Lawmakers call on gov’t to promptly release assistance measures

Lawmakers Ella Lei and Leong Sun Iok are jointly calling for the implementation of financial assistance measures by the Macau government to take place as soon as possible, urging the government to prepare well in order to ensure social-economic revival. Only some industrial and commercial activities are allowed to operate, with many industries still closed, which is making a big impact on Macau’s economy.

“Earlier, the government stated that [it is] using government resources to help society recover, and considering [the introduction of] more economic assistance measures to support residents,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement.

“For some industries [greatly impacted] by the suspension, it is recommended to launch a “special assistance plan for the suspension of work and business” to alleviate the plight of enterprises and ensure the employment of local employees,” they further added.

The statement urges the government to announce the details of the measures as soon as possible and distribute money to encourage residents to stimulate the economy by spending, in the hopes that such a distribution will support residents to cope with the pandemic.

Currently, many people are worried about unemployment, and that it will be more difficult for unemployed residents to find jobs. Lei and Leong also suggested that the government extend the “temporary subsidy plan to encourage the employment of unemployed local residents” published earlier by the government, which encourages local industries to hire unemployed local residents as a matter of priority. 

As for the “program of training with allowance” that has been suspended for long time due to the pandemic, Lei and Leong suggested, in addition to lowering the conditions for applications and increasing the quotas of participants, that the government use online services to carry out the program so as to convince residents to learn new skills.

Further, self-employed people such as tour guides and taxi drivers will receive MOP10,000 each, which is MOP5,000 less than employees. Leong suggested that the government increase these amounts so that the self-employed can receive the same level of financial assistance as regular employees. Staff Reporter