1. Press releases
New Cut Red Tape Award for Businesses
1 February 2008
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New Cut Red Tape Award for Businesses
Inaugural PEP Awards honour businessmen who shape Singapore's pro-enterprise environment
The Pro-Enterprise Panel (PEP) today launched theinaugural PEP Awards for the Best Pro-Enterprise Suggestions.The Awards will recognise suggestors that have given excellent suggestions to the PEP to cut tape and create an even more business friendly environment in Singapore.
The awards was announced by Ms Jennie Chua, President and CEO, The Ascott Group Ltd, and a member of the PEP, who toured the PEP Road Show today at Raffles Place MRT Open Space today. The concept of the road show represents the PEP’s mission of working with businesses and government agencies to create an even more pro-enterprise environment in Singapore.
Chairman, PEP and Head of Civil Service, Mr Peter Ho, said, “Feedback from businesses has enabled the public service to respond effectively to the changing needs and demands of our business community.We invite businesses to continue to help shape Singapore to be even more pro-enterprise, and become a place where businesses of today and future generations will start, grow, and thrive.”
The details of the award are as follows:
Eligibility: Open to all suggestions to the PEP accepted for implementation from 1 July 2007 till 30 June 2008.
No suggestion is too minor. They can be anything related to outdated rules; onerous regulatory requirements; or cumbersome government processes.
Criteria: Suggestions will be assessed primarily on innovation and positive impact.Greater credit will be given to suggestions that benefit an entire industry or sector.The PEP will evaluate the suggestions and decide on the winners.
Prizes:Three winners will be selected, with each receiving a plaque and a letter of appreciation signed by Chairman, PEP. In addition, the best suggestor will be given a token of appreciation of $1,000 while the 2nd and 3rd best suggestions will be given $800 and $500 respectively.
Submission of Suggestions: Suggestions can be submitted via the Pro-Enterprise Panel (PEP) website at http://www.pep.gov.sg/.
Further Information
An information sheet on the PEP can be found in Annex A.
More details about the PEP Awards will be posted on http://www.pep.gov.sg
Ministry of Trade and Industry
1 February 2008
Information Sheet on the Pro-Enterprise Panel
Examples of PEP Suggestions:
Halal certification for health product
Besides food products, MUIS has expanded its halal certification services to include pharmaceutical products. Since late 2004, manufacturers of pharmaceutical and health products are able to get halal certification in Singapore.
Simplification of Factory Licence Application
Businesses applying for a Factory Licence from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) now will no longer have to purchase and produce the Certificate of Statutory Completion (CSC) or Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) of their factory buildings.
About the Pro-Enterprise Panel
The PEP, chaired by Mr Peter Ho who is also Head of Civil Service, is a public-private partnership that has orchestrated a Whole-of-Government (WOG) transformation in Singapore’s regulatory environment. The Panel comprises senior civil servants and successful entrepreneurs who volunteer their time and energy.The PEP actively solicits suggestions from the businesses, affirming the position that the private sector is a strategic partner rather than the target of regulation.
The PEP is now an integral part of the public service and the default feedback channel for businesses that have problems with red tape.Since its inception, the PEP has received about 1,700 suggestions, and accepted over 50% of them for implementation.
For the second year running, Singapore was ranked by the World Bank in its Doing Business Report as the easiest place in the world to do business, out of 178 economies. The PEP has also been recognised as a Finalist in the 2007 United Nations Public Service Awards.
The PEP is also the champion for the First Mover Framework, which aims to recognise and encourage the development of innovative business ideas that maximise the use of physical government assets. First Movers can be granted an allocation advantage and/or a price advantage.Allocation advantage means that the First Mover gets favourable treatment when the asset (eg. land or building)is to be allocated for the specific use proposed by the First Mover, for instance, through direct allocation (i.e. without tendering) for a trial period.Price advantage means that the First Mover need not pay the full market price for the use of the asset.Whether, and to what extent, a First Mover will enjoy an allocation or a price advantage will depend on the idea as well as the asset concerned.
Ms Jennie Chua, member of the Pro-Enterprise Panel at the PEP roadshow today