Dr Teo Ho Pin, Mayor of North West District, said the idea to pool funds and work together on a recession relief package was mooted during the mayors' monthly meetings. -- PHOTO: BH
SINGAPORE'S five Community Development Councils (CDCs) are coming together to work out a separate recession relief package to help residents ride out the economic downturn.
Acting as an extra safety net, it will complement existing national schemes such as the ComCare Fund and the Kindergarten Financial Assistance Scheme, and others to be unveiled in next year's Budget.
While the details have yet to be finalised, the plan could see needy residents provided with food and transport vouchers, among other things, officials said.
Dr Teo Ho Pin, Mayor of North West District, said the idea to pool funds and work together on a recession relief package was mooted during the mayors' monthly meetings.
'We were discussing ways we can help relieve the financial burden of the poor during the downturn. They are just preliminary ideas and these are early days. I believe we will have a better picture of the extent of the recession after January; then we can plan it better,' he said.
One component of the relief package is to provide one-off transport and food vouchers to workers who have been retrenched. Dr Amy Khor, Mayor of South West District, said about $250,000 will be set aside for the vouchers.
On average, each CDC receives between 400 and 950 applications for financial help a month.
Read the full story in Thursday's edition of The Straits Times.
