Chitchat Many Singaporeans feel CDC mayor salaries are 'outrageous': Pritam Singh

[Scrooball (clone)]

Nicholas Yong
·Assistant News Editor
Wed, 24 February 2021, 2:24 pm

Workers' Party Secretary-General, Pritam Singh speaks to reporters during a campaign walkabout ahead of the general election on 7 July 2020 in Singapore. (PHOTO: Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)

SINGAPORE — Many Singaporeans are of the view that the salaries of Community Development Council (CDC) mayors are "outrageous", mainly because they are not perceived to commensurate with the mayor's roles and functions today, said Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh on Wednesday (24 February).

"Other Singaporeans are of the view that the CDCs' functions can be carried out by other existing entities, or by ministries and statutory boards, including other organisations under the People's Association, particularly since the social footprint of each CDC is uneven, and can differ greatly compared to another," claimed Singh.
"Yet others simply don't know what the CDCs do."

There are currently five district mayors - Low Yen Ling (South West), Denise Phua (Central), Fahmi Aliman (South East), Alex Yam (North West) and Desmond Choo (North East).

According to the 2012 White Paper on government salaries, mayors are paid an annual salary of $660,000. This is in addition to their annual MP allowance of $192,500.
Speaking during the parliamentary debate on Budget 2021, the Workers' Party chief noted that $20 million was allocated to the CDCs in the Unity Budget last year, and this increased to $75 million a month later in the Resilience Budget. "This injection is equal to all the reserves of the CDCs put together, according to the CDCs' FY 2018 annual report."

The Aljunied Member of Parliament called for a "serious review" of the necessity of having full-time CDC mayors, suggesting that bodies such as the Citizens Consultative Committees (CCC) are more closely connected to the ground. He noted, for example, that representatives of market and merchants association are commonly represented on the CCCs, and there is one CCC for each ward or constituency.

It would follow, said Singh, that the CDCs' role in the CDC voucher scheme is potentially "superfluous". The 43-year-old added, "So 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."

CDC voucher scheme

INFOGRAPHIC: Yahoo News Singapore
Last Tuesday, the government announced a $900 million Household Support package for families in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Under the package, about 1.3 million households will be given $100 CDC vouchers, with an additional $150 million grant to the CDC for this. Recipients can use the vouchers at heartland shops and hawker centres.

Singh asked the government to clarify if the CDC vouchers can also be used at supermarket chains such as Giant, Sheng Siong and NTUC FairPrice. He suggested that the current scheme be focused solely on heartland shops and hawkers, such as local provision shops, Chinese sinsehs and fruit sellers

"There's a risk that if this is not done, the bulk of the vouchers would be spent at supermarkets like NTUC, Fairprice and bypass the heartland shops. If the major supermarket chains are involved, the scheme could effectively mirror a cash top up."

He also asked how much of the $150 million has been allocated for the CDC voucher scheme per se, and how much constitutes the amount allocated for the administration of the program.

 

[shittypore]

Stinkiepore block buster, stinky rich Pappigs.

 

[Scrooball (clone)]

$600,000 to do what? Talk cock? Singapore so small, need mayor for what?

 

[sweetiepie]

KNN no wonder the mayor look so happy while giving cny Hong bao to sinkie old farts KNN my uncle just think 1 person leeceiving so much money also no use KNN life is still leemited to buy house buy car eat and buy other things KNN got too much also useless should give some to other people KNN

 

[millim6868]

Actually look at all the PAPigs n temasick n GIC , 61% thibk they are capable, one thjng i know if they ard capable they will show u black n white how capable they are ,all are leeches n can hold many posts,these show that woghouz them the show still run

 

[Hypocrite-The]

666 666k per year for a fat ah soh to sprout shit,,considering that the Mayor is a political appointment and the CDCs are under PAP control...how can it not be politicise?


Denise Phua tells Pritam Singh not to politicise the work of the CDCs


Ms Phua said that Mr Singh's accusation "belittles" the CDCs and their partners
Photo: YouTube screengrab



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AUTHOR
Obbana Rajah
DATE
February 26, 2021

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Singapore — Denise Phua called out Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh, after the latter questioned the relevance of the Community Development Council (CDC) and the “outrageous” salaries of mayors in Parliament.
There are currently five district mayors – Low Yen Ling (South West), Denise Phua (Central), Fahmi Aliman (South East), Alex Yam (North West) and Desmond Choo (North East).
Mayors are paid an annual salary of S$660,000, according to the White Paper on Salaries for a Capable and Committed Government published in 2012. They also receive an annual MP allowance of $192,500, not including bonuses.
Responding to Mr Singh’s comments, Ms Phua said that Mr Singh’s accusation “belittles” the CDCs and their partners.

