By Lawrence Wong, Published The Straits Times, 10 Dec 2014
ONE of my responsibilities in the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth is to regulate charities.
One thing I have learnt about charities is that wanting to do good is not enough.
When you are responsible for public monies, whether donations or fees, good intentions are not enough to prevent bad outcomes.
From time to time, some charities get into trouble because of the mismanagement of funds and poor governance. The dishonest ones would choose to stay silent, hoping that it would go unnoticed. But, eventually, questions grow too loud, and the issues burst into the open, as they rightly should.
In recent weeks, the centre of attention has not been a charity, but a town council, specifically, the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC).
Every year that the Workers' Party (WP) has run AHPETC, the town council has been consistently flagged "red", both for its service and conservancy charge (S&CC) arrears management and its corporate governance.
In fact, since 2012, AHPETC has faced repeated questions - from its own auditor, from the Ministry of National Development (MND), and from residents of Aljunied, Hougang and Punggol East.
The situation worsened sharply in April last year. AHPETC reported a spike in its S&CC arrears - nearly 30 per cent of its HDB residents and 50 per cent of its commercial units owed S&CC for three months or more. This was more than 10 times the national average for HDB residents; and more than 34 times for the commercial units.
The spike came suddenly, without warning. After that, silence. No more S&CC arrears reports at all, for 18 months now.
Something is seriously wrong.
MND is naturally concerned. It has queried AHPETC several times.
But so far, all we have got from AHPETC are prevarications, non-answers, and sweeping assurances that things will be all right.
It reminds me of an erratic TV set that works initially. After a while, the image starts to flicker, and then with an almighty bang, the screen goes black. Eventually, a message appears on the screen: Please don't adjust your controls. Your TV is working fine; the picture will return shortly.
But nothing more happens.
Recently, WP chairman Sylvia Lim, the AHPETC chairman, explained that the delay in submitting the arrears figures was because of an audit by the Auditor-General's Office (AGO).
But AHPETC had stopped submitting monthly arrears reports 10 months before the AGO audit began.
Anyway, why should an audit prevent Ms Lim from immediately investigating the figures, establishing the facts, and informing the public?
Perhaps, there is a good explanation for all this.
Perhaps, the April 2013 arrears figure was just an aberration.
But maybe, just maybe, there are bigger problems lurking behind the tangled web?
AHPETC recently put out a tender for a new managing agent. Not a single company bid, not even the current managing agent. Clearly, I am not the only one queasy about goings-on in AHPETC.
In fact, the issue is not just the S&CC arrears, but the governance and supervision of the town council, and what the WP MPs are doing (or not) to resolve the matter.
Nobody knows - which is precisely the problem.
Every month, AHPETC collects $3 million in S&CC from residents and shopkeepers. This is $36 million a year.
Residents and shopkeepers deserve to know that their money is being properly managed and spent by the town council, and that everyone who is supposed to pay is, indeed, paying.
But unless AHPETC starts being transparent and accountable and answers questions, the residents may never know the truth.
When pressed recently, Ms Lim said that she was looking into the matter and would release her findings in "due time".
That was the same answer she gave two years ago, when the arrears issue was first flagged.
There is a disturbingly familiar pattern in how the WP responds whenever questions are raised about its conduct.
It has happened again and again - cleaning hawker centres, running illegal trade fairs and, now, managing S&CC arrears.
First, its leaders say it is not a big deal. Then, when they can no longer pretend it is not a big deal, they blame someone else - the National Environment Agency, the People's Action Party, even the AGO. Then, when their excuses are exposed one by one, they say "we are looking into the matter", or that things will be explained - in "due time". And then, more silence.
Perhaps, the WP hopes that by lying low and keeping its head down, the matter will go away. The public may forget, or even better, not notice.
But it will not, and the public will not. Instead, the WP's credibility and integrity are slowly but surely draining away.
After my colleague Desmond Lee, as well as many residents and commentators in the media, raised questions, I was expecting the WP to issue a prompt and full reply, and end its long and damaging silence.
After my colleague Desmond Lee, as well as many residents and commentators in the media, raised questions, I was expecting the WP to issue a prompt and full reply, and end its long and damaging silence.
Sadly, nothing of the sort has happened.
Instead, there is silence - one that is growing more deafening by the day.
The writer is the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth.
The writer is the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth.
WP silence on arrears issue 'could suggest bigger problems'
By Nur Asyiqin Mohamad Salleh, The Straits Times, 10 Dec 2014
By Nur Asyiqin Mohamad Salleh, The Straits Times, 10 Dec 2014
THE Workers' Party's (WP) continuing silence on its town council's poor performance rating and finances suggests there may be bigger problems lurking, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong has said.
In an opinion article in The Straits Times today, he said there has been "a disturbingly familiar pattern" in the WP's response when questions are raised about its conduct. He wrote: "It's happened again and again - cleaning hawker centres, running illegal trade fairs and, now, managing service and conservancy charge (S&CC) arrears.
