The Macao Chamber of Commerce (ACM) said the government should give non-resident workers (NRWs) a MOP 3,000 consumption card as part of the local government’s second MOP 10 billion financial support plan.
The proposal triggered a heated debate. It would be the first time for the government to include Macao’s 160,000 NRWs in its financial support measures aiming to lessen the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the local economy.
In response to local people’s mostly negative comments on the proposed MOP 3,000 consumption card for NRWs, ACM President Chui Sai Cheong said that the proposal was submitted to the Secretariat for Economy and Finance after gathering the views of different sectors and associations, adding that the proposal includes seven basic opinions and 13 other opinions.
According to Chui, the first and most critical point in the basic opinions is to distribute cash subsidies to all local residents in an inclusive approach, adding that after considering the government’s desire to enhance the inclusiveness of its possible second financial support plan this year, the proposal suggests that the recipients of this year’s first round of financial support by the government should be allocated between MOP 3,000 and 6,000 each in the second round. In comparison, people who did not benefit from the first plan should receive between MOP 6,000 and 9,000 each, he added.
In the first round, employees will receive MOP 15,000 each on 16 August. The government has still to confirm whether it will launch a second round this year.
Chui said the proposal also highlights those small and medium-sized enterprises which have suffered financially since the beginning of this year and failed to benefit from the first plan’s measure of a “monetary support plan for workers, self-employed professionals and operators of commercial establishments”, should be able to apply for financial aid in the second plan.
Chui also said that the proposal suggests one-off financial assistance to be provided for those who were forced to suspend their business during the recent Covid-19 outbreak, while providing additional resources for various financial support measures such as extending the government’s water subsidy for households and businesses for six months and setting up a temporary subsidy scheme to encourage employers to hire unemployed local residents during Covid-19.
In addition, Chui said, 13 different opinions from various business associations are included in the proposal.
Chui, a member of the Legislative Assembly, underlined that since 1999 the ACM has actively put forward different suggestions to the government on major issues, adding that the government will study opinions from each business sector and segment of civil society before making a decision. Chui also said that the government may not accept all of the suggestions put forward by the ACM, while some of them may not be entirely acceptable to everyone in society, The Macau Post Daily reported.
