Speech by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong at the Swearing-In Ceremony of CDC Mayors

This morning, we swear in our first two Mayors, Dr Ow Chin Hock and Mr Eugene Yap. With their appointments, the concept of the Community Development Councils (CDCs) has become a reality. The first two Councils, Marine Parade CDC comprising Marine Parade GRC, East Coast GRC and MacPherson, and Tanjong Pagar CDC comprising Tanjong Pagar and West Coast GRCs, will be served by 42 CDC service counters set up at the community centres, community clubs and Town Council offices. More CDCs will be formed in the coming 6 to 12 months.

The establishment of CDCs is part of the process to build up a tightly-knit, compassionate and self-reliant community. I believe that when a local community is given the authority and responsibility to look after its own well-being, it will produce better results than when being managed by the bureaucracy. The community will be more knowledgeable of its own needs and be more committed because its self-interests are involved. The community can mobilise financial and manpower resources, both from within the community as well as from outside, to provide for its social needs. Its more successful members will have to step forward to help its less successful because if they do not, nobody will. The less successful in turn will have to support the more successful. This spirit of community help and mutual support will strengthen social cohesion and make for a harmonious and happy community.

The CDCs is the social parallel of Town Councils. Town Councils have proven to be successful. They give the local communities autonomy to manage and improve their own physical environment. The Town Councils have given our housing estates a local flavour and friendly ambience. Housing estates have become more distinctive, homely and charming.

Their residents feel a stronger sense of belonging because they are involved in the improvement of their physical living environment.

The concept of CDCs extends the local community approach to the building of community bonds and the delivery of social services. Community bonds are about people, values, relationships, feelings. They are strengthened when the community's social needs are met by its own members rather than centrally by distant government officials.

Community needs are not identical. A community with a large proportion of aged persons will have different social and physical needs from one with a large proportion of newly married couples with very young children. Also, needs change as the years go by and the age profile of the residents changes. A centralised approach will be slow in recognising and responding to changes of specific communities. Officials have also to be "fair to all" and work out standard solutions that may not suit everyone. On the other hand, a CDC managed by a local community can anticipate changes earlier, and customise its schemes to meet local needs.

The challenge for the Mayors, and later the CDC Chairmen, is to build a cohesive, compassionate and harmonious community. They will have to lead and mobilise members of their community to work and look after their own community needs. This way, our people will feel that they have the power, responsibility and control over social challenges within their midst. When residents know that they can make a difference to their own community's well-being, they will be more willing to contribute their time, energy and money.

I would like to see the CDCs take over a significant part of social services now undertaken by government agencies, such as Public Assistance, Medifund, and Edusave awards.

They will deliver these social services with more warmth. A resident who receives such assistance would be treated as a neighbour in need, and not as a stranger or as a welfare case. Empathy, understanding, emotional support and encouragement are as important as financial assistance.

The CDCs will be well-funded. Each CDC will be given an annual grant of $1 per resident as seed money for its programmes. This would give Marine Parade CDC about $0.5 million, and Tanjong Pagar CDC about $0.3 million, per year. The administrative and operating expenses of the CDCs, however, will be separately met by the government.

CDCs will need more than seed money for its programmes. I have promised earlier that government will give the CDCs a top-up grant of $3 for every $1 it raises. Since the CDCs are for local self-help, I feel we should encourage local donations. Also, I feel we should encourage regular contributions through GIRO. Hence, government will give a higher top-up grant of $4 for every $1 raised from local residents or businesses through regular GIRO contributions. Individual contributions need not be large though the more generous the better. What I would like to see is widespread participation and regular contributions. If many take part, the CDC funds will add up. To illustrate, a monthly GIRO donation of $1 by a resident will attract $4 from the government. This means the resident has contributed $5 a month, or $60 a year, to the CDC. If just 10% of the residents in Marine Parade CDC contribute, the annual total funds available would be about $3 million a year. The stronger the community's support, the more funds it will have. With more resources, it will have greater flexibility to offer good programmes for its residents. Obviously, the government will later have to put a ceiling on its grant. But we can decide that later when we have more experience of the needs of the CDCs.

More important than donations, the CDCs will need a corps of committed volunteers. The CDCs must inspire and mobilise the successful Singaporeans to come forward to serve. There are many good volunteers already working with the grassroots organisations (ie CCCs, CCMCs and RCs), and voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs). The CDCs will work with these organisations to draw out even more volunteers.

I would like to assure the VWOs and grassroots organisations that the CDCs will work closely with you to achieve synergy. This is a win-win situation since all parties are united in serving the community. It is not the intention of the CDCs to replace the VWOs and the grassroots organisations or reduce their current roles and influence.

The CDCs will work with and support programmes run by the VWOs which benefit their residents. The VWOs may in future wish to deliver their services on a community basis. Then they can take advantage of the financial and manpower resources of the CDCs.

Initially, the CDCs priority target groups will be the young, the elderly, the disabled, and the poor.

The CDCs will focus on cultivating the value and importance of strong community bonding and social cohesion in the young. Through programmes like scholarships, bursaries and other awards, they can motivate the students to perform better. Some youths are vulnerable to social problems. CDCs will work with schools, VWOs and the Police to help these youths and prevent them from going wayward.

Together with the Singapore Sports Council, the CDCs can encourage senior citizens to keep fit and healthy. They can also work with the Home Nursing Foundation and general practitioners in the community to look after the non-ambulant elderly sick.

As for the disabled, the CDCs can support the Special Schools and Homes run by the VWOs which look after residents of their community.

I want to add a word of caution on the provision of welfare programmes.

They must not be offered in a way that discourages the recipients to improve themselves. The CDCs are to bond members of a community through self-help and mutual support. It is not a gigantic welfare organisation. Hence, CDCs should encourage self-help through raising the morale, confidence and skills of the recipients. They should guard against generous hand-outs which build up a welfare dependency mentality.

These are just some ideas which illustrate how, through the CDCs, the local community can help fellow needy residents to help themselves, and build a better community.

Let me end by offering my congratulations and well wishes to our first two Mayors. You are the vanguards for our new initiative to build a cohesive and compassionate community.

back

top