|
|
|
Desperation
in trying to increase population
AFP
7
Aug
06
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060806/hl_afp/singaporepopulationbabiesmigration_060806044730
SDP's
comment: After nearly half-a-century of uninterrupted PAP rule,
this outcome signals an utter and complete failure of the
population-control policy. First in was the Stop-At-Two policy,
then came the hare-brained Graduate Mothers Scheme, and now its
the the have-more-if-you-can-afford desperate measure coupled
with the Foreign Talent Policy. These policies have wreaked
untold hardship on the people (the social impact of the foreign
recruitment policy may yet prove disastrous for Singaporeans) and
yet there is no way that the population can hold the PAP
accountable.
Singapore needs to attract
foreign migrants to top up the population of the city-state whose
birth rate in 2005 remained at an all-time low of 1.24 children
per woman, said Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng.
Last
year's birth rate of 1.24, the same as 2004, meant only 35,600
babies were born, well below the replacement rate of 2.1 that
Singapore needs in order to replenish its population naturally,
he said late Saturday in a speech.
"Our total
fertility rate is at a low of 1.24... To replace ourselves, we
should have 60,000 births each year," said Wong.
"For
us, the gap is too large to fill with resident births. We have to
top up our population and work force with migrants," he
said.
The drive to attract talented foreign migrants was
crucial to Singapore's long-term competitiveness as they would
boost the local work force and their contributions would expand
the economic pie, Wong said.
"We have to continue to
attract global talents and people with skills to augment our work
force. We should encourage those who can contribute to settle
down here," he said.
"This is the way to enlarge
the economic pie. There will then be more for everyone to
share.
"If not, as other countries get more
competitive and if we let our workforce diminish, investments
will go elsewhere, and there will be less for us to
share."
Singapore has intensified efforts to address
the baby shortage in recent years with a raft of measures to
encourage married Singaporeans to have more children.
These
include longer maternity leave, cash subsidies and a lower levy
on hiring foreign maids.
The government has also made
efforts to attract talented foreigners to take up
citizenship.
Singapore fears a low birth rate will have a
long-term economic impact and increase the proportion of elderly
citizens relative to those of working age, raising social welfare
costs.
The city-state has a population of 3.4 million plus
some 800,000 foreign workers and professionals.
|
|
