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Chadchart’s Bangkok overhaul hits 3-year mark – but will it last?

Three years into his term, Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt has offered a glimpse of the Thai capital’s future if his long-term projects – including the Business Lab, Bangkok Public Square, “Bo Farang” water sports park, new hospitals, and a City Data Control Centre – bear fruit.

An engineer by profession, Chadchart has reformed the city’s administration by utilising technology to solve Bangkokians’ problems while giving them a greater say in city development.

His Traffy Fondue online complaints platform, for example, has handled over 750,000 problems flagged up by the public since its launch in mid-2022.

“We have received nearly one million complaints and addressed them in coordination with relevant agencies. At first, solving the problems took an average of nearly two months, but that figure has now dropped to just 1.9 days,” Chadchart said while briefing the press on his administration’s performance after three years in power.

Chadchart stood as an independent in the 2022 governor elections, winning by an unprecedented landslide.

Passing grade

Just over 64% of Bangkokians pronounced themselves satisfied with Chadchart’s performance in the latest survey (May 2-9) conducted by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA). Respondents praised the governor’s attentive and hands-on approach to residents and their problems. They also applauded his hard work and focus on development, as well as beneficial innovations.

Asked to name the governor’s biggest achievement, respondents pointed to his rezoning of street stalls, clearing of street furniture, combating floods, and quick response to the deadly SAO building collapse in the March 28 earthquake.

Most respondents also voiced support for Chadchart’s flagship policies to make the city more liveable – planting one million trees and ensuring green spaces are accessible within 15 minutes of every home and office.

Many respondents also backed his Low Emission Zone, which will ban trucks from the inner city on high-smog days, and the Work From Home initiative, aimed at reducing traffic pollution.

Chadchart has also launched the Bangkok Open Data plan to promote transparency and accountability in the city’s notoriously opaque administration. As a first step, BMA officials now have just 14 days to respond to construction-permit applications – a move aimed at reducing corruption and cutting red tape.

‘Improvement needed’

However, not everyone is satisfied with Chadchart’s performance as city governor.

Asst Prof Pitch Pongsawat, a political science lecturer at Chulalongkorn University, noted that the BMA’s survey overlooked several key issues affecting the capital, including economic hardship, rising living costs, and traffic problems.

Stithorn Thananithichot, director of Innovation for Democracy at the King Prajadhipok's Institute, reckons Chadchart is currently enjoying a spike in popularity due to the BMA-led rescue mission for workers trapped in the quake collapse.

The under-construction State Audit Office building in Chatuchak district toppled in the tremors on March 28, leaving at least 96 dead and more missing. Seventeen individuals – including construction executives, engineers and contractors – face criminal charges over the collapse.

“Chadchart’s popularity will drop once memories of the quake fade and people start struggling with floods,” Stithorn predicted.

The rainy season officially kicked off on May 15 and Bangkok is already being lashed by monsoon storms.

Stithorn said Chadchart’s team should exploit the wave of popularity to push for an expansion of the BMA’s jurisdiction, giving his administration more powers to solve Bangkok’s manifold problems. The BMA currently lacks the power to handle basic functions such as the sewage system, city waterworks, public transport, and traffic lights and emission control.

Bold plans

City spokesman Aekvarunyoo Amrapala confirmed the administration is seeking changes to the 40-year-old BMA Act that would help it run the city more efficiently and better address the challenges of a modern metropolis.

“We need to amend the law to tackle structural problems such as the constant digging of roads, which leads to traffic nightmares, messy overhead cables, and derelict areas under expressways,” he said.

Aekvarunyoo added that the aim is to give the BMA more powers, boost its finances, and enhance control over its personnel.

The BMA says the planned expansion of its jurisdiction will have several benefits, including helping to ease Bangkok’s smog problem by giving officials greater authority to inspect vehicles and factories for emissions. It would also be able to provide better care to vulnerable groups, while tackling criminality in the city’s underworld, the spokesman said.

“We will be able to crackdown on illegal businesses more efficiently.”

Meanwhile, amending the BMA Act would help City Hall generate more revenue through the introduction of new taxes on cigarettes, hotels, and polluters.

This additional revenue could then be poured back into services for city residents, he said.

Turning to human resources, Aekvarunyoo said that under the current law, the BMA cannot design the curriculum or hire teachers for the hundreds of schools under its jurisdiction, since it is required to comply with the key performance indicators set by the Office of Basic Education Commission, which takes its orders from the Education Ministry.

Legal challenges in the future?

Chadchart has so far remained tight-lipped about his political future. Despite showcasing the achievements of his first three years as governor, he has declined to say whether he will seek another four-year term when his tenure expires next year.

Parit Wacharasindhu, opposition People’s Party MP and chair of the House committee on political development, mass communications and public participation, said his panel has held discussions with Chadchart on the proposed changes to the BMA Act.

“We plan to present our report on the proposed amendments in July,” Parit said. He expects Lower House will prepare a new BMA draft law based on his panel’s report.

Though the process would take some time, he anticipates the amended law could be enacted before the governor elections are held next year.