Jelilat Sample Article 2
Singapore Budget 2020 Summary
At the onset of the year 2020, Singapore wouldn’t imagine what will be the
situation of their country and the whole world within the first quarter. By February
2020 when the first budget was presented, the pandemic COVID-19 was already
hitting hard in China but only 800 cases were reported outside China. The
Singapore government saw this as a possible threat but not to the extent of what
has become of their country after the pandemic was declared a global threat.
Singapore February 2020 budget summary was aimed at providing an acute
response to the pending economical instability caused by COVID-19 by devising
appropriate strategies. Towards ensuring that Singaporeans of all ages will be able
to cope with the challenges, the government budgeted a Stabilisation and Support
Package, costing $4 billion, which is aimed at helping viable enterprises, and
workers.
In their effort to significantly improve the transformation and growth of the
Singapore nation, $8.3 billion was set aside to span over three years in order to
support longer-term plans to position Singapore as a Global-Asia center of
technology, innovation, and enterprise. In addition to the structural social subsidies
given to Singaporeans in healthcare, education, and housing, there is the Care and
Support Package of about $1.6 billion set aside to support households and alleviate
concerns over the cost of living during an unusual period.
Climate mitigation and adaptation is another area of the economy that was to be
given special attention according to the February 2020 Singapore budget towards a
safe and liveable Singapore.
Singapore 2020 Resilience Budget
Far from expectation, by March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was already
spreading like fire as it is already out of control in almost other countries of the
world. Three weeks after the February 2020 Budget speech, the World Health
Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic on 11th March 2020,
recognizing the severity and risk of further global spread. At this point, many
countries are already taking extraordinary measures to contain the spread of the
virus, to ensure that their healthcare systems are not overwhelmed. Many
countries have implemented lockdowns to reduce the rate of spread.
Singapore’s reaction to this was swift and prompt. A supplementary budget was
immediately designed to help cushion the negative effect that the pandemic has
started having a negative impact on the economy, health and social sector of their
country. The severe economic disruption was highly felt in the stock market and
within 22 days, there was a 30% drop in the magnitude and this was indeed the
fastest drop in history.
The aviation and tourism sectors were badly affected as international visitor arrivals
to Singapore came to a halt. Consumer sectors such as food services, retail trade,
and land transport have been considerably affected. The manufacturing and
wholesale trade have also been affected due to the disruption in the demand chain.
The GDP growth forecast for 2020 was drastically reduced from a range of -0.5% to
1.5% announced in the February 2020 budget to a range of -4.0% and -1.0% by
March.
The Singapore government sees COVID-19 as a test of social cohesion and
psychological resilience. In an attempt to make ensure that the citizens still thrive
despite the situation, the supplementary and resilience budget was presented. With
this, measures worth over $48 billion was set aside to deal decisively with the
situation at hand.
About $55 billion was set aside to support the situation of people. This amounts to
11% of the total GDP serving as a landmark package and necessary response to the
unique situation. The Government of Singapore will be drawing up to $17 billion
from the Past Reserves to make up for the Resilience Budget. The Resilience Budget
was made to focus on three key areas:
1. To save jobs, support workers, and protect livelihoods.
2. To help enterprises overcome immediate negative challenges.
3. To strengthen the economic and social situation of the country.
This effort of the Singapore government is highly commendable, placing the
interest of its citizens at the forefront and bearing all the possible consequences.
The good part of it all is that no one should get scared of losing their job. The
government is ready to ensure that workers that are currently employed stay
employed and safe. The health and social wellbeing of the populace is also given an
exceptionally high priority until the storm is withered.