Thailand planning huge reopening party and ditch failed tracking technology

There are a couple of reasons why I am posting about this and both are probably going to sound like a rant. Just know that I actually LOVE living in this country and feel the same way about most of the people that live in it but at the same time can't help but be hugely pessimistic about anything that the government here gets their hands on. I suppose you could say that I feel the same way about most of the world's governments as well but I have more exposure to this one.

Anyway, on to the party that Thailand has planned.

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In preparation for the "New Year" celebration that is going to see Thailand be one of the first countries in the region to basically throw open the doors for travelers, the Thai government has set aside 600 million Baht (around $2 million) for a gigantic party that includes some middle of the card international performers. I don't actually know who Andrea Bocelli and Lisa Monaba are, but they are not going to come and perform for free. I looked into it and Bocelli is a famous Italian tenor and Monaba is a K-Pop singer that apparently is popular with the tweens in Thailand. Great!

Even though I think it is fantastic that this party is going to happen I'm going to take a moment to muse on how little this country has actually done to help the poor over the past year in a financial sense. It's just a bit crazy to me that they didn't have enough money to throw a little bit of money to the people who have been struggling to eat for the past year, but spending $2 million on a one-night party is not a problem.

I know that I will not be attending either one of the proposed locations for these events because they are almost certainly going to be an absolute madhouse.

In other news, the much maligned and barely functioning CoE (Certificate of Entry) program that the government implemented on people coming into the country was broken before they even saw and large numbers of people that applied for and used the tech that came along with it. Along with other aspects, the tech was meant to provide contact tracing for anywhere that someone went by scanning a QR code. As is tradition with Thailand's foray into government-operated technology projects, it was almost immediately broken.

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According to many people, including several people that I personally know, the CoE application would get to this point and that is where it remained. The government made a bunch of excuses and did a bunch of finger-pointing but at the end of the day it all just boils down to the same ol' song and dance when it comes to this government and technology: They just don't know how to do it but are unwilling to outsource it to someone that does.

The other tracking apps that were also released by the government were so unreliable that the people who were charged with ensuring that you scanned the code in order to get into certain building began simply ushering everyone in because they knew that the system wasn't responding.

When I saw this in the news I said to myself "here we go again!"

development is underway for the Thailand Pass system, a web-based application that would guide people through....

And it doesn't really matter what it is going to guide them through because I can all but guarantee that the app is going to barely function if it functions at all.

It might sound like I am being cynical or what they call here that I am "Thai bashing" but the fact of the matter is that I have been here for years and exactly zero of the "helpful apps" that have been released by the government stuck around for very long and were abandoned shortly after the launch.

I would bet a lot of money on the "Thailand Pass' being quietly phased out just a short while after it is unveiled to the public.

In the meantime I will end on a happy note and say that I am pleased that the country is opening back up. The public needs this to happen very badly and I don't think there is really anyone who is worried about the dangers of opening up as far as Covid is concerned.