The Significant Infrastructure Government Loan Bill - also known as SINGA

The Significant Infrastructure Government Loan Bill - also known as SINGA - was passed in Parliament yesterday.

The Bill allows the Government to borrow for huge infrastructure investments while spreading repayment over generations of Singaporeans. This approach is fair as such infrastructure investments are enjoyed by generations of Singaporeans, so each pay for their share of the investments.

With Singapore's triple-A credit rating, Singapore is able to borrow at low interest rates while reinvesting our reserves for higher returns.

The triple-A credit rating is the result of fiscal prudence and sound fundamentals.

However, we have an opposition that wants to erode this sound financial position.

WP for example, wants more of NIRC (currently 50%) to be made available for recurrent spending. This means less to reinvest and therefore less returns to spend in the future.

Not only that, they want land proceeds to be used directly for spending. Selling assets to spend is the fastest way to deplete reserves.

And then there is PSP Leong Mun Wai which thinks we have huge reserves and there is thus no need for the government to borrow for large infrastructure investments.

Such calls for in no time, erode our fiscal position and therefore, fiscal rating as well.

Our fiscal rating is hard earned. There are very few countries left in the world that have a triple-A credit rating. It is a rating not to be taken for granted.

We hope that the opposition can be more responsible not only to present Singaporeans but also to the young and to future generations of Singaporeans.

WP is playing political games, and not interested in outcomes

WP is not interested in outcomes. They are only interested in playing a political game. The call for an INDEPENDENT budget office to examine government expenditures and outcomes is really to try to cast doubt on the government.

If WP is truly interested in outcomes, they would have poured over the interim report- which was widely reported in the media - to examine the measures achieved. But they haven't done so.

Watch DPM Heng Swee Keat's response to WP Pritam Singh's call for an independent budget office to examine outcomes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60H9XFtDsOw

Borrowing does not give you free money!

The Government's approach to borrowing is a carefully calibrated one. It does not borrow for recurrent expenditure.

It borrows for major long-term infrastructure. These investments will benefit and generate value over generations. But the upfront costs are hefty.

Borrowing is a fair and efficient approach to spread out the lumpy costs.

If we do not do so, taxes will be to be raised significantly to fund these major expenditures, Mr Heng said.

Recurrent expenditures - expenditures that are incurred every year - must be funded by recurrent revenue that are collected every year.

WP should hold themselves to the same standard of scrutiny

WP wants an independent parliamentary budget office to scrutinise government expenditures.

But they do not hold themselves to the same scrutiny. Each time that they had called on the government to spend more, they had never provided any estimates on costs nor explained how the spending would be funded.

Workers' Party calls for an Independent Budget Office

Singapore is one of the few triple-A credit rated countries left in the world. We are rated triple-A because of fiscal prudence and strong fundamentals.

Like DPM Heng Swee Keat said, Singapore has achieved world-leading outcomes while running one of the leanest governments in the world.

Until the pandemic, the Singapore Government has operated balanced budgets. In fact, it was the WP that was always pressurizing the Government to spend more, including more from reserves.

The WP called for an independent budget office to do what the WP MPs were elected to do. They have decided to delegate their responsibility to an independent office while completely ignoring the robust system of checks that we have. This include the Public Accounts Committee and Estimates Committee, both of which WP is also represented!

What's there left for WP to do in Parliament when government policies and budget spending will be scrutinised by an independent office?

If there is nothing left for them to do, in the name of scrutinising expenditure, we should ask why we spend so much taxpayers' money on the Leader of the Opposition and 8 WP MPs who have next to nothing to do in Parliament?

$24 billion will be spent over the next 3 years to help workers and businesses emerge stronger.

$24 billion will be spent over the next 3 years to help workers and businesses emerge stronger.

The efforts will build on the momentum of the transformation push started five years ago, when the Industry Transformation Maps were launched.

The SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package is a key pillar in our industry transformation, to enable Singaporeans to learn and thrive, as our jobs and workplace change, and as businesses transform.

As of end last year, nearly 76,000 individuals were placed into jobs, traineeships, attachments, and skills training. Under the Jobs Growth Incentive, or JGI, an estimated 110,000 local jobseekers were collectively hired within two months from the implementation of the scheme.

Through the next phase of the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package, we have set aside the budget to support the hiring of 200,000 locals this year through the JGI, and provide up to 35,000 traineeship and training opportunities to continue to support jobseekers in upskilling and accessing employment opportunities.

The NRF will be supporting about 500 Fellowships under the new Innovation and Enterprise Fellowship Programme, or IFP, over the next five years, to meet needs in areas such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and health tech. It will work with a range of partners, including accelerators, venture capital firms and deep tech startups.

