Extract from Budget Speech

253. Third, NGOs have a key role to play in our efforts to protect the population and improve our society. I, therefore, welcome the offers from the private sector to spend some of their profits on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) schemes. However, the response and implementation have been uneven. I am, therefore, requiring all profitable firms to either spend 2 percent of their profits on CSR activities approved by Government or to transfer these funds to Government to be used in thefight against poverty. The CSR programme or the direct payment to Government could provide some of the resources to underpin the efforts of the Ministry of Social Security to build up a strong NGO community through the development of the four pillars I talked about earlier.

254. Some of the projects that the CSR programmes could undertake by supporting NGOs include

Literacy
Social housing
Life skills training
Micro enterprises
Support to improve academic performance and reduce dropouts
Aids prevention and support
Assistance to women and children in need or abused
Assisting the handicapped
Alcohol and substance abuse prevention and rehabilitation
Promoting Arts and Crafts