Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has finally brought some clarity to the source of funding for the controversial digital wallet handout scheme, but many aspects of the scheme remain problematic, raising questions on whether it would see the light of day.
Srettha, who is also the finance minister, announced on November 10 that the Pheu Thai-led coalition government planned to borrow 500 billion baht to finance the digital wallet scheme promised by his party during the election campaign.
The government would propose a bill to Parliament for approval, an extra borrowing bill apart from the routine borrowing to finance expenditures under the annual budget expenditure for fiscal year 2024.
Srettha said all Thai citizens aged 16 years and above would be eligible to receive a one-time handout of 10,000 baht from the government in May next year. However, those who have a monthly…
