Is inter-ministerial turf wars the issue on why PM keeps setting up new offices?

Not another new office again! We bet that that was what came into your mind when you first saw this.

On Monday, prime minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the Smart Nation initiative to wire the whole of Singapore with technology.

He also said that the initiative will include plans to enhance cyber-security, to have "secure systems that we can trust."

"To realise this vision, I think we have to pull the pieces together from all over the Government. We will set up a Smart Nation Programme Office," Mr Lee said.

"Today, the Government departments are all variously doing their own thing – LTA, URA, MOM and so on.

"We can go much further if we can put it together, to identify issues, prototype ideas, deploy them effectively to benefit the whole nation.

"We will have a Smart Nation Programme Office and it will do this - take in perspectives and ideas from many sources, make sure that we take a whole-of-Government, whole-of-nation approach to building a Smart Nation.

Mr Lee also said, "To make sure that it works, I am going to put this Office in the Prime Minister’s Office, and I am putting Minister Vivian Balakrishnan in charge and I will take a personal interest.

This seems to be the year of creating new offices for Mr Lee.

In August, at the National Day Rally, he also announced the setting up of a Municipal Services Office (MSO).

He said similarly that the reason to do so is to have "one authority to coordinate all of the agencies: LTA, PUB, NParks, the whole lot, and single-mindedly focus on service delivery."

He asked Minister in Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Grace Fu to oversee this Municipal Services Office, while working with National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan.

"I think Grace will do a good job," Mr Lee said.

But one cannot help but wonder, if the different government agencies and departments are already doing their job and if they are already working hand-in-hand, then why is there a need for coordinating offices?

If such offices are necessary, does this not mean that the agencies are not cooperating with one another?

Moreover, isn't the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) set up precisely to oversee the development of the infocomm technology in Singapore?

Why is Mr Lee setting up yet another office to oversee what an existing ministry should be doing?

Is this not a duplication of agencies, or is this another reason to give a ministerial position to someone else?

http://therealsingapore.com/content...es-because-existing-agencies-cannot-cooperate

Dafug is the PS21 office doing?

Why not let Toothpick Zorro Lim run it? He seems to have time.

PMO really bao gar liao: from NPTD to CPIB to this.

Gotta keep the doggies well fed, methinks.

Moving up the chain i see, this half neh Viv.

He's giving them a chance to make up for their cock-ups.

Basically this is a call center to take ur calls while they connect u to the next tai ji department?

What this country needs is a lean bureaucracy and not layers of 'fats' that will do this tiny island in in the long run.

Gallego99 said:

What this country needs is a lean bureaucracy and not layers of 'fats' that will do this tiny island in in the long run.

Click to expand...

Singapore, a city-state, only needs something similar to the City of London: every few years they elect a new Lord Mayor. No political parties, just from various trades.

Even the Casino Regulatory Authority is worthless, but since we have two casinos, let's go ahead have the CRA too.

Government is simply overstaffed to patronise for the supports of all his yesmen. Anyone taking over, will need plenty of time to reconsolidate positions. Is this a ploy???

the whore con job is to create high pay jobs for his kakis who are retiring from seeber serpent.