Steady drop in number of Cut Waste ideas over the
years
Lin Yanqin
[email protected]
IT STARTED out with a bang in 2003, receiving wide support from the
public for its aim in cutting public wastage.
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But response to the Cut Waste Panel (CWP) which draws on
suggestions from the public has cooled down significantly over
the past four years.
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Just 205 suggestions were received last year, compared to 1,207 in
2004 an 80-per-cent decrease in volume.
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And up to the middle of last month, the panel has received just
over 70 suggestions less than half of the number received last
year, according to latest figures released yesterday.
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Still, with over 3,300 suggestions received to date, the CWP has
managed to create once-off savings of $8.7 million, and recurrent
annual savings of $2.9 million a total of about $11 million in
all.
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Meanwhile, savings by government agencies under the Economic Drive
(ED) have also dipped over the years.
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Some $560 million, about 1.7 per cent of all the agencies' total
cash budget, was saved in the financial year of 2006. In
comparison, savings totalled $602 million in 2005 and $736 million
in 2004.
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So far, the ED including the savings from the CWP has saved the
Government some $2.5 billion since 2003.
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Over the years, various agencies have agreed with some 85 per cent
of the suggestions received, said the Ministry of Finance (MOF)
yesterday in a statement.
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Of the accepted suggestions, 96 per cent have already been
implemented by the agencies. The remaining are in the process of
implementation, or will be in force soon.
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New suggestions last year include opening up one of the competition
pools at Toa Payoh Swimming Complex usually reserved for
competitions and trainings to the public when there are no
bookings and trainings committed.
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Most of the ED efforts, according to MOF, revolved around
simplifying requirements, standardising to minimise costly
customisation, and sharing resources and avoiding
duplication.