[Thailand] Thaksin confident anti-poverty programme will work

From TNA English News

ROI ET, Jan 17 (TNA) – Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra expressed confidence in the government's anti-poverty scheme which is being demonstrated on live television broadcast from At Samat district of Roi-et.

Mr. Thaksin, on the second day of his visit to the northeastern district Tuesday, concluded that most At Samat villagers had been affected by flooding, droughts and lack of land on which they could carry out their occupations, mainly different kinds of agriculture.

The prime minister's visit to the district, broadcast live as a so-called 'Reality Show' on the nation's biggest pay-TV channel, is designed to prompt government officials to resolve the problems affecting the impoverished villagers.

However, Mr. Thaksin said that the problem of poverty could not be resolved overnight, nonetheless, it will only take two years for the government to rid the villagers of poverty if all government mechanisms and personnel are ready to work in the course of their interests.

Management of water resources will be made more efficient while household industry and village-based trading are yet to be promoted among local villagers under the campaign against poverty.

The prime minister said he found most villagers were able to repay their debts owed to the Village Fund while those who may have borrowed at an earlier time from loansharks and unscrupulous moneylenders will be taken care of shortly.

Mr. Thaksin said his leading role in the campaign at this epicentre of poverty was by no means 'window dressing' as criticised in some media but would serve as a guideline for some 40,000 government officials to follow suit in their respective jurisdiction throughout the country.

The prime minister said he considered news coverage by the print media of his visit to the northeastern district as an ''unconstructive'' presentation.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said he doubted the anti-poverty campaign would be very successful without Mr. Thaksin acting as a guide for the government personnel in charge of such schemes.

The Democrat leader called on the prime minister to make a realistic evaluation of his government's long-term policies towards resolving poverty and see to it that government personnel will actually carry out the anti-poverty campaign duties in an effective manner.