The Community Development Council (CDC; ms, Majlis Pembangunan Masyarakat; zh, 社区发展理事会; ta, சமூக மேம்பாட்டு மன்றம்) is a government-led programme to organise grassroot organisations and community programs into smaller, local units as a bridge between the government and the community in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
. It encourages volunteerism from wider community, and organises community and social assistance programs with the help of a monetary grant from the government. They are governed by the ''Community Development Council Rules 1997''.
Organisation
There are currently five Community Development Councils as of 27 July 2020:
The council boundaries follow that of the existing political divisions, with each handling between four and six
GRCs and
SMCs and roughly dividing the country's population into equal parts. Each CDC is managed by a Council, which in turn is headed by an appointed
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
and has between 12 and 80 members. The members are appointed by the chairman or deputy chairman of the
People's Association.
Mayors
In 2021, during the parliamentary debate on Budget 2021,
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
Pritam Singh questioned the amount of salaries paid to the mayors and whether is there a need of full-time CDC mayors.
Central Singapore CDC's mayor, Denise Phua, replied that she is the only full-time CDC mayor while the rest are considered part-time mayors.
Funding
The CDCs are funded by an annual sum from the government directly proportionate to the number of residents living within their jurisdiction at a rate of
S$1 per person. They are free to conduct their own fund-raising programs, which the government will match S$3 for every S$1 raised, up to a cap of S$40 million a year from 2018 financial year.
Previously, the cap was S$24 million a year. The government also pays for the councils' operational costs, including that for its offices.
References
External links
Official site
{{Authority control
Singapore government policies
Community Development Council
2001 establishments in Singapore