Bangkok:The Shadow Cabinet has revealed significant irregularities in the "Public Sector Solar Power" project, accusing it of favoring large corporations and urging its cancellation if suspicions go unaddressed.
According to Thai News Agency, the Shadow Cabinet identified hidden conditions and rigged specifications within the "People's Solar" project, noting that 60 companies have overlapping licenses and 120 companies share cross-shareholdings. They called for the project's cancellation to prevent a 50 billion baht loan from benefiting capitalists aligned with the government.
The People's Party disclosed these findings following their 18th Shadow Cabinet meeting, where Mr. Suphachot Chaiyasat and Mr. Veerayuth Kanchuchat expressed concerns over the transparency of the 'People's Solar' project. They warned that the massive budget could fall into the hands of political networks and affluent groups.
Mr. Suphachot emphasized that the "Solar for the People" initiative, intended to install solar panels on one million rooftops with a 50 billion baht budget, faced irregularities. A performance guarantee requirement of over 60,000 baht per rooftop led to many SMEs withdrawing, leaving only about 30% of companies in the project.
Irregularities in company registrations were noted, with more than 60 companies sharing the same office address and over 120 companies having overlapping directors and shareholders, often from the same family. Reports also mentioned kickbacks averaging 30,000 baht per person.
Mr. Suphachot accused the government of using public loans to benefit certain groups and called for Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Mr. Ekniti Nitithanprapha, to halt the project if public concerns aren't addressed. Meanwhile, Mr. Veerayuth criticized the government's renewable energy projects for stimulating foreign economies rather than supporting local ones.
Mr. Veerayuth advocated for the investment to strengthen domestic industries, citing Khon Kaen University's potential to develop battery technology. However, he noted that these initiatives are stalled due to the emergency loan decree's timeline, which favors foreign over domestic products.
In conclusion, Mr. Veerayuth urged the government to amend restrictive rules to genuinely support Thai producers, warning that failure to ensure fair distribution of the loan could necessitate the project's termination.