Prime Minister's Office (Singapore)
Encyclopedia
The Prime Minister's Office (Abbreviation
Abbreviation
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase...

: PMO) is a ministry
Ministry (government department)
A ministry is a specialised organisation responsible for a sector of government public administration, sometimes led by a minister or a senior public servant, that can have responsibility for one or more departments, agencies, bureaus, commissions or other smaller executive, advisory, managerial or...

 of the Government of Singapore
Government of Singapore
The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore to mean the Executive branch of government, which is made up of the President and the Cabinet of Singapore. Although the President acts in his personal discretion in the exercise of certain functions as a check...

 that handles the ministries and other political matters that are of great importance to the nation, such as corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...

 and elections. It is headed by the Prime Minister and his top political staff. The PMO is located at the Istana Singapore
Istana Singapore
The Istana is the official residence and office of the President of Singapore. Meaning "palace" in Malay, it is where the president receives and entertains state guests. The Istana is also the working office of the Prime Minister of Singapore...

, which is also the official workplace of the President of Singapore
President of Singapore
The President of the Republic of Singapore is Singapore's head of state. In a Westminster parliamentary system, as which Singapore governs itself, the prime minister is the head of the government while the position of president is largely ceremonial. Before 1993, the President of Singapore was...

.

Roles and functions

The PMO has several roles and functions, with regards to the nation's politics. They are:
  • To co-ordinate the activities of Ministries and the general policies of the Government and to provide overall policy direction
  • To eradicate corruption and maintain readiness for elections
  • To implement national research, innovation and enterprise strategies
  • To strive for robust security, a networked government and a resilient Singapore
  • To oversee, plan and co-ordinate multi-agency programmes and initiatives to engage the Overseas Singaporean community
  • To ensure the efficient and effective management of public service officers through sound personnel policies in service conditions, career development and staff training
  • To promote quality service and productivity
  • To provide secretariat support to the Public Service Commission (PSC).
  • To guide and co-ordinate whole-of-government efforts in the implementation of national population policies and programmes.

Portfolio

The PMO handles many tasks. These include the Cabinet
Cabinet of Singapore
The Cabinet of Singapore forms the Government of Singapore together with the President of Singapore. It is led by the Prime Minister of Singapore who is the head of government...

, the appointments of ministers and more. The tasks are listed below:
  • Cabinet Business
  • National Flag
  • Anthem Table of Precedence
  • Honours and Awards
  • Justices of the Peace
  • Prevention of Corrupt Practices
  • Elections
  • National Population Policies and Programmes
  • National Research, Innovation and Enterprise Coordination
  • National Security and Intelligence Co-ordination
  • Public Service for the 21st Century (PS21) Programme
  • Talent Management
  • Administrative Service
  • Appointments
  • Benefits
  • Compensation
  • Superannuation
  • Resort Management
  • PM2S
  • Personnel Boards
  • Appeals Board
  • Civil Service Industrial Relations
  • Staff Development Policy
  • Strategic Policy and Issues
  • Public Service Commission Secretariat
  • Public Policy Development Training
  • Public Administration and Management Training and Consulting
  • Banking, Currency, Insurance, Monetary & Securities Industry Affairs
  • Liaison with International and Regional Financial Organisations

Departments

The Prime Minister's Office comprises a PMO (HQ), Corrupt Practice Investigation Bureau, Elections Department, National Research Foundation, National Security Co-ordination Secretariat, National Population Secretariat and Public Service Division. Each department functions independently.

The main function of PMO (HQ) is to provide corporate, logistics and administrative support to the Prime Minister.

Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau

The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) is an independent body which investigates and aims to prevent corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...

 in the public and private sectors in Singapore. Established in 1952, it derives its powers of investigation from the Prevention of Corruption Act. The bureau is headed by a director who is directly responsible to the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Singapore
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore is the head of the government of the Republic of Singapore. The President of Singapore appoints as Prime Minister a Member of Parliament who, in his opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs.The office of Prime Minister...

.

Elections Department

The Elections Department (ELD) is responsible for planning and preparing for, and managing the conduct of presidential and parliamentary elections and of any national referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...

 in Singapore. ELD's work extends beyond the period of elections. Between elections, ELD must prepare and maintain readiness of the public service for the conduct of any elections.

National Research Foundation

The National Research Foundation (NRF) is tasked to coordinate the research of different agencies
Agency (law)
The law of agency is an area of commercial law dealing with a contractual or quasi-contractual, or non-contractual set of relationships when a person, called the agent, is authorized to act on behalf of another to create a legal relationship with a third party...

 within the larger national framework in order to provide a coherent strategic overview and direction. It develops policies and plans to implement the five strategic thrusts for the national R&D agenda and to implement national research, innovation and enterprise strategies approved by the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council (RIEC), and to allocate funding to programmes that meet the NRF strategic objectives.

National Security Coordination Secretariat

The National Security Coordination Secretariat
National security coordination secretariat
The National Security Coordination Secretariat is a construct of the Singapore Government set up in 1999 within the Ministry of Defence. It was tasked to strengthen coordination amongst Singapore's existing security agencies .-History:In 1999, the National Security Secretariat was set up to...

 (NSCS) is an important central hub located within the Prime Minister's Office, tasked with national security
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...

 planning and the coordination of policy and intelligence issues.

National Population and Talent Division

Inaugurated in January 2011, the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) strives to achieve a sustainable, connected and integrated population for Singapore. NPTD drives the coordination and implementation of population and talent policies across Government agencies. These include policies in the areas of population augmentation, supporting marriage and parenthood, talent attraction and retention, immigration and naturalisation, integration of newcomers, and engaging overseas Singaporeans.

Public Service Division

The Public Service Division (PSD) sets policy directions for shaping the public service
Public services
Public services is a term usually used to mean services provided by government to its citizens, either directly or by financing private provision of services. The term is associated with a social consensus that certain services should be available to all, regardless of income...

 through public sector leadership development and implementing progressive and effective human resource
Human resources
Human resources is a term used to describe the individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, although it is also applied in labor economics to, for example, business sectors or even whole nations...

 and development policies.

Statutory Boards

The PMO oversees 2 statutory boards. These are:
  • Monetary Authority of Singapore
    Monetary Authority of Singapore
    The Monetary Authority of Singapore is Singapore's central bank and financial regulatory authority...

  • Civil Service College

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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