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She also explained that Mr Singh’s acceptance of the role of the Leader of Opposition was very much an exercise in trying to stay relevant: “Singaporeans too ask what the role of the Leader of Opposition in our Parliament is — under the circumstances that all nine of the elected Opposition MPs are from one single Opposition Party”.
“Do not politicise the good work of the CDCs and our partners,” Ms Phua called.
In her response, Ms Phua noted that the CDCs’ strength is their “relative agility and ability”, which helps them to respond and develop programmes in the district faster than a “bigger government machinery”.
Mr Singh clarified, saying that his comments were not meant as a personal indictment against the mayors or the programmes run by the CDCs. He suggested that perhaps these “worthy initiatives” could done by charities instead.
However, he pointed out that as the role of the CDCs were diminished over time, portioning out responsibilities to various ministries, the budget for CDCs went down as well.
Mr Singh then brought up whether it is viable for the role of the CDC mayor to be a full-time job.
Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday (Feb 24), Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh said that many Singaporeans are of the view that the salaries of Community Development Council (CDC) mayors are “outrageous”.
He added that this was mainly because they are not perceived to commensurate with the mayor’s roles and functions today. Mr Singh continued that Singaporeans are of the view that the CDCs’ functions can be carried out by other existing entities, or by ministries and statutory boards, including other organisations under the People’s Association.
“Yet others simply don’t know what the CDCs do”, he said. /TISG
Read related: Pritam Singh: Many Singaporeans feel CDC mayor salaries of S$660,000 annually are “outrageous”
Send in your scoop to [email protected]

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[Scrooball (clone)]

In her response, Ms Phua noted that the CDCs’ strength is their “relative agility and ability”, which helps them to respond and develop programmes in the district faster than a “bigger government machinery”.

How do u justify $600k salary sia? Develop programmes? U believe this shit? What has she done? She didn't even list any to bring credibility to her story.

 

[Hypocrite-The]

How do u justify $600k salary sia? Develop programmes? U believe this shit? What has she done? She didn't even list any to bring credibility to her story.

Who voted for her?

 

[steffychun]

Treat it like SimCity -- Are the Mayors ratings high?

 

[Hypocrite-The]

He sure is lucky,,,just shows that with the right name and right connections one sure can go far..


Three-term MP Teo Ser Luck makes at least an additional $5m as mayor before saying “bye-bye”
by Correspondent
25/02/2021
in Current Affairs
Reading Time: 3min read
36



Yesterday (24 Feb), the Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh told Parliament that many Singaporeans are of the view that the salaries of Community Development Council (CDC) mayors are “outrageous”.
The mayors are not perceived to commensurate with their roles and functions today, Mr Singh said.
“Other Singaporeans are of the view that the CDCs’ functions can be carried out by other existing entities, or by ministries and statutory boards, including other organisations under the People’s Association, particularly since the social footprint of each CDC is uneven, and can differ greatly compared to another,” he added.
“Yet others simply don’t know what the CDCs do.”
Currently, Singapore has 5 district mayors, all who are also PAP MPs – Low Yen Ling (South West), Denise Phua (Central), Fahmi Aliman (South East), Alex Yam (North West) and Desmond Choo (North East).
According to the 2012 White Paper on government salaries, mayors are paid an annual salary of $660,000. This is in addition to their annual MP allowance of $192,500.
Mr Singh, who is also the Secretary-General of Workers’ Party, called for a “serious review” of the necessity of having full-time CDC mayors, suggesting that bodies such as the Citizens Consultative Committees (CCC) are more closely connected to the ground.
Teo Ser Luck makes at least an additional $5m as CDC Mayor
In the case of Teo Ser Luck who “retired” from politics last year, it has been estimated that he made at least an additional $5 million as Mayor of North East CDC from 2009 to 2017.

