President approves 2015 Budget

PRESIDENT Tony Tan Keng Yam has approved the Government's Budget for this financial year, which begins on April 1.

Dr Tan said in a Facebook post yesterday that the Council of Presidential Advisers had considered the proposed Budget and recommended he gives his assent on the basis that the Budget is unlikely to draw on past reserves.

Dr Tan said he and the council had also been given a detailed briefing by the Finance Ministry.

The President can veto Budgets that are likely to dip into accumulated reserves.

Dr Tan's assent paves the way for the ministries and other agencies to meet their estimated spending for the financial year ending on March 31, 2016.

The spending plans were approved in Parliament last Friday, after MPs spent nine days scrutinising the budgets of the Government and the ministries.

Dr Tan wrote: "This is a Budget that invests in Singapore's future. The Budget includes considerable development spending on healthcare and transport, and measures to push on with the restructuring of our economy."

He added: "The Government also introduced new programmes that would address the long-term needs of our people."

The plans and programmes will raise spending by about 1 per cent of gross domestic product.

The Government can draw up to $76.9 billion from the Consolidated Fund and up to $30.8 billion from the Development Fund.

This article was first published on March 19, 2015.
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