Budget delay blamed for slow public investment

The government under-invested in the previous fiscal year because the budget was passed so late, according to the Comptroller General’s Department (CGD).
The state budget for the fiscal year is divided into a fixed fund and an investment fund. For fiscal 2024 that ended on Sept 30, the fixed fund totalling 2.8 trillion baht, which covers expenses such as civil service salaries, was over-disbursed at 101%, said CGD director-general Patricia Mongkhonvanit.
But for the investment portion of the budget, the government disbursed 440 billion baht, or 65.1% of the money at its disposal. The disbursement rate fell 10 points below the target of 75%.
The unused investment fund has been earmarked for the first and second quarters of the current fiscal year, or until next March, Ms Patricia said. The national budget for the previous fiscal year amounted to 3.4 trillion baht.
She said the investment fund was under-disbursed because the budget bill was approved by parliament in April — or seven months late — because of the lengthy delays in forming the government after the 2023 elections. This limited agencies’ ability to carry out many investment projects in time.
Ms Patricia said that in the previous fiscal year, the minimum spending for the fixed fund was set at 98% of the available budget, and 75% for the investment portion.
In the current fiscal year, the minimum spending target for the fixed fund has been capped at 98%.