Social measures highlighted in 2018 Policy Address

Chui Sai On (left) and Ho Iat Seng

The Chief Executive (CE), Chui Sai On, went yesterday to the Legislative Assembly (AL) to present the government’s Policy Address for 2018. There he extracted and highlighted specific social policies in an extensive report that otherwise contained few concrete measures.
The CE dedicated more time to highlighting these social policies that that of other areas, listing a large number of measures that have been enforced already, some of them for several years.
As novelties, Chui noted the significant increase to the birth grant that will increase from MOP1,700 to MOP5,000.

At the same time, the annual subsidy for senior citizens registered an increase of MOP1,000, reaching MOP9,000, while the elderly allowance remained unchanged at MOP3,450.

The salaries of the civil servants were also increased by 2.4 percent with the salary index moving from MOP83 to MOP85, representative of the smallest increase in the last six years. The CE said that the proposal had already been delivered to the AL, and is expected to enter into force from January 2018.

Questioned on this matter during a press conference at the government’s headquarters following the AL presentation, the CE replied that the government had made the calculations “according to the reality,” after consulting several entities.

Unchanged were also several other subsidies included in the Wealth Partaking Scheme from the government, where the annual cheque amount conceded to permanent and non-permanent residents will remain for the second year in a row at MOP9,000 and MOP5,400 respectively. The MOP600 medical voucher provision and the MOP6,000 Continuing Education plan for residents will also both remain unchanged next year.

A new subsidy will be introduced for Macau students receiving primary and secondary-level education in Guangdong Province amounting to MOP6,000, while the subsidy for those studying in the province at kindergarten-level will be updated to MOP8,000.

Regarding tax relief measures, the government announced the return of the withholding of professional tax scheme, which will remain at 60 percent but have its ceiling raised to a maximum of MOP14,000.

The government will also continue to inject MOP10,000 of seed capital into the Central Provident Fund savings account of every eligible resident, as well as an additional MOP7,000 each from the fiscal surplus.

Chui clarified that all of these welfare measures will cost the government an amount close to MOP12.9 billion.

He said the government was cautiously optimistic about Macau’s economic outlook and anticipated the economy would continue growing next year.

Questioned on this matter during the press conference and more specifically on the gaming revenue forecast that surpassed expectations for 2017, the CE predicted the sector to record a total revenue of MOP230 billion this year.

Remarking on the impetus behind the growth, the CE noted, “the tourism sector has been growing and the gaming sector grows in consequence.”

Lawmakers attend the CE speech

In the area of economy and administration, Chui said at the policy address that the government would aim to foster stable economic development and a deepening of public administration reform.

This should be achieved through a bet on the non-gaming sector, he said, and specifically on the development of the convention and exhibition industry and the cultural and creative industries, as well as enhancing regional exchanges and cooperation.

The CE also suggested that the exhibition and convention sector should use this opportunity to promote local culture and heritage sites and the participation of local SMEs in the process.

Another of the areas of consideration is the financial sector, which Chui said had its “own characteristics.” The CE said the government would actively develop specialized financial businesses focusing on two major areas: financial leasing and wealth management.
On the other hand, the government will encourage SMEs to adopt innovative business models, and enhance cooperation with e-commerce operators in mainland China to build a foundation for exploring e-commerce markets in Portuguese-speaking countries.

Addressing the lack of manpower required by SMEs and the regulations for imported labor, the chief executive said the government will actively promote vocational training in order enhance local residents’ vocational skills, employment competitiveness and entrepreneurship. He said that employment policies will always focus on facilitating better career development for local residents.

To this end, amendments to the Labor Relations Law, the regulations for part-time employment and minimum wage have been included in the proposals for legislation for 2018 and 2019.

On the issue of administration reforms, the CE noted the government is advancing a responsibility regime for high ranked officials. He said that the government “is already in possession of an evaluation made by a third party entity,” adding, “we already started the revision but we want to reinforce on this matter.”

Questioned on the gaming concessions license renewals – more specifically on the fact that the topic was not overtly mentioned in the policy address – the CE said, “I have already publically [spoken] on this matter. We have been working together with the [gaming] sector and the process is being conducted. We don’t have yet many novelties to announce.”

The CE continues with the Policy Address today, when he will be at the AL for the second consecutive day to answer lawmakers’ questions.

CE hopes to see the Islands Hospital

The Chief Executive (CE), Chui Sai On, said yesterday during the press conference that he still expects to see the Islands Health Service Complex (Islands Hospital) completed before his mandate ends.

His expectation was shared following a media enquiry on the progress of the complex’s development.

According to the CE, “we have information from the Health Bureau [stating] that about 40 percent of the work is done. In 2019 I hope to see the building almost done. I would like to see it [completed] before the end of my mandate.”

Another infrastructure topic touched upon by Chui was public housing, which has suffered a reduction in the number of units to be built as stated in this year’s policy address,

The CE explained that the government “plays by the same rules as everyone else,” noting that the former estimates proved too ambitious  after pertinent analysis by the Urban Planning Committee and environmental assessments.

On the topic he added that he expects that the Zone A of the new landfills to be ready by the end of this year, sharing hopes that during 2019, “we can be opening the tender again for social housing on zone A.”