"First, its leaders say it is not a big deal. Then, when they can no longer pretend it is not a big deal, they blame someone else - the National Environment Agency, the People's Action Party, even the Auditor-General's Office (AGO). Then, when their excuses are exposed one by one, they say 'we are looking into the matter', or things will be explained - in 'due time'. And then, more silence."
The WP-run Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) had stopped sending monthly S&CC arrears reports since May last year. It did not fare well in an annual town council management report released last month, scoring "red" for S&CC arrears and corporate governance.
Mr Wong, whose ministry's responsibilities include regulating charities, said he has learnt that wanting to do good is not enough.
"When you are responsible for public monies, whether donations or fees, good intentions are not enough to prevent bad outcomes. From time to time, some charities get into trouble because of the mismanagement of funds and poor governance.
"The dishonest ones would choose to stay silent, hoping that it would go unnoticed. But, eventually, questions grow too loud, and the issues burst into the open, as they rightly should."
Noting the spike in S&CC arrears reported by AHPETC in its April report last year and the absence of monthly reports since then, he wrote: "Something is seriously wrong."
WP chairman and Aljunied GRC MP Sylvia Lim, the town council chairman, said there was a delay because the finance team was busy with the AGO audit. But Mr Wong said the town council stopped sending S&CC reports 10 months before the audit began.
AHPETC collects $3 million in S&CC a month, he said, and residents and shopkeepers "deserve to know that their money is being properly managed and spent by the town council... But unless AHPETC starts being transparent and accountable and answers questions, the residents may never know the truth".
Workers' Party responds to charges of 'silence' over town council
By Fiona Chan, Deputy Political Editor, The Straits Times, 11 Dec 2014
By Fiona Chan, Deputy Political Editor, The Straits Times, 11 Dec 2014
WORKERS' Party (WP) chairman Sylvia Lim has responded to an article written by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong, which suggested that the opposition party's silence on its town council's finances and delay in submitting financial reports may hint at "bigger problems".
In a statement yesterday, Ms Lim said Mr Wong may not have known that the WP-run Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) had already explained to the Ministry of National Development (MND) its problems in churning out reports on service and conservancy charge (S&CC) arrears in the required format.
Giving assurances that AHPETC has been helping the Auditor-General's Office (AGO) with its special audit of the town council's finances, Ms Lim said the audit findings and the town council's audited accounts will be made public when the audit is finished. Once that happens, "more productive discussions can be entered into", she said.
"In the meantime, I urge Minister Wong not to confuse or alarm the public by speculating on whether the S&CC arrears situation has worsened or whether AHPETC is facing 'bigger problems'," she added.
Ms Lim also thanked "the People's Action Party (PAP) ministers for repeatedly reminding Singaporeans of the issues that are close to our heart".
She noted that "the public can expect that the PAP will be the first to hold WP to account", and that "the PAP Government has all the investigative arms within its disposal to hold WP to account on any matter under the sun".
AHPETC has been in the spotlight over a sharp rise in its S&CC arrears as at April last year - after which it stopped submitting its monthly arrears reports - as well as matters of corporate governance. It earned the worst scores islandwide in these two areas in the latest annual report card of town councils, released last month.
In his article, which was published in The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao yesterday, Mr Wong accused the WP of "lying low and keeping its head down" in the face of "repeated questions", and of failing to be transparent and accountable to its residents.
His remarks came weeks after Minister of State for National Development Desmond Lee levelled similar accusations at the WP.
In her statement, Ms Lim also said AHPETC had informed MND that its software developers were working to enhance the system to produce the required arrears data. The town council was using manual sorting methods in the meantime, she added.
In addition, she refuted Mr Wong's charge that she had blamed the arrears data delay on the AGO audit. "At no time did I say that focusing on the AGO audit was the sole cause of the delay in submission of the arrears data to MND," she said.
Ms Lim added that AHPETC has been issuing payment reminders to households that are late with their S&CC fees, and has also proceeded with court action where necessary. Residents in financial difficulty have been placed on instalment plans.
Related
WP Town council saga: Counting the cost
AHPETC auditors' disclaimer of opinion on financial statements
Auditor-General to study WP town council's accounts
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AHPETC does badly in S&CC arrears, corporate governance in Town Council report
AHPETC yet to explain serious financial mismanagement: Desmond Lee
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NEA vs AHPETC: Cleaning of Hawker Centres
WP Town council saga: Counting the cost
AHPETC auditors' disclaimer of opinion on financial statements
Auditor-General to study WP town council's accounts
'Red' for WP town council's report card
AHPETC does badly in S&CC arrears, corporate governance in Town Council report
AHPETC yet to explain serious financial mismanagement: Desmond Lee
AHPETC found guilty of holding fair without permit
NEA vs AHPETC: Cleaning of Hawker Centres