CDC vouchers' continuation will depend on needs: Indranee

CDC vouchers have been a mainstay at each Budget since being introduced in June 2020, but this does not mean they will continue to be so in future years.

- Anjali Raguraman

Asked at The Straits Times' Feb 19 post-Budget roundtable whether Singaporeans can expect the vouchers to become a permanent part of the annual Budget, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Indranee Rajah said the scheme was started to provide targeted assistance.

She recounted how supply and logistics issues drove consumer prices up during the pandemic, while the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022 added to inflationary pressures by further disrupting supply and driving up the price of commodities, including oil.

While the Government tightened monetary policy five times in that period to preserve Singaporeans' buying power, it saw a need to provide additional assistance.

That was how the CDC Vouchers Scheme was started – to address the "greatest pain point" of food and groceries, without fuelling inflation that a straight cash handout might have, said Ms Indranee.

"You have to look at the genesis of CDC vouchers, which was to provide targeted assistance, and our position has always been that if there's a need, then we will assist," she said.

"But if the economy improves and things get better, and the cost of living becomes more manageable, then obviously, there would be less of a need."

Besides the minister, the other panellists on the post-Budget edition of The Usual Place podcast included Associate Professor Walter Theseira, a labour economist from the Singapore University of Social Sciences; and Mr Musa Fazal, chief policy officer at the Singapore Business Federation.