Cut by MP Henry Kwek during the Ministry of Finance’s Committee of Supply Debate 2019
Innovation and Value in Procurement
Chairman,
1. It is important for the government to achieve value for money in purchases, especially in the face of anticipated rising public expenditure.
2. There are many ways to achieve that. Let me provide two examples.
a. First, large projects, especially infrastructure projects have a long tail to their project life. We are at the cusp of funding some truly large infrastructure projects, and adjusting reducing manpower intensity of our economy. Could the government to adopt a life-cycle approach to evaluate more projects?
b. Second, our budget has increased from around $40 billion in 2007 to $80 billion this year. Therefore, I suggest that various government agencies, when the need arising, be able to tap on even more industry experts to help achieve excellent design and savings.
3. At the same time, given the government’s role as one of the largest procurer of services, it can play the role of supporting innovation and enterprises (including from start-ups), which will benefit both citizens as consumers of these services, as well as the overall economy.
4. Therefore, it is important for the government to be able to manage the balance between innovation and enterprise verses value for money.
5. Can Ministry of Finance share on how, moving forward, the government intends to achieves this balance?
Watch the speech here
Watch the response by MOF here