FY2020 budget deficit is a whopping $64.9 billion or 13.9% of GDP.

 

FY2020 budget deficit is a whopping $64.9 billion or 13.9% of GDP.

For FY2021, the budget position remains expansionary as the Government continues to tide Singaporeans and our businesses over this crisis with the COVID-19 Resilience Package. An overall deficit of $11 billion or 2.2% of GDP is expected.

#prudencepays #saveingoodtimes #neversquanderawaysurpluses #alwaysbepreparedforrainydays #itneverrainbutitpours #resistpopulism #leaveabettertomorrow #goodstewardship

Gratitude and determination from DPM Heng Swee Keat!

"My gratitude is for everyone who made it possible to bring us safely through the year — our courageous healthcare workers who kept us safe, our essential workers who kept us going, and volunteers in every field who continued to look out for those in need. I am also thankful to my colleagues in the Multi-Ministry Taskforce on COVID-19, the Emerging Stronger Taskforce and my team at the Ministry of Finance (Singapore).

Most of all, I am grateful for Singaporeans’ unity, resilience, solidarity and fortitude this year — for having so much heart and spirit, and for adapting to the crisis and adhering to safe management measures, and for inspiring, encouraging and supporting one another through this period. You have kept me going, and you have been my reason to keep working hard.

My determination for 2021 is to ensure that we emerge from the year stronger as we gradually resume a greater degree of normalcy and rebuild our economy. There are many unknowns and uncertainties ahead, but as long as we stay united and grow our adaptive capacities for change, we are in a good position to deal with the challenges ahead."

- DPM Heng Swee Keat

Heng Swee Keat: preserving core capabilities and retaining special skills

DPM Heng Swee Keat said in his recent ministerial statement on 5 Oct that we would build a new future by being a Global-Asia node to create good jobs for Singaporeans.

To be a node, we must be connected to the world and this includes physical connectivity. Many global companies have their regional hub here because of good governance here, our stability and connectivity to Asia and the rest of the world.

The pandemic has decimated air travel in the world and devastated SIA and Changi Airport Group, and tourism.

We can either let them flounder, and let businesses shut down one by one and when the pandemic is over and the world recovers, there is no one to greet the opportunities.

Or we can do our best to help and support them, especially to preserve core capabilities and specialised skills so that when the world recovers, we can be the first out of the gate.

Let's have a clear picture of what the Government is doing.

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭, 𝐫𝐞-𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲 - 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲'𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞. - Heng Swee Keat

This is a government working very hard to secure the future and to build a better Singapore for their people.

Heng Swee Keat: Ministerial Statement - 5 Oct 20: Safeguarding a Strong Future for Singaporeans

COVID-19 is not our first crisis, and certainly will not be the last. Successive generations have been building up strong reserves ahead of this crisis, and our past reserves have been critical in our fight against COVID-19.

As we dedicate spending to support our people and businesses through this difficult period, we must be careful not to squander what generations before us have painstakingly built up. We will continue to invest decisively on our national priorities, with a deep commitment to leave behind a better future for our children.

We start this new term of government from a challenging fiscal position.

- For this financial year, we expect operating revenues to be 16% lower than initial estimates presented at the Unity Budget in Feb 2020.

- Revenue collections are expected to fall across all categories of revenue.

- Expenditures, on the other hand, will rise.

This challenging fiscal position is a result of a global pandemic that no one could have predicted.

What is within our control is how we use our fiscal resources well to respond to this crisis, and to prepare for the future.

- Excerpt from DPM Heng Swee Keat's statement on 5 Oct

Prudence, not austerity

We have dedicated close to $100 billion to support our people and businesses through this difficult period.

As we do so, we must be careful not to spend in a way that squanders what generations before us have painstakingly built up.

Our guiding principle is prudence, not austerity.

We will continue to invest decisively in our national priorities, with a deep commitment to leave behind a better future for our children.

- DPM Heng Swee Keat

DPM Heng Swee Keat accused of being racist

So DPM Heng Swee Keat was accused of being racist and a police report was even filed against him.

But what was the context and the true facfs?

Mr Heng was quoting a LKYSPP survey when he said that “older Singaporeans are not ready for a non-Chinese PM”.

He was making a statement based on statistics and isn’t some pulled-out-from-thin-air nonsense.

The irony of the outrage of those who decided to take offence at Mr Heng's words is that the same people also stood fully behind tweets about 'brown' people and Chinese privilege.

Can they make up their mind if racism exists?