MAYOR’S SPEECH FOR DM2017 Introduction Our special guest ESM Goh Chok Tong Fellow Grassroots Advisers Ms Jessica Tan Ms Tin Pei Ling Ms Cheryl Chan SECDC Councillors Community and corporate partners Government agency representatives Grassroots leaders Ladies and gentlemen Thank you for coming to SECDC’s District Meeting 2017. May I have a show of hands how many of you are attending the District Meeting for the first time. Thank you for being here and wanting to hear and know more about SECDC and for those who have been here previously, thank you for coming back. We want to believe we have done something right the last time that made you return. Of course some of you may have no choice. You have heard a while ago, my General Manager, Siang Wei share with you the report card of what we have done in the past year. I hope you agree that much has been done but only because we have the excellent support and partnership from all of you present today. We hope to do more and more partners. That is why I have titled my sharing today: “SOUTH EAST CDC, YOUR SOCIAL BROKER: Harnessing Resources, Meeting Needs, Strengthening Communities.” As you have heard, this year, we commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the formation of the CDCs which was the brainchild of our special guest ESM Goh Chok Tong 1 1. Recap – what is community development and role of the CDCs Set up in 1997, ESM Goh, then as PM said of the CDCs: - “ The CDCs is the social parallel of Town Councils… 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…This spirit of community help and mutual support will strengthen social cohesion and make for a harmonious and happy community.. “ Then-PM Goh Chok Tong, Swearing-In Ceremony of CDC Mayors 29th March 1997 2. How has CDCs evolved - Providing social and employment assistance - Formed in early 1997 with 2 CDCs and up to 9 CDCs by end 1997. At that time there we initial concerns over the role of the CDCs and whether they are actually SupraGROs – competing with the other existing GROs. Lots of ground work took place to clarify the role of the CDCs. - Year 2000. National social assistance and employment support delegated to CDCs. - Local schemes by CDCs created for additional assistance to those in need. - Year 2001. 9 CDCs re-organised into 5 CDCs. For the next 12 years, CDCs continued to play this role of administering social and employment assistance programmes (both national and local) as well as working with community partners to meet the needs of the vulnerable. CDCs made a brand name for themselves with their ABC vision – Assisting the Needy, Bonding the people and Connecting the community. - Year 2013. ‘Social Assistance’ function consolidated under SSOs. - Year 2014. Moving of SE Career Centre to LLI 3. Looking Forward - We stay focused on ensuring that we are always Resident Centric in our work. We look at emerging issues and recognize that each community has its own manifestation of local community concerns. - Over the years, we have build up strong networks of relationship between government agencies and community partners. As a middle office to connect ground with government agencies and initiatives and customise solutions (P-G-P) - In the process, also builds community by enabling and involving local community resources (Youths, Corporates, GROs, and Community partners, Agencies) to address these challenges together. - Ownership and going beyond government providing solutions to everything – we harness local resources to meet emerging needs. You would have seen some examples during the sharing by GM earlier. - Need to anticipate and respond to future challenges, namely: i) Demographic changes ii) Security and social cohesion iii) Need for greater inclusivity iv) Economic Uncertainties 2 4. Challenge i) : Demographic Changes o i) Increasing life expectancy and health issues - Ageing Population: two years ago in 2015 we have 460 000 Singaporeans above 65 years of age. By 2030, it will more than double to 960 000 i.e., 1/5 of Singaporeans aged 65 and older. - Increasing Life Expectancy: Singapore 3rd in world for life expectancy (83 years). - Healthy Life Expectancy 73.9 years. ( World Health Statistics Report 2017, WHO) - Parallel increase in prevalence of chronic diseases ( Diabetes, stroke, hypertension, Dementia, and other chronic conditions) - Last 10 years of life – have to deal with serious health conditions and serious impact on personal, family, community and society o Diabetes in Singapore - Singapore 2nd highest incidence of diabetes among developed countries, after USA. - Today, about 1 in 9, or around 450,000 Singapore residents aged 18 years and above had diabetes. The number of diabetics aged 18 years and above in Singapore could rise to 1 million by 2050. (Source: National Health Survey 2010) - Age Profile: 1 in 3 Singaporeans over age of 60 has diabetes. Risks increases with age. - Ethnic Profile: Indians (6 in 10) and Malays (5 in 10) consistently had higher prevalence of diabetes compared to Chinese (2.5 in 10). - Cost of Diabetes - Diabetes is a major risk factor for other serious medical conditions. Every year in Singapore, 1 in 2 heart attack patients has diabetes. 