Role of District Mayors Given Transfer of Functions to Social Service Offices

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap asked the Prime Minister (a) what is the role of district Mayors in the respective Community Development Councils (CDC) and whether their role is still relevant given that the ComCare assistance programmes have been transferred to the Social Service Offices under the care of the Ministry of Social and Family Development; and (b) what is the annual income of a Mayor.

Mr Chan Chun Sing (for the Prime Minister): The Community Development Councils (CDCs) were set up in 1997 to foster community bonding and strengthen social cohesion in Singapore.

The Mayor, as the Chairman of the CDC, plays a key role in strengthening the social infrastructure in the community. The CDCs bring together various community stakeholders across the 3P (people, public and private) sectors to serve the residents in each District. This engenders community ownership and builds community resilience. For example, by partnering the Law Society, CDCs have provided residents with greater accessibility to legal advice, and better awareness of legal issues through legal talks by pro bono lawyers. By partnering the National Arts Council (NAC), the CDCs have made arts programmes more accessible to the vulnerable. By working with SPRING Singapore and the Business Associations to set up the five Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) Centres@CDCs, the CDCs have helped to promote greater awareness of the Government’s help schemes for and offer business advice to SMEs.

In the same spirit, the CDC mobilises the local resources of community and corporate organisations to complement the national assistance schemes to meet the needs of the residents. For example at North East (NE) District, the NE CDC coordinates among Grassroots Organisations, Social Service Offices and Workforce Development Agency to help the residents achieve self-reliance from receiving financial assistance to getting employment. In 2015, the CDCs helped over 100,000 beneficiaries.

Mayors are appointed by the Chairman of PA who is the Prime Minister. Each Mayor is in charge of a District where the number of residents in the District is not less than 500,000. As chairman of the CDC, the Mayor maintains the focus of the CDCs to serve the residents and ensures the efficient running of the CDC. He / She advises the PA Board on matters affecting the well-being of the residents in the District, the provision and use of public facilities and services within the District. From time to time, they will be asked to represent Singapore at official international conventions or meetings in their capacity as Mayors.

Mayors hold responsibilities which are comparable in scale and complexity to that of office holders at the Ministries. The norm annual salary of a Mayor is $660,000, pegged between the salary range of a Senior Parliamentary Secretary and that of a Minister of State. A Mayor who also holds a concurrent appointment in the Ministry will only receive one salary.