The cabinet meeting on Tuesday 28, December has come to the following decision:
The Cabinet endorsed the draft of the Gender Equality Act Year..., which has been checked by the Office of the Council of State, as proposed by the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security. The draft gas been forwarded to the Parliament Coordination Committee to propose the draft to the House of Representatives.
Synopsis
1. Gender Equality Committee is to be established and to have its authorities defined. The qualification, term, and termination of the tenure of its members (no. 5-10 on the draft).
2. The Gender Discrimination Investigation Committee is to be established and have its authorities defined (no.13-14 on the draft).
3. The Office of Women and Family Affairs is to be assigned to take the responsibilities in administrative and academic work of both committees. The authorities of the office are to be defined as well (no.16 on the draft).
4. Policies, rules, regulations, announcements, measures, projects, and protocols of government and private agencies cannot discriminate on the basis of gender (no.17 on the draft).
5. The draft allows anyone who thinks he or she has faced with discriminatory acts because of gender to exercise the right to notify the Gender Discrimination Investigation Committee, and the complaint would not disqualify the person’s right to ask the court with relevant for financial compensation (no.18 on the draft).
6. The Gender Discrimination Investigation Committee is allowed to issue temporarily relief measures for those who have been treated unfairly because of gender(no.19 on the draft).
7. In case the Gender Discrimination Investigation Committee has ruled that a discriminatory act has been committed, the committee has the authority to issue an order to deal with the troubled agency (no.20 on the draft).
8. In the event that the Gender Discrimination Investigation Committee has ruled on a discriminatory act, the plaintiff is able to ask for relief through necessary or financial means (no. 24 and 26 on the draft).
9. Gender Equality Fund is to be established to fund the activities that promote gender equality, and the objectives of the fund are to be defined (no. 29 and 30 on the draft).
10. The fund management committee is to be established and have its authorities defined (no. 31 and 33 on the draft).
11. Disciplinary code is to be defined (no. 34 and 36 on the draft).
The Cabinet approved the frame for the promotion of investments in bio-plastic industry in Thailand, as proposed by the Ministry of Science and Technology.
1. Direction of the Promotion of Investments in the Bio-plastic Industry
- Pilot plants are to be set up and ready for operation within 3 years (2011-2013)
- Phase 2 of the National Guidelines for Bio-plastic Industry Development (2011-2015), which has been adjusted from the National Guidelines for Bio-plastic Industry Development (2008-2012), is to be implemented in order to accommodate commercial investments by 2015.
- 5 supporting measures to stimulate commercial investments by2015 while the budget for the implementation of the National Guidelines needs to be discussed with the Budget Bureau.
2. Assigned agencies are to make an agreement with the Budget Bureau so that the operation can proceed.
3. National Innovation Agency (Public Organisation) (NIA) has been assigned to take an active role in coordinating with the private sector and relevant agencies on the leading the direction of the promotion of the investments in bio-plastic industry in Thailand to practice and report to the Cabinet periodically.
Nevertheless, the Ministry of Science and Technology has been assigned to take into consideration the observation made by the Ministry of Finance on tax incentive measures for research and development and to proceed by complying with the laws and relevant regulations.
The Cabinet endorsed the appointment of special working committee to consider and authorise the use of land under the community land deed scheme, as proposed by Chairman of the coordinating committee on the establishment of community land deed Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office (Mr Sathit Wongnongtoey). Thus, the issue on the ministerial level and the issue with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration have been resolved in order to delegate the responsibilities in setting up community land deed.
Synopsis
Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office (Mr Sathit Wongnongtoey), as Chairman of the coordinating committee on the establishment of community land deed scheme, reported:
1. The 4/2010 meeting of the coordinating committee on the establishment of community land deed scheme, held on December 20, 2010, followed up with the implementation of the scheme, which was at the process of consideration for the approval for the use of the land for the establishment of community land deed by relevant ministries and agencies. There are 35 communities that were being considered, consisting of 17 communities under the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, 9 communities under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, 3 communities under the Ministry of Finance, 1 community under the Ministry of Transports, 14 communities under the Ministry of Interior, and 4 communities under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA). The meeting also considered and opined that the current rate of implementation of each agency is not aggressive and expected that only 1-2 communities would be able to get communities land deed, as of now.
