AL Plenary | Government budget continues to increase in 2017

Mak Soi Kun

The Legislative Assembly has passed the government’s proposed budget for 2017, albeit with many doubts raised by the lawmakers.

The budget for next year is estimated to be MOP95.72534 billion, MOP10.6873 billion more than the budget for 2016, which represents a 12.6 percent increase year-on-year.

Of this figure, more than MOP4 billion will be for investment in companies.

Chui Sai Peng suggests that this money should not be counted as budget, but as investment because it will generate revenue in the future.

The government estimates fiscal revenue for next year to be similar to this year’s, perhaps with a slight decline, coming in at MOP102.94406 billion, around 300 million less than in 2016, corresponding to a 0.3 percent decrease.

The budget, in the opinion of Ng Kuok Cheong, goes against Macau’s economic evolution in recent years.

“The government used to say that it will reduce spending during the economic adjustment period, but [it has] increased more than MOP10 billion [in 2017],” said Ng, who has also requested the financial authority to provide, in the future, details about projects that cost more than MOP100 million.

The budget indicates that in 2017 the government expects to spend MOP20.82558 billion in civil servants’ salaries. This figure represents 23.7 percent of the total budget, also an increase compared to last year.

Mak Soi Kun expressed doubts over whether the government has been simplifying the administration. “In 2010, it was around nine billion, and the number has been increasing over the years,” pointed out Mak. “Fiscal revenue has been reduced, but the budget keeps increasing.”

Between 2013 and 2016 the proportion of government projects started which are then seen to completion increased to more than 77 percent.

Mak believes that this suggests that there is no need for the government to increase the budget in 2017. Instead, it should be reduced because the government has become more efficient.

Similar doubts were also raised by Lei Cheng I and by Lam Hang Sang.

“Both the security force and healthcare sections need to increase human resources, but departments such as the Housing Bureau do not need to increase their budgets. What are the reasons, how is it possible?” Lei Cheng I questioned.

“Some departments are really exaggerating. One spent 200 million in the past and now it claims 600 million. I am unable to see the reasons behind this growth. It is quite a waste of time to check one by one,” said Lam Hang Sang.

Lawmakers Song Pek Kei and Ho Ion Sang also posed questions about the reasons behind these budget inflations. They required the Secretary for Finance to provide further details.

Lionel Leong, in reply to the lawmakers’ questions, said “it needs to be emphasized that regarding the use of fiscal revenue, whether the economy is good or bad, [the government] should always make good use of public money.”

The secretary explained that the number of governmental employees in 2017 will be less or equal to the number employed this year.

Leong claims that when the economy is good, more investment should be allocated to move the economy forward. “The government needs to increase public investment to ensure a stable economy,” Leong stated. Julie Zhu

On the lawmakers’ agenda

Democracy and freedom Au Kam San said that Macau was born with a disadvantage “in [its] fight for a democratic political system.” Au noted that Macau has historically almost completely adopted Hong Kong’s political structure, but purposefully avoided efforts towards instating universal suffrage of the Chief Executive’s election. However, he considers that the public is not to be blamed for the political events up to this point.

“Democracy is the world trend. Of course Macau cannot exclude itself [from the trend],” said Au. He commented that gradually promoting a democratic political reform is an agenda that Macau must carry out, and that it is “what every person who claims to be patriotic and love Macau should invest efforts in and spend time doing.”

Road tiles Leong Veng Chai said he is concerned about Macau’s drivers, as the government has pledged to build more streets with Portuguese tiles. “The government spent every effort to not only use it [Portuguese tiles] on sidewalks but also along roadway lanes,” said Leong. He claimed that these roads are dangerous to drivers because they have become “manual rubbish roads,” although it is not clear exactly what he meant. Leong holds the government responsible for not having provided the drivers with safe roads in the city. Leong believes that this sort of design is indeed something special, however he questioned whether the aesthetic appeal was a worthy reason for placing drivers and passengers in danger. He further questioned whether the government will acknowledge and redress such mistakes when people show up injured or dead because of this problem.

Public service Lei Cheng I addressed the fact that the government’s delayed operations always cause inefficiency in local public services. Next year, the service contract of Macau’s three bus companies will come to an end. Lei believes that the authority still hasn’t decided on a clear and disclosed schedule regarding the contract. Lei provided past examples of when public services were interrupted because of governmental contract issues. Lei urged the government to carefully review its work, and to make sure that employees from bus companies and the public alike will not be adversely affected in the future.