Category: Economy

The Provincial Veterinary (ProVet) office here has warned residents to be extra careful and solely patronize locally produced pork and pork by-products to help keep Antique safe from the African swine fever (ASF). ProVet Public Health Division chief Dr. Marco Rafael Ardamil, in an interview on Wednesday, said they have difficulty monitoring and apprehending online sellers, particularly from areas with ASF cases. The good visual presentation, especially of pork by-products such as "tocino" (cured pork) and "chorizo" (seasoned pork sausage) may be enticing but they are temporarily banned in Antique as a preventive measure, he added. 'If there are no buyers, then online sellers will not thrive. So we are appealing to Antiqueños to refrain from buying pork products from areas outside the province,' Ardamil said. He added that since January this year, they have yet to apprehend any online seller despite efforts to locate them, including the creation of a dummy account on Facebook. Apart from keeping a tight watch against online sellers, Ardamil said the 24/7 operation of their border checkpoints in the municipalities of Hamtic and Anini-y continues. However, cargo inspection can only be carried out when deemed suspicious. 'Usually being inspected only are the styrofoam containers for possible pork-based food products or fresh pork,' Ardamil added. The veterinarian added that farmers in the province enjoy a higher selling price for live-weight hogs at PHP170 per kilogram (kg) from PHP120-130 per kg in December 2022 as they still received pork meat orders from Iloilo. Antique, Aklan, and Negros Occidental are still free from the ASF.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Efforts to improve the nation's economic growth and the people's well-being were highlighted in adjournment speeches by Members of the Legislative Council comprising Titled Persons.

Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Johan Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Adanan bin Begawan Pehin Siraja Khatib Dato Seri Setia Haji Mohd Yusuf called for more creativity, innovation and a change of mindset to be more progressive and dynamic, dedication as well as trust in together enhancing and expanding the country's economy now and in the future.

Meanwhile, Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Haji Awang Suyoi bin Haji Osman said the government gives priority to providing basic facilities such as roads, clean water supply and adequate power supply to houses, improve health services that are easily accessible, and quality education that can promise a bright future for students of all levels and courses.

Source: Radio Television Brunei

The First Meeting of the 19th Session of the Legislative Council entered the 17th day today with the council approving two resolutions, one Resolution under Clause 7, Article 83 of the Constitution of Brunei Darussalam 1959, and the other under Section 4-2 of the Development Fund Act, Chapter 136 as well as adjournment speeches from some of the members of the Legislative Council. The council also approved the Supply Bill 2023/2024 and is known as the Supply Act 2023/2024 with an allocation of 5 point 96 billion dollars, which will take effect on 1st April. Before approving the allocation, the council heard the budget introduction under Development. The 11th National Development Plan, NDP was approved to be extended for another year until the end of Financial Year 2023/2024.

The Minister at the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister of Finance and Economy explained that the extension took into account the ministries' capability to complete projects under the 11th NDP that are still in implementation, and the opportunity to review new projects under the 12th NDP in order to have a positive impact towards the achievement of Wawasan Brunei 2 ribu 35. Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Doctor Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah also shared that a sum of 500 million dollars has been allocated to fund projects that have been approved under the 11th NDP involving 211 projects, including 28 new projects.

Among the new projects that have been approved are those that have high impact towards increasing the nation's Gross Domestic Product, GDP. This includes contributing to digital transformation towards enhancing information and productivity level, as well as increasing job opportunities for locals. Projects under priority sectors such as agrifood and development have also been identified to generate more economic and spin-off activities.

Source: Radio Television Brunei

Several matters and issues raised during the National Budget 2023/2024 Meeting were highlighted in the adjournment speeches of the Ex-Officio Members of the Council. Among other things, Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Bakti Di- Raja Dato Laila Utama Haji Awang Isa bin Pehin Datu Perdana Manteri Dato Laila Utama Haji Awang Ibrahim, Special Advisor to His Majesty and Minister at the Prime Minister's Office stated that the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam will remain committed to enable the ministries to implement initiatives and short, medium and long term investments to generate a developed and sustainable economy.

Yang Berhormat Pehin said that with continuous efforts, commitment and support from all parties, the country's economy will continue to grow and the results can be enjoyed by the current and future generations. Budgets that were deliberated and approved this year and previous years have and will bring many benefit to all levels of society in the country, and the results of government expenditure have been enjoyed by citizens and permanent residents of Brunei Darussalam.

Source: Radio Television Brunei

The Consumer Price Index, CPI month-on-month decreased by 0.7 percent as compared to December 2022. This was contributed by the decrease in Non-Food. However, Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages group increased. The department of economic planning and statistics, ministry of finance and economy in its media release stated that the month-on-month decrease in the Non-Food group was contributed by Transport; Recreation and Culture; and Communication.

The decline for Transport was primarily due to the decrease in air fares. Meanwhile, the increase in Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages group was mainly caused by the increase in prices of Vegetables, Fish and Seafood, and Rice and Cereals. For year-on-year changes, the CPI increased by 1.4 percent compared to January 2022. The rise was driven by the increase in prices of Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, and Non-Food prices groups.

