The government has announced that it will submit a bill amending its budget for this year to the legislature, proposing to allocate 9.1 billion patacas from the Macau Special Administrative Region’s (MSAR) extraordinary reserves, in order to be able to fund its various measures to promote the economy and support employment and residents’ livelihoods.
Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon, who is also the spokesman for the government’s top advisory Executive Council, made the announcement during a press conference at Government Headquarters on Monday. Cheong said that the government will request an urgent procedure for the debate and vote of the bill.
If the Legislative Assembly (AL) approves the request, the bill will not be arranged for review by any of its standing committees before its final article-by-article debate and vote, which is slated to be immediately carried out after its outline is passed in an upcoming plenary session scheduled for its debate and vote.
The government announced last month its various measures aiming to support employment, the local economy and people’s livelihoods this year, comprising four parts, namely 1) bringing its annual wealth-sharing scheme forward to this month from July as previously; 2) boosting local consumption such as through the upcoming electronic consumption subsidy and discount scheme and “Stay, Dine and See Macao” local tour and staycation programme), 3) upgrading its subsidised scheme to improve residents’ occupational skills, and 4) tax relief and exemption measures.
Except for its measure to bring the annual wealth-sharing scheme forward to this month, the government has noted that the other three parts of its 2021 various support measures require amendments to its 2021 budget so that they can get off the ground.
During Monday’s press conference, Cheong said that in order for the government’s measure to upgrade its subsidised occupational skills improvement scheme and its measure to boost local consumption, and for its tax relief and exemption measures to take effect, the government has drafted a bill amending the 2021 budget.
According to Cheong, the 2021 budget amendment bill will also enable the government to cover its expenditures that it has used for COVID-19 prevention and control measures and for the construction of facilities on the Macau-side checkpoint zone of the mainland-Macau joint border checkpoint in Hengqin – which came into use in August last year.
The government has said it expects to continue running a budget deficit for this year. In its 2021 budget bill, which was passed by the legislature in December last year, the government had already allocated 26.58 billion patacas from its extraordinary reserves so as to fill the deficit – i.e. to keep a formally balanced budget.
Late last year, the government drafted its 2021 budget bill based on its estimation of this year’s gross gaming revenue at 130 billion patacas, as the local economy, according to the government, would still need time to recover from the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the local economy, tourism and gaming in particular.
Also addressing Monday’s press conference, Financial Services Bureau (DSF) Deputy Director Daisy Ho In Mui pointed out that the government has already allocated 26.5 billion patacas from its extraordinary reserves so as to keep a formally balanced budget, adding that the government would allocate a total of 35.6 billion patacas from its extraordinary reserves this year including the amounts in its proposed 2021 budget amendment bill – if passed by lawmakers during an upcoming plenary session.
Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon (left) and Financial Services Bureau (DSF) Deputy Director Daisy Ho In Mui address Monday’s Executive Council press conference at Government Headquarters about the government’s 2021 budget amendment bill. Photo: Tony Wong
