Bhumjaithai seeks to preserve local positions

The Bhumjaithai Party has submitted two bills aimed at preserving the positions of village and sub-district headmen in municipalities, saying they are needed to facilitate effective work with residents.
Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul, who is also the interior minister, said a recent Administrative Court ruling could affect the positions of village headmen, known as phuyai ban, and sub-district headmen, known as kamnan.
The court ordered the elimination of the two positions if a municipality is upgraded to either a town, known as thesaban muang, governing 10,000 people, or a city, known as thesaban nakhon, with 50,000 people or more.
Under the Local Administration Act, the positions of the affected village headmen and kamnans must be eliminated within one year of a change in a municipality’s status.
“We still want the positions of phuyai ban and kamnan to be retained in their municipal areas because we believe that they can help take care of people’s well-being,” Mr Anutin said on Wednesday.
“They can also assist in coordinating efforts with the municipality to make things easier for residents.”
Mr Anutin said he had discussed the issue with the opposition and coalition parties and they agreed that amending the law would benefit the people.
He said he hoped that all political parties would support the amendment in the next parliamentary session, which starts on Dec 12.
The move by the Bhumjaithai Party followed the submission of a letter on Oct 29 by the Village Headmen Association, which called for the preservation of the positions.
Korawee Prissananantakul, a member of the party’s executive committee and an MP for Ang Thong, said on Thursday that when the party’s leadership learned of the matter, they brought it up during a meeting on Oct 30 and resolved to proceed with the bills.
He said Bhumjaithai wanted to assure the village and sub-district headmen that they play an important role in local administration.