As Singapore faces a subdued global economy, the
Government has managed to create new jobs, keep unemployment low,
while making sure necessities such as housing and healthcare remain
affordable.
These are among some of the Government's key
achievements in the past two years, according to a new report
released by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) on Friday (Dec 9).
The Singapore Public Sector Outcomes Review is issued
every two years.
The MOF said in a statement that a key focus of the
Government in the last two years has been to "provide opportunities
for all by renewing the economy, transforming industries and
enhancing lifelong employability".
The report singled out the work of statutory board
Spring Singapore in helping to boost the capabilities of companies
here - last year (2015), Spring supported 22,000 projects by small
and medium enterprises (SMEs) to innovate and improve productivity,
double the number a year earlier.
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MINISTRY OF FINANCE
These efforts are expected to create about 19,000 new
jobs and $6.9 billion of added-value over the next three years.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate has remained stable at
3 per cent or lower in the last five years.
Spring's deputy chief executive Ted Tan said innovation
and productivity will be key for Singapore's future economic growth
and competitiveness.
"Spring will continue to work with partners to help our
local enterprises grow whilst ensuring that smaller SMEs remain
relevant. This will put us in a good position to seize new
opportunities that arise," he said.
There are also signs that housing has become more
affordable for first-time home buyers due to policy changes.
The report noted that the debt-servicing ratio of new
four-room HDB flats in non-mature estates dropped from 25 per cent
in 2014 to 22 per cent in 2015.
Home ownership has also remained high, at about 92 per
cent over the past four years.
Last year, the Government tweaked several housing
policies.
The household income ceilings to buy resale flats using
the CPF Housing Grant and new HDB flats, for instance, were raised
- allowing more people to qualify for grants.
The Special CPF Housing Grant was also enhanced to help
lower- and middle-income households afford their first home. It
also introduced the Proximity Housing Grant, to help parents or
their married children buy resale HDB flats to live closer to one
another.
Healthcare for the elderly has also remained affordable
with the introduction of policies such as the Pioneer Generation
Package (PGP) in 2014.
The report noted that over 90 per cent of pioneers
enjoyed PGP subsidies for their visits to subsidised specialist
outpatient clinics, polyclinics or Community Health Assist Scheme
(Chas) clinics, between September 2014 and December 2015.
Government spending on healthcare has increased almost
six-fold to $11 billion, compared to a decade ago, said the
report.
Room to improve transport reliability
The 66-page report, the fourth since 2010, also
acknowledged that there was "room for improvement" in boosting rail
reliability.
The number of train delays lasting more than 30 minutes
doubled to 14 in 2015 compared to just seven in 2013.
Having said that, the report highlighted that MRT
trains are travelling longer distances before encountering
delays.
In 2015, trains clocked 133,000 train-km between
disruptions, which are defined as delays of more than five minutes.
This is a distance that is 40 per cent more than the 93,000
train-km recorded in 2014.
The target for 2016 is 200,000 train-km.
Events such as SG50 and the 2015 SEA Games also helped
Singaporeans develop a stronger sense of belonging and identity,
said the report
There was also a slight increase of about 3 per cent in
the overall crime rate per 100,000 people in 2015 compared to 2014,
largely due to the rising number of online commercial crimes.
But the report said the overall law and order situation
in Singapore remains under control.
Head of Civil Service Peter Ong said: "The Singapore
Public Sector Outcomes Review provides a good opportunity for us to
look back on our performance over the last two years, as we chart
our directions for the future. Over the last two years, we have
made some progress to make public service delivery better and more
convenient for our citizens."
"In the next chapter of our Singapore story, we will
work towards building a future-ready Public Service that will
partner each and every Singaporean to build a better home for
all."
ST