The acquisition of land in Hengqin by the Macau Government to build clinics, nurseries and retirement homes for the residents of the MSAR depends on the approval of the Central Government. “We have met with Hengqin authorities and they are open to this idea and have been collaborative. We can buy the land in Hengqin for our purposes but we need the approval of the Central Government”, Alexis Tam Chon Weng said yesterday during his Policy Address. “The legal status of the acquisition of land parcels is still being discussed, as well as the price that the Macau Government is going to pay for them”, the Secretary told Legislative Assembly member Si Ka Lon in response to being asked if the land could be accessed and used by Hengqin and Zhuhai residents. The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture revealed as well that private institutions may exploit the services in Hengqin once the government acquires the land. These institutions would be chosen through public tender. Investment in cultural industries The Macau Government is betting big on the cultural industries helping diversify the economy and the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture is ready to splash the cash for projects in this area. “We have to diversify the economy of Macau not only in gaming but also in relation to services. We believe that we can achieve a lot of success with the cultural industries and in their promotion”, Alexis Tam said. “We have the Cultural Fund to support 30 per cent of the costs of these projects related to the cultural industries. But they have to pay the remaining 70 per cent. We’re not going to finance everything because otherwise the creators of the projects may lack motivation”, he stressed. “We hope that after some years they can find success.” Salaries limit capacity to hire highly qualified doctors The salaries paid by the public sector are making it difficult to hire highly qualified doctors, Alexis Tam admitted yesterday. However, he revealed that he is going to Beijing next week to discuss other possibilities to bring such doctors to Macau. The Secretary was also asked about vocational training and the lack of graduates from such schools, as residents are more interested in taking office positions. Concerning this, he said that the government wants to encourage this type of education, stressing that his performance on the education system is essential for his position. “The ambitions of many of the members of the Legislative Assembly for the education system match mine. I promise that If my performance in this position is not satisfactory I will resign”, he said when answering questions concerning education. MOP37 bln into Social Security Fund The Government is to inject MOP37 billion during the coming months into the Social Security Fund, the President of the Fund, Ip Peng Kin, revealed yesterday in his Policy Address. “The government is going to invest MOP37 billion during the next months into the fund. Even considering that the Macau budget has been generating surpluses we need to prepare for the future. So far, we have been very pragmatic”, he said Ip Peng Kin also pointed out some of the challenges for the future such as the ageing population of Macau. “As the population is ageing this means more expense for the Social Security Fund. We need to study the mechanism to fund the Social Fund in order to make it sustainable”, he explained. José Pereira Coutinho ‘fires’ Lei Chin Ion Legislative Assembly member José Pereira Coutinho said yesterday that the Director of the Health Bureau is not very concerned about the lack of beds in hospitals because he is going to leave his duties in less than one year. “Director Lei Chin Ion is not very concerned about the beds situation because in less than one year’s time he is going to leave his position”, he said during the second day of the Policy Address for Social Affairs and Culture. This remark was made after José Pereira Coutinho accused the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture and the Director of the Health Bureau of failing to answer his questions. Alexis Tam was asked previously if Lei Chin Ion was going to be dismissed but at that time the Secretary gave the Health Bureau Director a vote of confidence. J.S.F.
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