Relief cash and accountability

There are no firm figures yet on just how much it will cost the country to recover from the Great Flood of 2011. The magnitude of the problem is only starting to become clear as the government, business and private citizens survey the damage. 

One thing is clear already. The 120 billion baht tacked onto the budget last week will not go far. Transport Minister Sukumpol Suwanatat said on Monday that it will cost 18 billion baht just to clean up around Don Mueang Airport.

This poses a huge problem for the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. There is going to be massive amounts of taxpayers' money disbursed in coming weeks and months. 

This still young government has done a poor job accounting for its spending so far. It must be careful not to let the "fast cash" of flood relief get out of control. 

Citizens cannot, and should not, tolerate any reports that flood relief funds are sticking to the fingers of greedy government officials or businessmen.

An area in which the government has performed abysmally is on naming, shaming, arresting and prosecuting profiteers. Merchants small, large and freelance  took shameless and unforgivable advantage of flood victims.

And the nation can expect this terrible legal and moral crime to continue. Repair items will be in short supply, and it is as predictable as tomorrow's sunrise that sharp business operators will gouge consumers for common, essential items.

It is beyond reason that a populist-minded government has treated this extremely important issue so cavalierly. The spokeswoman for the Office of the Consumer Protection Board promised at the height of the floods and price cheating that the agency would monitor prices. 

She called for the public to help. But the public should not be blamed for lack of enforcement of basic, long-known price controls. A campaign against the most terrible case of profiteering would be popular. Anyone charging outrageous prices for rice, water and eggs deserves no pity.

It was briefly heartening to hear the police promise to catch the brutal gang of boat operators who allegedly damaged relief trucks. But even that operation seemingly has stalled. 

The consumers' group, or the prime minister and her populist cabinet, could earn a lot of support by bringing profiteers to book. Earning a profit from the agony of the floods by hoarding essential goods is dishonorable and illegal.

The government already had its work cut out for it. Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva was spot on with his budget speech in Parliament last week. The spending is, at best, in danger of going out of control, if not at that point already. 

Many programmes are being rushed to meet the mythical deadline of keeping the prime minister's election promises.

Deputy PM and Commerce Minister Kittiratt Na-Narong believes the Bank of Thailand has exaggerated the problem of inflation. He has "encouraged" the central bank to halt and reverse rises in interest rates. 

Mr Kittiratt might even be correct in a macro-economic sense. But he also needs to get out more into the marketplace, and see prices rises at work and their effect on the country.

It is a major government responsibility to spend wisely, care for the taxpayers' money, and to keep essential goods affordable. 

The formidable repairs and rehabilitation from the floods pose a second challenge to a government already trying to raise and spend a record budget. The additional billions that will be spent on flood recovery must be accounted for.