2 in 3 with new kidney failure cases due to diabetes. 2 in 5 stroke patients have diabetes. (National Registry of Diseases Office, Singapore) - The cost burden from diabetes, is expected to rise from beyond around $1 billion in 2014 to $1.8 billion by 2050. Due to healthcare costs and productivity losses. (National Registry of Diseases Office, 2016) o Areas to Address - Diabetes is “invisible” in its early stages. 1 in 3 diabetics does not know he suffers from the disease. (MOH National Health Survey 2010) - 78% of Singaporeans (40-69 years) gone for health screening in last 3 years. Of these, about half with abnormal results do not follow up.(HPB Survey 2016) - Also, 1/3 known diabetes are unable to control their blood sugar levels - Yet, Type 2 Diabetes can be managed properly as lifestyle plays a big role. 3 - No. of elderly living alone has also increased. The number of seniors above 65 living alone expected to more than double from 35,000 in 2012 to 83,000 by 2030. o How can community play a part- SG Health @ South East - Engage residents for active and healthy living to reduce incidence of diabetes. Identify seniors for early screening and support those vulnerable or living alone to actively manage it to prevent or delay complications. - CDC as a middle office to aggregate community resources and government initiatives to develop Community Silver blueprint. - Work with GROs as the front office to reach out to seniors and monitor the various aspects of their aging well being – Physical, psychological, social and emotional. - At the same time, coordinate with government agencies and community partners to bring the resources into the community. FINANCING OLD AGE o Dependency Ratio - Lower fertility coupled with ageing population => Reducing retiree to working adults dependency ratio. Projected 2.1 in 2030, down from 4.8 in 2015 (Department of Stats). o Retirement planning - With increasing life expectancy, a growing proportion of retirees could outlive their CPF savings if they were on the Minimum Sum Scheme where payouts last for about 20 years. - However, according to a Nielsen Survey commissioned by NTUC Income in 2016, 1 in 3 working Singapore adults not planning for retirement. Also, two-thirds of retirees do not expect their savings to last till the end of their life. o What can we do? - Need to ensure retirement adequacy for Singaporeans, especially low income workers and their families. Retirement planning and financial literacy for seniors. Re- training for better incomes 5. Challenge ii): Security and Social Cohesion o Security threat we face continues to be real and will impact on our social cohesion if we do not conscientiously invest in time and energy to maintain and strengthen. 4 o To put in perspective some of our national initiatives: o Why Racial Harmony Day on 21st July? MOE started observing it in 1997. - To commemorate 1964 21st July Racial riot- 23 killed, 454 injured. Political and religious tensions between ethnic Chinese and Malay groups. - Played a pivotal role in shaping Singapore’s fundamental principles such as multiracialism and multiculturalism. o Why Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles were formed? - Revived in 2002 by ESM Goh against backdrop of Sept 11, 2001 attacks in United States, and the arrest of Jemaah Islamiyah members who were plotting bomb attacks in Singapore. - Re-positioned in 2006 to include Religious Organisations. o Then, the role of IRCCs. i) Local-level inter-faith platforms to promote racial and religious harmony ii) To strengthen social cohesion Iii) To be primed to respond quickly to incidents with racial and religious tensions and to project solidarity on the ground during crisis. Therefore, need to know and understand local racial and religious sentiments and know how to soothe and minimise communal tension. - Recent Acts of terrorism worldwide and regionally - Are race and religious issues become more salient in Singapore these nowadays? o Local cases of radicalism vs Local incidents (eg Marine Parade MRT station vandalised. Personal anecdote- Chinese woman turn away Malay pest controller officer from her home) - Nature of Racial/Religious Disputes In our Community o Common spaces- Common corridors, Void decks, Carparks, Noise, Smoke. Small incidents can spark tensions if not managed o Virtual space. Potential to go viral and polarise with social media - Religious Organisations in South East District o Do we know that in SE District, we have 280 religious organisations, out of 822 in Singapore ie.