Policy Address | Chui Sai On satisfied with five year plan implementation so far

Chief Executive (CE) Chui Sai On expressed his satisfaction over the turnover rate of the first two years of the Macau Five-Year Development plan. Chui went to the Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday, for the second consecutive day, this time tasked with answering lawmakers’ questions. 

According to Chui, in 2018, the government will pay special importance to reviewing the city’s catering industry licensing system. He also expressed his worries about SMEs not having sufficient human resources in order to provide their services, since many enterprises frequently hire temporary workers.

When replying to Chan Hong, who wanted to know exactly about the government plan for improving the competencies of Macau’s human resources, Chui said that the government needs to review the region’s popular science education, and it needs to train talented people for the e-commerce and artificial intelligence industries.

He then talked about the slow processing of administrative procedures. Six public departments have been closed this year, as the government tries to simplify administrative procedures and 15 projects regarding public department works will be implemented electronically next year.

Ip Sio Kai pointed out that Macau should actively participate in the Greater Bay Area development by having a better financial groundwork.

Chui revealed that the Macau government is planning legislation for the development of a finance leasing company. Laws and talented human resources are the two main aspects which Macau most requires to become competitive within the finance sector. 

When asked by Leong Sun Iok how many land plots the government will retake next year, Chui answered that it is difficult to come up with an exact number. He then pointed out that the government has declared 57 plots to be invalid in the past year, with most of these still involved in legal procedures because they will be used for building public facilities.

Pereira Coutinho posed questions about the accountability of top officials, having mentioned that the former director of the Macau Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG), Fong Soi Kun, should be held responsible for the disasters caused by Typhoon Hato. Coutinho added that he, together with SMG workers, had presented a complaint to the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC), around a year before the Typhoon Hato occurrence, but nothing had been done.

Chui told Coutinho that a special, responsible team is still investigating whether some parties will have to be held accountable for what happened during Hato.

During the debate with lawmakers, the CE expressed hopes that, next year, the government can do more in terms of providing opportunities for locals to get promoted in their careers. Currently, the government is trying to achieve the target of local residents making up 85 percent of the six gaming operators’ executive positions, Chui told the lawmakers.

In terms of the creativity of the city, Chui hopes that the Macao Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) can be expanded to become the base for Macau’s development as a city of gastronomy.

According to Chui, the government hopes to provide special funds to stimulate the creative industry.

When asked about the development of Macau’s medical system, the CE noted that, currently, there are seven health centers and three health stations. The number of health centers will increase to nine in 2020. He also announced that, at the end of this year, the government will announce the report on the study of Macau citizens’ health. Until the fourth quarter of 2017, Macau will have successfully trained 152 specialists, a number that represents 55.3 percent of the government’s goal, which is to have trained 270 specialists by 2020, according to Chui.

Having posed several questions in previous editions of the Policy Address, Zheng Anting, once again, chased the government for an answer to solve the Pearl Horizon issue.

Chui told Zheng that the Pearl Horizon case is still in the hands of the Court of Final Appeal, and that the Macau government will implement the rulings of the court once they are announced.

Currently, there is not a plan regarding the Greater Bay Area development; there is only an agreement between Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong.

Next year, the government will also deliver a plan to the AL to gain the lawmakers’ approval. The plan consists of the establishment of a fund which will be responsible for investment in the development of the Greater Bay Area.

Regarding another long-discussed topic concerning Macau’s role as the platform between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries, Chui announced that, next year, the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture will focus on a related topic, which concerns the establishment of Macau as the basis for talented human resources of China and Portuguese-speaking countries.