ESTIMATES CONTAINING A VOTE ON ACCOUNT FOR EXPENDITURE FOR PART OF FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL 1997 TO 31ST MARCH 1998 (Cmd. 18 of 1996)

Dr Richard Hu Tsu Tau: Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to make a statement on the "Estimates Containing a Vote on Account for Expenditure for Part of the Financial Year 1st April 1997 to 31st March 1998" which I have presented to Parliament today as Cmd. 18 of 1996. Copies of the Command Paper are placed on Members' seats in the Chamber. The notice required under Standing Orders of the allotted day for consideration in the Committee of Supply has also been submitted to the Clerk of Parliament this morning and the allotted day will be 11th December 1996.

Sir, it is proposed that pursuant to Article 148(B)(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, Parliament will approve the Estimates tabled.

The total sum to be appropriated under the vote on account is $11.399 billion. This is to meet projected operating and development outlays in the first five months of FY97/98, that is, over the period 1st April 1997 to 31st August 1997. Of this total sum, $4.771 billion is to be appropriated from the Consolidated Fund for operating outlays, with the remaining $6.628 billion to be appropriated from the Development Fund for development project expenditures and loans to statutory boards.

Under Article 65 of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, the present Parliament stands dissolved on 5th January 1997, five years after its first sitting on 5th January 1992, unless it is dissolved at an earlier date by the President, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister has indicated that he would like the present Parliament to run its full term of five years. He could call for the dissolution of Parliament in the first week of January 1997 or allow Parliament's mandate to run out on 5th January 1997. In either case, under Article 66 of the Constitution, a General Election would have to be called within three months of Parliament's dissolution, that is to say, before 5th April 1997.

From past experience, after the elections we will need about two months for the Government to formulate its programmes for the new term of office and for the President's Address and debate thereon. Thereafter, there will be a break of one month before the Government presents its FY97/98 Budget proposals to Parliament. The debate on the Budget Statement and the proceedings of the Committee of Supply which follow will take another three weeks or so. Overall, this process will take about four months.

Even if the Prime Minister chooses to call for elections immediately after the dissolution of Parliament in the first week of January 1997, the President's approval of the FY97/98 budget can only be obtained towards the middle or end of May 1997. Legislative authority to make payments and drawdowns against the Consolidated and Development Funds will in the meantime have lapsed on 31st March 1997. However, if the Prime Minister decides to defer the holding of fresh elections until nearer 5th April 1997, the approval of the FY97/98 Budget will correspondingly be delayed until the middle or end of August 1997.

To provide for expenditures that need to be incurred between 1st April 1997 and the approval of a new Budget for FY97/98, I am tabling Estimates containing a vote on account to be approved by the present Parliament. The vote on account is for $11.399 billion, or 21.2% of the FY97/98 estimates, to cover projected outlays over the 5-month period from 1st April 1997 to 31st August 1997. The amount requested is 95.7% of actual total outlays over the same period in FY96.

Members should not misunderstand the amount requested under the vote on account to be a signal that the elections will be held later than earlier. This is only to provide the Prime Minister with flexibility should he decide not to hold the elections earlier.

Historically, a vote on account is not without precedent in Singapore. In December 1961, the then Finance Minister, Dr Goh Keng Swee, secured a vote on account for the first half of FY63 amounting to 55% of the Estimates for FY62.

The sum approved under the vote on account will form part of the Estimates of Expenditure for FY97/98 when these are subsequently tabled for Parliament's approval.