The cabinet yesterday approved a draft bill on the National Economic and Social Council (NESC), a replacement for the existing National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), with the goal of transforming the state planning unit into a think tank that shapes the country's long-term vision and mission.
Nathporn: NESDB out of touch with today
The draft bill, which has already gone through a reading by the Council of State, will later go to the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) for vetting, said Nathporn Chatusripitak, an adviser to the Prime Minister's Office minister.
"The existing structure of the NESDB does not conform with dynamic social and economic changes," Mr Nathporn said. "The new act [on the NESC] will empower the government's planning unit to catch up with the new national agenda and future trends."
The NESC will also be allowed to hire private experts, both from Thailand and abroad, to conduct R&D to support the country's future development and social and economic reforms, as well as map out the 20-year national strategy.
The NESC would still be tasked with mapping out the country's five-year national social and economic development plan, which needs to comply with the changing social and economic environment and upgrade the country's overall competitiveness, Mr Nathporn said.
He said each state agency is also required to conduct its own action plan to conform with the five-year national social and economic plan, while the NESC will be held responsible for vetting and approving investment budget for state-owned enterprises.
Under the new structure, the NESC will comprise 24 members selected from related agencies, up from 15. Six more boards will be set up to oversee as many key issues: security, human resource development, education, national resources and the environment, the economy, and public administration.
Kobsak Poothrakool, the Prime Minister's Office minister, said the state will also provide more funding to the NESC, up from 500-600 million baht a year now.
A new generation of independent experts will be recruited to work for the planning unit to cope with new challenges such as an ageing society, rapid urbanisation and human resource development to embrace the Thailand 4.0 economy, focusing on technology and innovation.
The board was told to leave non-essential jobs such as monitoring the investment of state enterprises to other state agencies, focusing only on large development projects that play a significant role in the country's development.
Founded in 1950 under the administration of prime minister Plaek Pibulsongkram as the National Economic Council, the NESDB provides the government with opinions and recommendations on economic issues.
In 1959, prime minister Sarit Dhanarajata restructured the council and gave it a new name, the Office of the National Economic Development Board. In 1961, the office launched the nation's first economic development plan.
In 1972, social development was recognised as an essential part of the national plan. The newly renamed NESDB was brought under the Prime Minister's Office.
In addition to recommendations on economic and social development matters to the cabinet and prime minister, the NESDB scrutinises the National Economic and Social Development Plan.