Teo first entered Parliament after 2006 GE. He contested under a 6-man team in the Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC. Following his election, he was appointed a Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS). In 2008, he was promoted to Senior Parliamentary Secretary at the MCYS and the Ministry of Transport. In 2009, he took on the addition role of Mayor of the North East CDC, in addition to his political appointments.
Teo had also served as the Chairman of the National Youth Council and the Chairman of the Young PAP. He was also heavily involved in the organisation of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in 2010. He was able to lead Singapore’s successful bid for the games and was an advisor to the organising committee, while serving as mayor.
After the 2011 GE, Teo was promoted to become Minister of State at the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and continued to serve as Mayor of the North East CDC. After 2015 GE, he was appointed Minister of State at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
In Apr 2017, he announced that he would “step down” from public office and “return to the private sector”. He relinquished his appointments as Mayor of North East CDC and Minister of State for Manpower on May 26 and June 30 respectively but continued to be MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC.
At the time of his announcement to step down from public office, Teo told everyone that his passion is in creating start-ups and businesses, “I plan to build, create, invest or help start-ups and businesses. Some are tech related while others will be in products or services which I’m passionate about.”
He finally quit politics completely last year after 2020 GE.
In his 3 terms as PAP MP in Parliament, he earned millions of dollars in salary. Using the revised ministerial salaries set in 2012 (salaries before were much higher), his estimated earnings were:

• Parliamentary Secretary (about 2 years) – $418K x 2 = $836K
• Senior Parliamentary Secretary (about 3 years) – $572K x 3 = $1.7M
• Mayor of North East CDC (about 8 years) – $660K x 8 = $5.3M
• Minister of State (about 6 years) – $770K x 6 = $4.6M
  TOTAL = $12.4M

This did not even include the monthly $16K salary he earned as MP from 2006 to 2020. In any case, the ability of Teo to hold multiple positions and still able to do his mayor work in CDC was truly amazing.

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Netizens slam DPM Heng Swee Keat for calling LO Pritam Singh’s independent Budget office proposal a “wasteful duplication”
by Aldgra F.
01/03/2021
in Finance, Parliament
Reading Time: 6min read
6



Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on Friday (26 Feb) rebutted Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh’s suggestion to create an independent Budget office, saying that is a “wasteful duplication” of existing functions, given that there are already independent audits by the Auditor-General’s Office and Parliamentary scrutiny of the Government’s spending.
Mr Singh from the Workers’ Party (WP) has earlier proposed setting an independent Budget office to scrutinise the national Budget and to assure “public accountability and transparency in light of the massive drawdown of reserves” to fund COVID-19 measures.
Referring to this, Mr Heng said: “It would be very helpful if each time Mr Singh or his colleagues ask the Government to spend more, [they] give us their estimates of how much it would cost and how they would fund it.
“But instead, the Workers’ Party (WP) has called on the Government to spend S$20 million to set up an independent parliamentary Budget office to do this job for them. Even as they call for more scrutiny on Government expenditure, we invite them to hold themselves to the same scrutiny.”
Mr Heng, also the Finance Minister, then spoke of the high standards of the Government in ensuring its spending is cost-effective to “deliver the best value for money for taxpayers”.
“In addition to independent audits by the Auditor-General’s Office, we also have Parliamentary scrutiny of our spending through their estimates and public accounts committee.
“The Workers’ Party is represented in both of them. Such an office will be a wasteful duplication of these functions,” he stressed.
In response, Mr Singh asked where the S$20 million figure was derived from, to which Mr Heng replied that the figure was provided by one of the WP’s MPs.
To this, Sengkang GRC MP Jamus Lim from the WP, clarified that his proposal–where he suggested creating an independent fiscal council costing S$20 million–was shared with the Ministry of Finance (MOF), but it was yet to be delivered at the time when Mr Heng spoke.
Noting that the MOF’s committee of supply debate had not begun then, Mr Singh argued that the information by Assoc Prof Lim should not be part of the debate.
He went on to explain that the Parliamentary budget office is not an unusual institution but “a fairly new institution” that is meant to help all MPs, adding that it is “consonant with the separation of powers schema”.
Mr Singh shared an incident when he was part of the Parliamentary estimates committee a few years ago: “A senior civil servant said ‘I cannot be smarter than my boss’. Who’s her boss? Her boss is the Minister of Finance.”
“So a Parliament Budget office or officer is there to provide independent analysis to confirm the nature of the Budget, to confirm that programmes are delivering their outcomes that are desired,” he continued.
Mr Singh then raised questions of how the S$24 billion that is set aside for businesses and workers transformation over the next three years will be used, the outcomes of the Capability Transformation Programme, and whether subsidies to private hire bus drivers will be extended.
At this point, Leader of the House and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah asked Mr Singh to clarify the purpose of the Budget Office and whether it would be the same as the independent fiscal council that was put forward by Assoc Prof Lim.
In response, Mr Singh noted the Parliamentary Budget office mirrors the Canadian model of a parliamentary budget officer, which provides independent analysis to the Canadian parliament on the state of the nation’s finances.

