Town councils performed well in most areas: MND

SINGAPORE — Town councils generally fared well from March to September last year, according to the latest Town Council Management Report (TCMR) released by Ministry of National Development (MND) on Monday (May 30), especially in areas like estate cleanliness and lift maintenance.

The latest report also marked the first time in five years that the town council run by the Workers’ Party did not get a “red” banding — the lowest grade — for Service and Conservancy Charges (S&CC) arrears management, since the MND revamped the format of its report in 2011. 

The former Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East (AHPETC) — now the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council after last year’s General Election — received a “pending” score for S&CC arrears management, as the MND is waiting for the outcome of the KPMG review. 

Potong Pasir Town Council was awarded an “amber” grade again, while the remaining 14 town councils were banded “green”, the top grade. 

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Elaborating on AHPETC’s S&CC arrears management, the MND noted that the town council had “confirmed” that its reports were prepared in accordance to ministry requirements. However, the town council’s accountant, KPMG, flagged two observations in a report dated May 13 this year. 

First, KPMG observed that the balances in AHPETC’s accounts receivables sub-ledger as of March 31, 2015 did not match the trial balances for the same period. These balances were prepared by an external consultant. 

KPMG also found that the accounts receivables sub-ledger, used by the town council to calculate S&CC arrears attributable to the sinking fund, did not match the numbers in the audited financial statements for Financial Year 2014/15. 

The town council is investigating the reasons for the difference, said the MND, adding that it will continue to monitor KPMG’s monthly reports to see whether further assessments are made on the accuracy of the town council’s S&CC arrears reports.

In a press statement on its website, AHTC urged its residents who are unable to make payment by the first day of each month to visit the Town Council or see their respective MPs who will assist them, wherever possible.

“Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) notes MND’s remarks on the S&CC arrears management aspect of the report. AHTC will continue to publish on its website all monthly KPMG reports pursuant to the court order of Nov 27, 2015, for the public to track the progress and resolution of this issue,” said AHTC chairman Pritam Singh. 

Meanwhile, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) said that Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council (PRPTC) has appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as its accountant, to oversee the court obligations of Punggol East Single Member Constituency, which was run by the former AHPETC before the General Election last September.  

“HDB expects AHTC and PRPTC to do all that is necessary to carry out the orders of the (Court of Appeal). This includes fully cooperating and supporting the work of the appointed accountants, KPMG and PwC, to establish whether any past payments made by AHPETC were improper and ought therefore to be recovered,” the HDB said.  

As for Potong Pasir’s continued “amber” banding, its Member of Parliament Sitoh Yih Pin said the town council started from a “very low base” after it was taken over in 2011 from the Singapore People’s Party but the situation has been gradually improving.

The MND also said in its report there was room for improvement in estate maintenance, where 11 town councils were graded “amber”. 

Obstruction of common areas remained the top estate maintenance issue and MND stressed that town councils should address the issue with residents.