2. The coordinating committee considered and resolved that, to speed up the process of issuing community land deed so that the scheme can proceed as scheduled, the aforementioned ministries and the BMA are to appoint a special working committee to consider the approval for the issuance of community land deed, to resolve the matter and take over the responsibilities in the issuance of the community land deed.
3. As the establishment of community land deed scheme is a part of the economic re-structural plan that the Cabinet has announced to the parliament, the government is obliged to speed up the granting of right to use the land that is no longer categorised as forest area for their livelihood through responsible agencies, as resolved by the Cabinet on November 30, 2010.
The Cabinet approved and acknowledged the following proposals by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology.
1. The Cabinet approved the cancellation of a resolution made by the Cabinet on April 7, 2010, for CAT Telecom Public Limited Company to acquire the asset of the operator of CDMA Network in the central region of Thailand.
2. CAT Telecom PLC’s new mobile business plan has been acknowledged, and the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology have been assigned to proceed under strict compliance of laws and relevant regulations and to take into consideration the opinions of the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board and the Office of the Council of State.
The Cabinet acknowledged the following proposals by the Ministry of Transports.
1. The result of the implementation of the “2010 Year of Safety” Project
2. Plan for works and activities under the project “2011 Year of Safety”
3. Plan to accommodate travels made by the people during New Year festival, from December 29, 2010, to January 4, 2011, according to the plan “Safe Travel, New Year festival 2011”
The Ministry of Transports and affiliated agencies have implemented the projects and activities through out the year 2010, since the day the Prime Minister presided the launch of the project on December 20, 2009, at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre. The following is a briefing for the work in each aspect.
1. Work on development and improvement on infrastructures
Risky turns and dangerous points and curves, 501 of which on freeways and 875 of which on rural freeways, have been fixed while 121 road intersections with train have been resolved. Safety on 400 routes has been ensured, and 3,000 kilometres of dust-free road has been completed.
2. Elevation of safety standard
Safety equipments, such as, signs, traffic signals, lamps, and fences, have been installed on freeways and rural freeways.
Strict control on licensing and checks on public transportation and joint public private transport operators have been enforced.
Alcohol check on public transport drivers, to ensure that it’s 0%, is to be enforced.
3. Additional service for safety
Mobile units and service centres have been set up to facilitate the people’s travels. Transport safety centre and hotline 1356 to coordinate with several service centres under the Ministry of Transports and relevant agencies have been set up.
4. Instilling values and culture in disciplined travel
Training for public bus drivers, organised by the Department of Land Transports, has been held for 2,000 drivers and operators of heavy machineries in Bangkok and in the provinces.Training on traffic safety for 80,000 youths has been held. Training for public bus drivers to instill the road safety consciousness and strict discipline on following traffic rules has been held by the Transport Company Limited and Bangkok Mass Transit Authority. Lessons for traffic safety for students of all level and instruction manuals for teachers have been compiled, jointly with the Ministry of Education. Competition on road safety motto and road safety campaigns have been held, with the winner for motto being “Hands o the wheel, rules on the heat, drive safely, carefully.”
The Cabinet approved in principle the 25,000 USD per annum, or 748,835 THB (at the exchange rate at 1USD for 29,9534 THB on November 12, 2010) contribution to The United Nations Environment Programme’s Environment Fund, from 2012 onwards, or until there is a change to the contribution criteria. The contribution is voluntary, as proposed by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. Synopsis
The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources reported:
1. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was founded in 1972 to serve as the environmental agency under The United Nations, and it has founded the UNEP’s Environment Fund with the aim to support the environmental activities on the global and regional level. The United Nations has since invited its member countries to make voluntary contributions to the Environment Fund.
2. Thailand has continuously made contributions to the fund, in accordance with the Cabinet resolutions made on April 20, 1977, April 14, 1982, September 8, 1987, December8, 1992, September 16, 1997, June 8, 2004, and on June 5, 2007.The contributions made previously were not the exact same amount due to fluctuation in the exchange rate.
3. The ministry as the medium in coordinating UNEP’s environmental programme in Thailand has already made the contribution, and UNEP has requested member countries to continue the donation in the next coming years. The ministry has already tabled requests for the fund to make contribution from 2011 to 2012, to be presented to the Cabinet in the next fiscal years to come.
--Cabinet Meeting (Abhisit Vejjajiva) December 28, 2010--