Singaporeans now and in generations to come don’t have to worry about having an affordable home to call their own.
This was the promise given by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday in a Facebook post that rounded up the housing motions debates in Parliament that ran from Feb 6 to 7, 2023.
Acknowledging that public housing is an issue close to the hearts of most Singaporeans, PM Lee said:
“Covid-19 greatly disrupted the supply of flats. BTO waiting times have gone up, and so have resale prices. Families have had to adjust their life plans. They are concerned and often anxious about when they can get their flats, and whether they can afford them.”
During the debates, National Development Minister Desmond Lee explained what is being done to ramp up supply, cool the resale market, and keep HDB flats affordable and accessible.
The PAP Government is working hard to address the housing problem, said the Prime Minister, adding that it is confident that it will be solved.
“MPs presented a range of ideas on what can be done to deal with the issue,” said PM Lee.
“Some are promising and well worth exploring further. Others appear attractive, but upon a closer look, turn out to be unworkable, unfair, or unsustainable.”
Singaporeans know that our public housing system works. Statistics cited by PM Lee clearly show it.
More than 8 in 10 Singaporeans own the HDB flats they live in. And this number is only going up as more than 20,000 new flats are built each year.
“Rest assured that Singaporeans, now or in generations to come, will not have to worry about having an affordable home to call their own.”
The PAP Government’s housing policies are rooted in values that we hold collectively as a nation: Prioritising Singaporeans who want to start a family, uplifting the vulnerable by providing as much assistance as possible, and giving Singaporeans a stake in the nation through homeownership.
And underlining all these is this Government’s commitment to long-term sustainability, ensuring that we provide good quality public housing for Singaporeans today, without robbing the generations of Singaporeans to come.
Images via: Lee Hsien Loong/Facebook, Grace Ho on Unsplash, Andrew Haha Lee on Unsplash
