In a brief presentation made at the Annual General Meeting held on March 25, 2011, Transient Workers Count Too treasurer Alex Au gave a cautious assessment of TWC2’s financial health. Recalling how at the start of 2011, the previous (interim) treasurer Russell Heng predicted a cash crunch in 2011, Alex spoke about how TWC2 tightened its belt and became extra prudent with spending through the year.
For example, when Vincent Wijeysingha resigned in October, the executive committee decided not to fill the position for the time being. While this may be a short term fix, it is not a sustainable solution, said Alex.
As it turned out, several big donors came to the rescue in the middle and latter half of the year. Special thanks are owed to the Lee Foundation, Mr Lee Yuen Shih and Kwan Imm Hood Thong Temple.
The overall figures for 2011 are as follows:
Funds brought forward from 2010: $331,103
Donations* received in 2011: $449,950
Expenditure in 2011: $349,194
Funds carried forward into 2012: $434,982
* includes about 1 % of non-donation income.
The following pie chart gives a snapshot of 2011 income, 99% of which was in the form of donations:
The next pie chart shows expenditure in 2011:
The treasurer cautioned that 2012 will not be comfortable either. Of particular worry is the Cuff Road Project, for which funds available at the start of 2012 are insufficient to last the full year. In addition, two other factors may exacerbate the situation: (a) the number of workers qualifying for the programme had been increasing steadily in the second half of 2011 and looks likely to continue as the trend in 2012; (b) inflation in Singapore — the Consumer Price Index rose 5.3% in 2011 over 2010 and is expected to rise a further 4 – 5% in 2012.