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| Smorgasbord
of ideas on waste cutting |
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When
it comes to where and how the public sector can
cut waste, Singaporeans are a jolly vocal lot. Since
opening its doors to ideas from the public on how
the public sector can optimise its spending, the
Cut Waste Panel, chaired by the Head of Civil Service,
has received more than 750 suggestions via the Cut
Waste website. Launched in early September, the
website receives an average of 37 responses a day.
Some of these suggestions are featured in this issue
of Challenge. More can be found on the website.
Coming in fast and furious, the suggestions
cover a wide range of issues. They include asking
civil servants to travel by Economy Class for official
overseas trips, questioning the need for lucky draws
to reward those who e-file their tax returns, and
requesting for civil servants to be paid according
to their performance rather than their seniority.
(See this story for some
examples.)
Working behind the scenes to process these suggestions
is a lean team of three Ministry of Finance officers.
These officers double up as the Panel Secretariat
and are directly assisted by 16 policy analysts.
The Secretariat’s task is to quickly and systematically
sift through the smorgasbord of incoming ideas,
assess which public agency should address each matter,
strip off any data which can identify the suggestors,
and then send the suggestions to the policy analysts
responsible for issues concerning those agencies.
To ensure that every suggestion is taken seriously
and processed expeditiously, the suggestions are
sent directly to the Deputy Secretaries and CEOs
of the ministries and statutory boards respectively.
If the Secretariat receives no answer from them
within two weeks, it will bring the matter to the
attention of the respective Permanent Secretaries
and Head of Civil Service.
The underlying philosophy behind how the Government
is going about cutting waste is best summed up by
Head of Civil Service Lim Siong Guan who said: “In
some cases, waste can be quite obvious. In many
instances, however, it is not clear cut. What is
excessive quality to one person, may be just satisfactory
to another. What are frills to one may be necessary
to another.
“If everything is simply
cut down to the bare bones, then a lowering of service
standards, and even an overall lowering of quality
of life as provided through public services, would
be the result. This is not the outcome we seek.”
Public officers probably know the best and most
effective ways of reducing waste. So we should do
our part to help our agencies get better value for
money. What are you waiting for?
Log on now to www.cutwaste.mof.gov.sg
and tell us how to cut waste! |
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By
Cut Waste Panel Secretariat
Next: We are listening |
