As the Government spends more in areas such as healthcare, it also needs more revenue, said Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam at a dialogue with residents on Sunday (March 5).
“Money is not going to come from the sky… We have to pay for what we use, and we just have to trust the Government to be efficient with its use of the money,” he said.
He was responding to a resident’s question about what would happen if the Government received less net investment income than what was projected.
The resident was one of about 160 women who attended a health talk organised by Nee Soon GRC, in collaboration with the National Healthcare Group Polyclinics, to mark International Women’s Day on Wednesday (March 8).
Mr Shanmugam and Nee Soon GRC MP Lee Bee Wah spoke about the Budget 2017 announcements before the health talk.
Mr Shanmugam added: “As a family, you have to spend less than what you earn. As a country, we have to learn to spend less than what we have. With all the rising costs and rising expenditure, we need to look at where the extra money (needed) is going to come from.”
He also explained the need for the 30 per cent increase in water tariffs – the first in 17 years – which was announced last month.
He pointed out that one- and two-room HDB households will not see any nett increase at all, while for most other HDB flats, the nett increase will only be between $2 and $11 per month.
During the health talk, residents learnt how to manage their food intake and exercise, to stay healthy even as they age. Ms Lee said: “Women are the centres of many workplaces, families and communities, but they can only do so if they stay healthy. I hope this talk (provides) our female residents the information to protect themselves against diseases, and live a happy and long life.”
Source: ST
