The Legislative Assembly’s (AL) Follow-up Committee for Public Finance Affairs will monitor and review three issues – the situation and development of the logistics industry in the Inner Harbour; local employment and career guidance; and industry-university research (IUR) of the city’s higher education institutions – the head of the committee, Zheng Anting, told reporters yesterday.
Zheng briefed reporters after a closed-door meeting of the committee yesterday at the Legislative Assembly Building.
The government adopted a transitional plan proposed by the local shipping industry in 2022 that 44 percent of the Inner Harbour’s cargo throughput be transferred to Ka Ho Port in Coloane due to the latter’s greater capacity. However, the plan has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as the plan’s implementation initially would have increased logistical costs and involved employment issues.
Zheng said after discussing the three topics, the committee members voiced concern about the progress of the transitional plan for the Inner Harbour and the future of the shipping sector there, adding that the committee will invite government officials to its next meeting to explore the issue, not ruling out the possibility of discussing the future of the logistics policy.
In addition, Zheng noted that the Incentive Regulation for Hiring and Training of Unemployed Workers Subsidised by the Social Security Fund (FSS) has been in effect for 19 years, which provides subsidies for jobless workers participating in job training, for youths looking for their first job, as well as unemployed persons with disabilities.
Zheng said the committee urged the government to review the target groups and increase the respective allowances, as well as provide guidance for senior and middle-aged citizens looking for a job, as Zheng said Macau’s ageing society was becoming an increasingly serious matter.
Lawmaker Lei Chan U (left) and the head of the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) Follow-up Committee for Public Finance Affairs Zheng Anting, pose before yesterday’s press briefing at the Legislative Assembly Building.
– Photo courtesy of TDM
