As we enter a new year, it is natural to ask whether this one will be better than the last. Perhaps, now, we have become accustomed to also question how our life will continue to be affected by COVID-19 and its variants.
For the past 22 months, this government has deployed financial aid and assistance in the form of schemes, incentives, cash grants and tax credits in a bid to deflect the shockwaves brought about by the pandemic. The success of this support is reflected in the 105,000 jobs that we worked hard to safeguard; in the low unemployment rate; in the launch of new start-ups; in business expansions.
We are operating in a world economy that is still struggling to come to terms with the pandemic. As economies continue to emerge from the pandemic, the sudden increase in demand for energy and transport has disrupted supply chains to factories and shops on a global scale. We are not living in a vacuum or a bubble.
As one takes stock…
