Parliament

Pritam seeks greater scrutiny of spending, questions CDCs' role

Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh called for more transparency on the outcomes of Budget initiatives yesterday. PHOTO: GOV.SG
Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh called for more transparency on the outcomes of Budget initiatives yesterday. PHOTO: GOV.SG

Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh has called for closer scrutiny of government expenditure and more transparency on the outcomes of Budget initiatives, adding this has become even more critical with tax revenues being squeezed and increased spending expected in the years ahead.

"With a tighter fiscal environment in the years ahead, as stressed by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat over many speeches, closer scrutiny of expenditure should not be seen one-dimensionally as political one-upmanship but as an administrative necessity," he said yesterday.

"The scrutiny raises everyone's sense of ownership in Singapore."

The Workers' Party chief expressed support for the Budget but urged a "reset of the Government's agenda" in various areas.

He suggested establishing an independent parliamentary budget office to ensure more accountability and transparency in how tax dollars are used, especially given the significant drawdown on reserves to fight Covid-19.

Such an office would perform consistent reviews of the amounts meant to be deployed across a number of years, he said.

In particular, he asked for more details on the Capability Transfer Programme - which subsidises the cost of bringing in overseas experts to train local staff - such as how much had been spent and which industries have been identified for transfer of skills.

Mr Singh said he was surprised that amid economic transformation and new jobs being created, only a "relatively small number" of 970 Singaporeans have benefited from the scheme launched in 2017 and extended until 2024.

He sought details on how money will be spent on initiatives such as the $24 billion set aside to help firms and workers transform in the next three years, and the additional $5.4 billion set aside for the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package.

He lamented the lack of information on how such schemes have fared, citing how the salary levels and age ranges of workers placed in jobs are not made known.

"The effectiveness of government measures should be readily determinable," said Mr Singh.

"Without such scrutiny, a perception may crystallise of large sums of money being deployed to address an issue for which effectiveness is hard to establish."

Mr Singh also questioned the disbursement of cash vouchers through the five Community Development Councils (CDCs), which he said played a "potentially superfluous" role. Mr Heng, who is also Finance Minister, had announced that all Singaporean households will get $100 worth of CDC vouchers for use in heartland shops and hawker centres.

Mr Singh said: "It would appear to me as if the Government is trying to find some way to make the CDCs relevant in view of their relative absence in the public mindshare." He said that markets and shops associations have representatives in citizens' consultative committees that are "even more closely connected to the ground".

He also posited that there is scope for a "serious review" of the need to have full-time mayors, who are People's Action Party MPs appointed to run the CDCs.

CDCs, established in 1997, coordinate grassroots bodies and community programmes, with the aim of bringing the community closer. Mr Singh said CDCs had come under the spotlight, with some saying their functions can be done by ministries, statutory boards and other grassroots organisations.

"Many Singaporeans are of the view that the salaries of mayors are outrageous, principally because they are not perceived to be commensurate with a mayor's roles and functions today," he said.

"It would appear that there is scope for a serious review of the necessity of having full-time mayors today."

Mr Singh also asked how much of the $150 million being allocated for the CDC voucher scheme would go towards the vouchers, and how much would go towards administration costs.

He noted that CDCs had already been allocated $20 million, then $75 million in last year's Budgets.

Calling for another "reset", he said: "The relevance of institutions whose roles and functions substantively overlap with other state agencies should also be reconsidered, with finite fiscal resources redeployed to support the low-income and needy."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 25, 2021, with the headline Pritam seeks greater scrutiny of spending, questions CDCs' role. Subscribe