The Thai Fiscal Policy Office’s Director-General, Lavaron Sangsnit, has said that more than 13.3 million people have been screened and approved for the 5,000 baht cash handout.
The figure includes 4.4 million people who received approval when the scheme first launched, 5.1 million people whose application was pending due to incomplete information being resolved, and 3.8 million people who had initially been rejected.
Thousands of people from across Thailand have turned up at the Finance Ministry, and later the new location at the Public Relations Department in Bangkok’s Phaya Thai district, to appeal a rejection or apply for the handout due to computer illiteracy over the past few days.
Applicants who have now been approved can expect to receive the much needed 5,000 baht cash within the next week. Of the 13.3 million approvals, 11 million will be paid immediately and 2.3 million will be paid by next week.
The Ministry of Finance has promised to make online application easier and is considering ways to help people who are struggling to complete the application online.
The issue of some people not being able to apply online was highlighted in Singburi yesterday when a local vendor had asked her son-in-law to help with registering for the cash handout.
The 60-year-old woman had offered him 500 baht in exchange for the service, but while the application was being processed the family received a local subsidy of 2,000 baht to help out.
The son-in-law wanted his 500 baht from the local government funds, but when the woman refused he canceled her online application and insulted her.
The woman went to the police to complain where the son-in-law revealed she sells her products every day at the local market and doesn’t require the cash handout.
The incident demonstrates the difficulty many people have with making an application for the cash handout online and the need for clearer instructions about exactly who qualifies to receive the 5,000 baht.
Source: The Nation | Photo: The Thaiger
