SINGAPORE – President Halimah Yacob on Thursday gave her assent to the Government’s spending plans for the coming financial year starting on April 1, saying that Budget 2023 is balanced and fiscally responsible.
“It provides for the immediate needs of Singaporeans, especially with the rising costs of living, but at the same time invests in Singapore’s future needs,” she said in a Facebook post.
She noted that significant challenges remain even as the Covid-19 pandemic has abated, with Singapore’s population rapidly ageing, climate change intensifying, and global security, economic openness and social cohesion coming under threat.
The President’s assent was given to the Supply Bill, a move that formally authorises how much the Government can spend in each financial year.
Following her assent, the Bill will be enacted into a law called the Supply Act, which controls the Government’s spending in the coming financial year.
Madam Halimah said that the Ministry of Finance had earlier briefed her and the Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA) on Budget 2023, and that the Government will not be drawing from the reserves in FY2023.
“As the Budget is unlikely to draw on the Government’s past reserves, and with the CPA’s recommendation, I have exercised the President’s discretionary power under the Constitution to give my assent to the Supply Bill,” she added.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong had unveiled the $123.7 billion Budget on Feb 14 which included a suite of measures to grow the economy, support parents and families, and support measures to combat the rising cost of living and inflation.
Mr Wong had said the Government would not need to draw on past reserves in Budget 2023 as things return to normal.
He had noted that there was a lower-than-expected draw on the reserves for Covid-19 emergency public health spending in FY2022.
While Madam Halimah had earlier concurred with a draw of up to $6 billion for this in FY2022, a lower amount of up to $3.1 billion is now expected to be drawn, as the public health situation has since stabilised, said Mr Wong.
For FY2020, $31.9 billion from the past reserves was used for Covid-19 response measures, while for FY2021, $5 billion was used.
In all, the draw on the reserves in the three financial years of 2020 to 2022 is expected to come up to $40 billion, less than the initial sum of $52 billion that the Government projected it would need at the onset of the pandemic.
The President said the past reserves provided critical support to Singaporeans and businesses during Covid-19, enabling jobs to be saved and avoiding severe disruptions to families.
A significant portion of the reserves drawn down was also used to buy vaccines and save lives through ramping up much-needed medical facilities and services, she noted.
“In this regard, we see that past reserves were used not just for future generations but also for the current generation that has helped to grow our reserves,” she said.
“In exceptional circumstances, to save lives and livelihoods, our past reserves have provided support across generations of Singaporeans.”
