Kittiratt qualified to be BoT board chair, says govt

The government insists former finance minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong is qualified for the position of chairman of the board of the Bank of Thailand (BoT), according to Phumtham Wechayachai, Deputy Prime Minister.
“Mr Kittiratt is a professional who knows about finance and treasury. If he has the position, he will bring in a wider economic perspective. It is up to the selection committee of the BoT to decide,” he said.
Mr Phumtham commented on Monday about the issue after the selection committee tasked with selecting a new board chairman of BoT postponed its planned meeting from Monday to next Monday. It was the second postponement as the committee had earlier deferred the meeting scheduled for Oct 8.
Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira has neither denied nor confirmed rumours that the ministry is considering changing the candidate from Mr Kittiratt, who is seen as having close ties with the ruling Pheu Thai Party, to Pongpanu Svetarundra, a former permanent secretary for tourism and sports.
“Personally, I am not aware whether the nomination will be changed or not. It is something all sides concerned have to first discuss,” he said.
As a matter of fact, Mr Pichai said, both the ministry and the BoT have the authority to nominate a candidate they find suitable, while the board chairman doesn’t really have that much decision-making authority as most of such authority usually lies with the board’s subcommittees.
After all, he said, he still hoped all sides could reach common ground on the matter, which would be the best solution to this problem.
According to Mr Pichai, any further delays in the selection of the new BoT board chairman would unlikely impact the BoT’s work as the outgoing board chairman still serves as a caretaker board chairman while waiting for his successor to be chosen.
Three groups, meanwhile, gathered outside the headquarters of the BoT in a symbolic movement against the rumoured nomination of Mr Kittiratt.
Led by the Kongthap Tham (Dharma Army), the group submitted to the BoT an open letter expressing their objection to the speculated nomination of Mr Kittiratt and asking for the head of the selection committee to step down.