The year-on-year increase in Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages group was due to the rise in Meat; Rice and Cereals; and Fish and Seafood. The price increase in Non-Food group was driven by the rise in prices of Miscellaneous Goods and Services; Restaurants and Hotels; and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels.

The CPI is a measure of price changes of goods and services paid by the consumer in a specified period and compiled on a monthly basis. The CPI full report for January 2023 is available from the DEPS website at deps.mofe.gov.bn.

Source: Radio Television Brunei

The council reconvened yesterday afternoon by deliberating topics under the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. The issue of the aid amount not reaching and covering the losses incurred by fire victims or aid recipients was raised by Yang Berhormat Awang Lau How Teck. Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Nazmi bin Haji Mohamad, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports explained that the disaster aid provided is intended to ease the burden of the victims and not to fully compensate for the loss or loss of property.

The Minister said that the rate of financial assistance given is subject to the Department of Community Development, JAPEM's investigation, evaluation and approach according to the guidelines in force. Aside from financial assistance, food rations, basic necessities and temporary accommodation will also be handed out to disaster victims. Apart from JAPEM, there are also other agencies that will provide disaster relief such as the Brunei Islamic Religious Council and Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah.

Source: Radio Television Brunei

The Industry Guidance Note (IGN) can provide public understanding on the importance of providing and maintaining suitable facilities for emergency treatment or first aid at the workplace, appoint and train first aid providers, keep workplace treatment records for a period not less than five years as well as creating best practices for workplace first aid. Yesterday morning, Safety, Health and Environment National Authority, SHENA launched the IGN.

The guide was launched by Ingenieur Awang Haji Amer Hishamuddin bin Pehin Orang Kaya Amar Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Zakaria, Permanent Secretary (Infrastructure, Housing and Professional) Ministry of Development as Chairman of SHENA Board of Directors. The function continued with distribution of the guide books to relevant agencies. Also present was Dayang Nur Al-Ain binti Dr Haji Abdullah, SHENA Acting Temporary Chief Executive Officer. The ceremony took place at Kampung Anggerek Desa.

Source: Radio Television Brunei

Practising the smart consumer culture through information in the "PenggunaBijak" application was among the matters shared during the briefing session delivered by the Department of Consumer Affairs under the Department of Economic Planning and Statistics, DEPS, Ministry of Finance and Economy. The session was held during the Brunei MSME Festival 2023, recently.

The DEPS also shared the government's more sustainable measures in collaboration with the private sector and regulators to diversify import sources and enhance local production to reduce high dependence on imports in ensuring supply stability. The session ended by urging traders and consumers to join hands with the government towards creating a better market to achieve a healthy and resilient market environment through a sustainable business ecosystem and powerful consumers.

Source: Radio Television Brunei

The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports also shared that almost 3 years since the implementation of Sistem Kebajikan Negara or National Welfare System, SKN. The system has implemented assistance from Brunei Islamic Religious Council, MUIB; Department of Community Development, JAPEM and the latest, Annual Education Welfare Assistance, BKPT.

The integration of assistance into the system has generated a database that is combined with Artificial Intelligence analysis by using the Power Business Intelligence, Power BI programme as added value to the establishment of the system. The AI feature build in the system has optimised the usage of the system and widen the analysis scope in term of geo location and its relation with socio economy of SKN applicants and recipients.

Source: Radio Television Brunei

In conjunction with World Autism Day 2023, the Autism Awareness Fun Day was held on 19th March, at the SMARTER B.A.C.A Sungai Hanching.

It was jointly organised by students of the Masters of Logistics, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, UBD School of Business and Economics. The event aimed to inculcate inclusivity among autistic children with the public in order to have a better picture and understanding on the activities of children with autism.

Source: Radio Television Brunei

Also gaining the council's attention was the issue of waste management. Responding to the issue were the Minister of Development and Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr. Awang Haji Mohammad Isham bin Haji Jaafar, Minister of Health.

The Minister of Development said that the ministry has made several measures which include exploring the possibility of having a technological incinerator so that the waste can be burned and in turn the incinerator will be able to produce electricity. The Ministry of Development is looking for a way forward in order to meet objectives and the aim of utilising incineration is for the country to move away from using landfills as practised previously.

The Minister of Health in his response said that the health care waste are brought out in refrigerated trucks and stored in a refrigerated area while waiting for disposal. The incinerator is remotely controlled and monitored from Australia. Normal waste is disposed or incinerated at a certain temperature while clinical waste disposal will be at a higher temperature and cytotoxic or cancer waste will be at an even higher temperature.

Source: Radio Television Brunei

The Brunei MSME Festival 2023 provides local entrepreneurs the opportunity to showcase their products, and acts as a platform for entrepreneurs to get to know one another and exchange views on their businesses. The initiative by Darussalam Enterprise, DARe is also capable of giving local entrepreneurs the confidence to step forward to grow their business.

Source: Radio Television Brunei