My mum used to always tell me this:”Hawker food nowadays so expensive, last time 50 cents I can buy a bowl of noodles, now only can buy tissue paper.”.
Well, my mum isn’t exactly wrong. As people always say, mothers are always right.
Efforts To Keep Hawker Trade Sustainable
As many of us know by now (or at least I hope so), with an increase in the standard of living, overall prices of goods and services would inevitably increase as well, which is why my mum has been complaining about the increasing price of her Bah Chor Mee.
After hearing all these complaints from the citizens and concerns from stallholders, NEA had introduced Socially-conscious Enterprise Hawker Centre (SEHC) model a few years back, hoping to keep food prices low and hawker trade sustainable.
If you’re as confused as I was on what SEHC is, one of our writers has actually so kindly broken it down for you on how it came about and all the dramas that happened then.
Lower Store Rental For The First 2 Years
After solving all those dramas that happened, NEA has just announced on 26 Aug 2019 that they will be introducing a new scheme called the Staggered Rent Scheme.
Under this new scheme, stallholders at new hawker centres will be paying a lower rental fee for the first two years.
According to them, two years is estimated to be the time stallholders need to build customer awareness and relationships. In other words, branding would be done within two years.
This scheme is said to be applicable to the 13 new SEHCs that will be completed by 2027, starting with the one that is set to open during the second half of 2020 at Canberra.
How Low is Lower Store Rental?
No, it’s not 90% off the rental.
During the first year of operation, stallholders are only required to pay 80% of their stall rentals, and 90% during the second year.
While it might not seem like a huge amount to many of you, if you do your math, it is quite a sum for the entire 2 years.
Assuming a $2,500 store rental, that’s $500 saved per month which amounts to $6,000 saved in the first year.
My mum could have used that money saved to buy that particular Chanel bag that she has been aiming for…that’s if she runs a hawker stall. #justsaying
Existing Stallholders Will Benefit Too
Already rented a stall? Too bad except for a few of you.
Only three of the existing SEHCs will benefit from a 10% reduction in their rental fees for 6 months.
And it’s only for new stallholders who begin their tenancy between 1 September 2019 to 29 February 2020 are eligible.
The three said SEHCs includes Yishun Park, Jurong West and Pasir Ris Central.
With all these subsidies and schemes being introduced to protect Singapore’s hawker culture, hopefully, the future generation will be more keen in taking over their family’s hawker stall or venture into the trade.
You all also don’t happy-happy point fingers at the Government for your increasing chicken rice price. I mean, at least they are working on it, right?
Let’s learn to appreciate and be contented with what we have.
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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