POLICY ADDRESS 2016 | Gov’t moves to strengthen welfare measures

A group of parents staged a protest yesterday to demand family reunions with their mainland-born children unable to get local IDs

Chui Sai On went to the Legislative Assembly yesterday to present his Policy Address for 2016. Unlike in previous years’ presentations, when mottos like “promoting local talents” or “scientific governance” were dominant, this year the Chief Executive (CE) preferred not to highlight one single policy, pledging instead to make improvements in many fields. Housing, transport and social welfare were the three areas that deserved most attention during his speech.
In terms of welfare, the CE noted that the elderly are “precious to society” and to support them is to continue “one of the Chinese traditions that we should keep.” A bill on the rights of older people is slated for preparation next year and an interdepartmental group on elderly care is also to be established.
Mr Chui announced an increase to a set of subsidies, including those for the elderly and disabled (both updated from MOP7,500 to MOP8,000). The minimum subsistence index will likewise be raised to MOP4,050. Low-income full-time employees will continue to be subsidized to the tune of up to MOP5,000 per month.
The cash handout policy remains unchanged and the health vouchers for permanent residents will increase slightly to MO600. Every household will keep on benefiting from a maximum MOP200 in monthly subsidies towards electricity bills.
It was announced that the government would inject MOP10,000 of seed capital into the Central Provident Fund savings account of every eligible resident. In 2016 an additional MOP7,000 from the fiscal surplus will be deposited into those eligible accounts. A total of MOP37 billion will be added to the Social Security Fund in order to maintain its sustainability.
As in previous years, the protection of residents’ jobs is considered a “priority” and employers “will be encouraged to update the salaries in order to achieve stability in terms of human resources.” Civil servants will get a 2.53 percent salary update, lower than in previous years.
Other policies favoring residents include the review of the labor law in order to introduce paid paternity leave and “examination of issues arising from when a statutory holiday falls on an employee’s rest day.” Macau ID holders will continue to benefit from training programs like the Continuing Education Development Scheme.
Acknowledging that traffic congestion has become a major concern in Macau, “affecting mobility and road safety,” Chui Sai On said that measures to control the increase

Chui Sai On greets lawmakers after his speech

in the number of vehicles will be introduced. With heavier taxes and more inspections on older vehicles, it is expected that owning a car will become less attractive.
The government pledged to promote public transportation. For example, buses will have a dedicated corridor stretching from Lam Mau Dock to Barra.
The Light Rapid Transit (LRT) project is seen as central to the promotion of local public transportation. Chui Sai On announced that “the contract with the LRT depot builder will be canceled and works are expected to resume shortly, after suffering major delays. Studies are being made to implement “the Seac Pai Van line,” deemed necessary given the huge public housing project that was built there. Another stalled project, the expansion of Taipa’s Pac On ferry terminal, “will be fully working by the second semester of next year,” Chui said. Still concerning major infrastructure projects, one of the Policy Address’ novelties was the announcement that the fourth link between Macau and Taipa will be via a bridge, since the possibility of building a tunnel was discarded.
Regarding housing, Chui reiterated the government’s intention to promote the recovery of unused land lots in order to build affordable housing, and mentioned the plan to provide 28,000 public housing units within the new reclamation Zone A.
Another topic addressed was the administrative revamp that will see “15 projects of adjustment and reorganization of public services within the next two years.” The idea to create a municipal body “with no political power” was restated.
The role of Macau as a platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries was also highlighted by the CE, who said there’s a need to train bilingual talents in Chinese and Portuguese.
Stressing an ongoing mid-term review of the gaming industry, Chui said that authorities will encourage operators to engage more in large-scale tourism projects that would help diversify the sector by offering more leisure activities and non-gaming elements.
The prospects for local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), according to the CE, will suffer “an even higher pressure” given the global economic downturn. To counter that, some of those companies will be able to access more loan funds.
Although recognizing the challenges posed by the gaming industry adjustment phase, Chui Sai On kept a positive tone. He said that “the local economy has been developing positively and the public finances are stable,” adding that “the major [infrastrucuture] projects are being done in an orderly fashion and the unemployment rate is keeping at a relatively low level.”
The Chief Executive will be at the AL today for the second consecutive day, tasked with answering lawmakers’ questions.

nursery network under expansion

The lack of nurseries has created a strain on some local parents who are unable to access to childcare services. Chui Sai On intends to solve the problem and said that the number of places available will rise to 10,000 next year. That would be enough to include 90 percent of all 2-year-olds, he added.