On the second question, he initially asked the House to wait until Assoc Prof Lim delivers his cut in the committee supply debate, but when Ms Rajah asked again to clarify if the Budget Official and fiscal council are the same entities or separately, Mr Singh said it will be “the same thing”.
Hearing this, Mr Heng said he was “totally confused” because they are “very different entities”.
“Mr Singh said earlier we should set up such an office because it is important to examine outcomes. You had an encounter with a Ministry of Finance official who said that, ‘I’m not smarter than my boss’.
“Your arguments are totally convoluted. One does not lead to the other,” he noted.
Mr Heng then asked if Mr Singh and WP members have looked at MOF’s interim assessment of key COVID-19 measures.
“There is a reason why I put up the interim report, even though the full effects have not been done, because I am conscious that we have used a big part of last year’s budget… We have used the past reserves and that I have a responsibility to account for those outcomes,” he said of the report.
Mr Heng also asked if the WP has any comments on the report.
“Because I sat through the debate, I read your transcripts, but no one mentioned about outcomes, no one raised a question about could this have been done better, could that have been done better.
“So what is the purpose of setting up an office when the information that is publicly available is there for you to ask?” He continued.
Responding to this, Mr Singh reiterated that a Budget office would give an independent perspective of the Budget that would be separate from the State organs.
“Those who are approving the Budget ought to have I think access to an independent analysis, and that’s what the parliamentary Budget officer will give,” he added.
While Mr Heng replied that he did not want to “prolong the debate” and they could discuss this at the Finance Ministry’s committee of supply debate, he urged the WP to be clear of its proposals.
“This Budget debate is a serious debate about whether our broad direction is correct. Do you have suggestions on how we can do it better? I’m open to your ideas, but I have to say, unfortunately, so far I have heard none,” he said.
Mr Singh responded that as a point of order, he would not be able to address the issues that he has not spoken about, and that he would ask his questions at the committee of supply debates.
“Mayors are wasteful duplication”
Penning their thoughts under the comment section of CNA’s Facebook post, many netizens pointed out that it is the mayors’ and the Community Development Councils’ (CDCs) roles that are “wasteful duplications”, given how similar their duties are to those of the roles elected MPs.
This was also brought up by Mr Singh during the Emerging Stronger Together Budget on 24 Feb, where he said that many Singaporeans are of the view that the salaries of mayors are “outrageous”, given how they do not appear to “commensurate with the mayor’s roles and functions today”.

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[Hypocrite-The]

Theindependent
Is the job so important, he asks


Photo: Facebook, Youtube
Author

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Singapore — Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh asked the wrong question about mayors in Singapore, said Lim Team of People’s Voice in a Facebook post on Thursday (Feb 25).

***Right Topic but Wrong Question Pritam***

Whilst PV is unified with Pritam and the WP in bringing up in Parliament…

The Workers’ Party secretary-general said in Parliament on Wednesday (Feb 24) that many Singaporeans feel the salaries of the Community Development Council (CDC) mayors are “outrageous”.

He shared that, according to the 2012 White Paper on government salaries, mayors are paid an annual salary of S$660,000. This is in addition to their annual MP allowance of S$192,500.

The Aljunied MP questioned if there was a need for full-time mayors when other committees such as the Citizens Consultative Committees (CCC) are more connected to residents.

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But Lim Tean argued: “The question of whether Singapore needs mayors is not the right question. It is an invitation for the PAP to defend the S$660k per year roles (there are 5 mayors in Singapore so the annual bill is S$3.3million!)”

He said: “When will the PAP agree to a national referendum to let the people of Singapore vote on whether to abolish or reduce the roles of mayors?”

He added: “If the PAP are defending the enormous salary of $660k per year for a mayor because the job is large in scope, then how can this job be done on less than a part-time basis?”

He referred to the Mayor of the South West District, Ms Low Yen Ling, who is also a Member of Parliament for Chua Chu Kang, and is a Minister of State in the Ministry for Trade and Industry (MTI) as well as in the Ministry for Culture, Community and Youth.

