ask the Army to undertake water management tasks instead."
The short-term action plan would be implemented by October. And they were confident any new flood would not be as bad as the one that swamped Bangkok last year.
To cope with any flood, the government would also organise a "grand rehearsal" in August. People from the public and private sectors - related state agencies, industrial estates, etc - would be invited to join this event.
"I am confident Thailand will be able to prevent any [further] flood by at least 75 per cent," he said.
In regard to long-term measures, infrastructure such as roads and railways needed to be built. Serious work also needed to be done to protect forests.
The government plans to release excess water via several channels this year: to the East via Rangsit and into the Gulf, to the western coast near Samut Sakhon, and through Bangkok via Saen Sab Canal.
%CUR%Virabongsa said Thailand should have an agency free from political intervention to manage disasters in the future - floods, a tsunami, or storms - as disasters will be a key feature in national development.
President of the Japan External Trade Organisation, Setsuo Iuchi, said Japanese investors were very aware of the government's moves and hoped to see details and a schedule on flood prevention. Firms were considering whether to keep investing here, or to expand in other Asean countries.
Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, chief of Toshiba Thailand, said so far the government hadn't done anything to stop another flood. Companies had moved to protect factories, but they needed to see a clear plan to ensure transport links and key areas would be safe this year, she said.
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