00:00 In January 2024, I have one month of sleepless nights because we will roll out Paidu, the central database, in January.
00:10 That will give access to granular data necessary for us to implement targeted programs such as subsidy rationalization
00:20 and eventually from the social welfare reforms because we know how fragmented government assistance has been.
00:27 We have 200 plus of so many different social assistance and schemes but when it's fragmented,
00:35 it doesn't necessarily have the impact on day-to-day households and more so when it's fragmented.
00:45 Obviously, there will be a lot of leakages here and there.
00:49 Cyphering issues of duplication enables the government to take a decisive step away from previous administrations.
00:58 That the country where the T20 are receiving 53% of blanket fuel subsidies is not a sustainable model,
01:09 nor is it an equitable one.
01:12 In light of this, our government will roll out a RON95 subsidy retargeting program in 2024.
01:22 I will let you guess when.
01:25 But I've spent the last one year talking about this.
01:29 I know that a lot of analysts out there keep asking why is it taking so long
01:35 because we've seen how it is done in other countries.
01:39 The sequencing is as important, if not more important, than the actual policy itself.
01:48 By sequencing, it means that getting everything ready, getting the buy-in,
01:54 trying to close as many loopholes as possible because we can't afford a U-turn.
02:02 Once we roll it out, it is expected there will be unhappiness here and there.
02:07 There will be teething problems, but we can't afford a U-turn.
02:10 That's why I've been to the point of being accused of being defensive.
02:17 If we had to take one year to prepare the foundation for it, I don't mind.
02:25 So that in 2024, when we do roll out subsidy retargeting program,
02:32 by the end of 2024, it will translate into a much better fiscal position for the country straight away.
02:40 If we are lucky, when this coincides with the upside of the global economic growth,
02:49 the benefit for the country in terms of investments,
02:56 in terms of the outlook and interest in this country will double up by 2024.
03:02 These efforts are in line with the government's central position of widening the fiscal paradigm we work in.
03:09 Given our public finances ran a fiscal deficit of more than 5% for three consecutive years,
03:17 we must find new measures and avenues to mobilize our resources and reduce wastages within the system.
03:25 I can share that our deliberations, first and foremost, is anchored on the sustainability of the policy.
03:36 We've seen so many U-turns before.
03:39 We've seen good policies, when it was implemented rather haphazardly,
03:45 eventually invited so much public backlash, so and so politicians usually turn it around.
03:53 And once we backtrack, it will take a generation before another set of politicians dare to put their neck on the line.
04:02 And that's why I always say when it comes to fiscal tax,
04:07 how exactly are we going to increase our revenue, I'd rather be agnostic.
04:14 If it means that it takes in stages, so long as the final aim of reducing fiscal deficit is on track towards 2025,
04:25 so long as we keep to the debt reduction program,
04:30 that we will start seeing debt reduction for the country from 2026 onwards.
04:37 How we manage it, then I think we have to find the right balance.
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