He said: “The question is, ‘is the job of a mayor so important and large of scope that the S$660k salary is merited, or is it not important at all and can be executed among several other job positions?'”

The online community has also spoken up on this issue. Many have said they did not know Singapore has mayors and do not understand the role of mayors in Singapore.


Photo: Reddit
Singapore has five mayors, one for each of the five districts (South West, Central, North East, North West, and North East) under the Community Development Council (CDC). According to the CDC website, each mayor also serves as the chairman of the CDC of their particular district. Each council, consisting of a chairman and between 12 and 80 members, is in charge of urban planning, zoning and other similar issues in their respective regions.

Denise Teh is an intern at The Independent SG./TISG

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[Morgernstern]

Ya...paid so much but what they do for the people actually?

 

[bobby]

Denise Phua tells Pritam Singh not to politicise the work of the CDCs

What a profound statement....how can you not politicise the work of the CDCs when the mayor is a politician ?

 

[KuanTi01]

The truth is Singapore never needed a Mayor because it is now a sovereign city-state with a full-sized if not over-bloated Cabinet and over-paid too.

 

[steffychun]

Denise Phua tells Pritam Singh not to politicise the work of the CDCs

What a profound statement....how can you not politicise the work of the CDCs when the mayor is a politician ?

Phua CB Denise is politicising her own role with that statement.

 

[Scrooball (clone)]

How come she is in politics if she doesn't want people to politicize her work?

 

[laksaboy]

'Politicize' is their code word for 'don't hurt my feelings'.

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Well done to PAP for paying top dollar for mayors like Denise,,,if not we end up with dud mayors like Sadiq Khan,



London mayor earns S$284K to oversee 9m while Denise Phua earn S$660K to oversee 1m
by Correspondent
02/03/2021
in Current Affairs
Reading Time: 3min read
76



Last Wednesday (24 Feb) in Parliament, Leader of the Opposition, Workers’ Party (WP) Pritam Singh, raised questions in relation to the need for mayors and the role of the Community Development Councils (CDCs) run by them (‘Mayor Denise Phua’s rebuttal of Pritam Singh is hypocritical and disingenuous, given she benefits from high mayoral salary‘).
Speaking in Parliament, Mr Singh highlighted that many Singaporeans were of the view that the salaries of mayors were “outrageous” and do not “commensurate with the mayor’s roles and functions today”.
The bugbear concerning mayors and the CDCs are not new. Indeed, questions have been asked as to whether or not mayors have been paid handsomely just for job duplication with elected members of parliament (MP).
Questions have also been previously raised with regards to the eye-watering salaries that such mayors are paid. This was also an issue that was raised by WP MP Leon Perera in the past.
Yet despite the mounting criticism, the Mayor of Central Singapore District who is also a MP for Jalan Besar GRC, Denise Phua, rejected Mr Singh’s questioning and accused him of politicizing the issue. She further labelled Mr Singh’s suggestions that CCCs or grassroots volunteers could run the voucher scheme as “ignorant of or insensitive to the reality on the ground”.
London mayor earns S$284K to take care of 9 millions
According to the 2012 White Paper on government salaries, mayors are paid an annual salary of S$660,000. This is in addition to their annual MP allowance of $192,500.

Meanwhile, the present London mayor, Sadiq Khan, is found to be only earning an annual salary of £152,734 or S$284,000. In fact, he volunteered to take an immediate 10 percent pay cut to his salary last year, amid the coronavirus pandemic.

According to Wikipedia, as at 2019, London has a population of 8,961,989 or about 9.0 million. That is to say, the London mayor is paid a salary of only S$284,000 to take care of a population of 9 million in London.
The Mayor of London is given specific powers and duties and a general power to promote economic, social and environmental improvements in London. The Mayor has a duty to set out plans and policies for London covering transport, planning and development, housing, economic development and regeneration, culture health inequalities and a range of environmental issues including climate change and air quality.
The Mayor has a number of other duties relating to culture and tourism, including responsibility for Trafalgar and Parliament Squares. The Mayor also sets an annual budget for the Greater London Authority (GLA) and for the GLA Group, which includes Transport for London, The Metropolitan Police and the London Fire Brigade.
In the case Denise Phua, she takes care of residents living in the Central Singapore District and according to CDC website, the CDC serves close to 1 million residents living there. Not much is said about the role of a mayor.
That is to say, Denise Phua is paid a salary of S$660,000 at least — not including her MP pay of S$192,500 — or 2.3 times more than the London’s mayor just to take care of close to 1 million residents in the Central District of Singapore.
Hence, purely from an economic point of view, wouldn’t it be cheaper for Singaporean taxpayers to hire the London mayor to replace Denise Phua instead?
Not to mention that Singapore has five mayors such as Ms Phua, perhaps 1 London mayor alone with a salary of S$284,000 is sufficient to oversee a population of 5.7 million in Singapore since he already has the necessary experience to oversee a population of 9 million in London?

