Government did not have 20/20 foresight: PM Lee

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http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/pm-lee-explains-why-infrastructure-lagged-behind-population-growth

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has admitted the government did not have 20/20 foresight, resulting in problems with inadequate infrastructure in the country.

Acknowledging the problems of insufficient housing and inefficient transportation network, Mr Lee pointed out that the Government was blind-sided by the outcome of some international events.

He elaborated that in 2000 and 2001, the 9/11 terrorist attack on the United States plunged countries into recession. Singapore was dealt with a slow economy with minimum population growth and local housing prices went down.

But by 2005 and 2006, Mr Lee said the mood changed and the economy started picking up.

So, he said, the Government did what it thought would have been appropriate then. It decided to make up for lost time by growing the population and boosting the economy.

He acknowledged that infrastructure like housing and transport didn’t keep up with that growth.

He said: “We lacked that 20/20 foresight. Next time, we will try to do better, certainly to have a bigger buffer and not to cut things so fine.”