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SINGAPORE: The second disbursement of the 2020 Budget grocery vouchers will be delivered to the households of 150,000 eligible beneficiaries, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced on Sunday (December 6).
The ministry said it has agreed with the Singapore Post two deliveries to those eligible for the coupons.
“We will make up to two home deliveries to recipients. The first delivery will take place on four Saturdays, from December 12, 2020 to January 2, 2021, by zip code,” the MOF said.
“If there is no one at home to receive the vouchers in the first delivery, we will make a second delivery between the following Monday through Friday (except holidays)”.
MOF added: “If coupons are not delivered after both attempts, we will leave a delivery notification card for recipients to pick up their grocery coupons at a specific post office within 10 business days.”
Announced in the February 18 budget, the grocery vouchers are intended to “help the least well off Singaporeans with their household expenses during this period of extraordinary economic uncertainty,” the MOF said.
Singaporeans age 21 and over this year living in HDB 1 and 2 bedroom apartments, and owning no more than one property, are eligible for these vouchers.
Each eligible recipient receives grocery coupons worth S $ 300 in 2020 (S $ 150 each in October and end of 2020) and another S $ 100 in October 2021. They will be automatically assigned the grocery coupons and receive their coupons individually.
READ: Man Arrested For Allegedly Stealing Budget 2020 Grocery Coupons From Mailboxes On Marine Terrace
READ: Woman Arrested for Allegedly Stealing Grocery Coupons from Mailboxes
FOOD VOUCHERS FOOD VOUCHERS 2020 BUDGET
The new delivery method, the Finance Ministry said, took into account feedback and learning points from the October disbursement.
“It tries to better balance the safety, security and convenience of recipients,” the ministry said.
The first batch of coupons, each worth S $ 150, were mailed to 150,000 Singaporeans in October via registered certified mail. But there were a series of arrests after the theft of some of these HDB block mailbox vouchers in Singapore.
Last month, Second Finance Minister Indranee Rajah told Parliament that less than 0.2 percent, or 229 sets, of the 2020 Budget grocery vouchers that were mailed were reported stolen as of October 28.
Ms Indranee said that the “vast majority” of grocery vouchers reached their recipients “without problems”.
According to investigations by the Singapore Police, the thefts “appear to be opportunistic and the cases are not linked,” he added, noting that mailboxes were left unlocked in some cases.
On Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said he expected the second tranche of vouchers to provide “additional assistance” during this “challenging period.”
“During this challenging period, we know that household expenses can weigh on the minds of the less well-off families among us,” he said.
“We had previously disbursed the first tranche of the grocery vouchers in October, which helped defray the household expenses of the beneficiaries. I hope the second round of the vouchers will provide additional assistance.”
Budget 2020 grocery vouchers can be used at the following participating supermarkets: FairPrice, Giant, Prime, and Sheng Siong.
