The government says it will kick off the 35-billion baht Village Fund end of this month with the money to be injected within six months.
The minister attached to the Prime Minister’s Office Mr Suwapan Tanyuwattana revealed that Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha will chair a ceremony to launch the Village Fund Scheme on February 19.
He said on the launching ceremony, a technical seminar will also be held on that day to boost understandings of concerned parties about the scheme implementation.
Last year, the Prayut government agreed to revive the scheme to help strengthen the local economy.
Mr Suwapan said the total budget worth 35 billion baht will be disbursed to the villages through projects within six months.
He said every project proposed to the government needs to be approved by people in a local referendum and by the project’s members.
A panel composing of representatives from the government and people sector, civil society, the private sector and the banking sector will also be set up to approve each project, he added.
According to the minister, the money will be transferred into a newly-opened bank account called “Pracharat” for each approved project to ensure good management.
The scheme is also opened to new projects.
He said efforts will be made to ensure no duplication of similar projects while each project needs to be designed for collective benefits and sustainable development.
To ensure transparency in each project, authorities will suspend the project if it is found to have red-tape and the money returned to the state, he said.
Representatives from each projects’ members will be selected to assess the project, he added.