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Chan Chun Sing says CDC plays "unique role" in SG but avoids addressing its overlapping functions or mayors' high pay - The Online Citizen Asia
During the budget debate in Parliament last month (24 Feb), Aljunied GRC MP and Workers’ Party Chief Pritam Singh questioned the government on the roles of mayors and Community Development Councils (CDCs).
He noted that the roles of CDCs can be done by government agencies or other statutory boards. He also noted that the S$75 million allocated during the Budget last year was equal to the CDCs’ reserves for the 2018 financial year.
He said that it may be time to re-look the highly paid roles of mayors in Singapore, seeing there has been public criticism that a mayor’s job scope does not warrant a high pay.
In response, People’s Action Party (PAP) MP and Mayor Denise Phua accused Mr Singh of belittling the CDCs. She said Mr Singh’s idea for other organizations to handle, for example, the voucher scheme, showed that he did not know the realities on the ground.
She went on to list many CDC’s initiatives in a lengthy defence of CDCs and the mayors’ roles. Mr Singh, however, stood by his query that there is scope for a serious review of the need to have full-time mayors.
The role of CDCs has come into the spotlight after last year’s GE because many Singaporeans feel that the salaries of mayors are “outrageous” and they think that the pay does not commensurate with the mayors’ roles and functions, Mr Singh told the Parliament earlier.
“I’ve made my point and I think it’s now really in the Government’s hands,” he said.
5 mayors earn S$660,000 to oversee less than 1m residents each
There are currently 5 mayors in Singapore each earning at least S$660,000 a year.
In all, the five – Low Yen Ling, Denise Phua, Desmond Choo, Alex Yam and Mohd Fahmi bin Aliman – earn a total of S$3.3 million a year overseeing less than 1 million residents each (‘Five S’pore Mayors earn S$660,000 to oversee less than 1m residents each – Comparison to Mayors in other countries‘).
In comparison,

• Mayor of New York City earns US258,750 (S$348,106) to oversee 8.3 million residents
• Mayor of London earns £152,734 (S$285,576) to oversee 9 million residents
• Mayor of Toronto earns $197,316 (S$212,620) to oversee 6 million residents
• Mayor of Sydney earns $176,615 (S$184,072) to oversee almost 5 million residents
• Mayor of Seoul earns ₩102 million (S$121,213) to oversee nearly 10 million residents
• Governor of Tokyo earns ¥17,472,000 (S$215,115) to oversee 37 million residents

Chan: CDCs play unique roles in mobilizing volunteers, resources to help community
Yesterday (19 Mar), Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing stepped into the fray further defending the need for CDCs.
The Deputy Chairman of People’s Association told everyone at a community event that CDCs play “unique roles” in Singapore’s ecosystem of mobilizing volunteers and resources for various causes.
The CDCs allow initiatives to be customized at the regional level while still achieving economies of scale, he said.
“Why do we run a system with national, regional and local schemes? Is it not overlapping and confusing?” he asked.
Chan then explained that broad-based national schemes are efficient and achieve economies of scale, but may not easily cater to the unique needs of individuals and families, noting that “local schemes allow us to narrow-cast and they can be customized to be more effective, but it is not easy to achieve economies of scale if the schemes are too small”.
Within the spectrum of national and local schemes lie regional efforts led by agencies like the CDCs, Chan added.
“Given the diversity of needs and scale needed for different operating service models for various causes, it should not surprise us to see a diversity of models, practices for experimentation and execution.”
He said, “This spirit of customization and using different models to bring out the dynamism of the local and regional level is something that is dear to us, something we should keep and continue to refine as we go forward.”
In any case, former editor Bertha Henson who is no longer with the Straits Times found Chan’s explanation confusing.
“CCS (Chan Chun Sing) trying to explain CDCs’ existence. With words like unique roles (plural?), initiatives and mobilizing resources and economies of scale. I don’t think he even answered his own question about whether it’s ‘overlapping and confusing’,” noted Ms Henson.
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