‘Good intentions, not dishonesty’ at root of PA, grassroots lapses

SINGAPORE — There is no irregularity at the systemic level in the People’s Association (PA) and grassroots organisations, PA deputy chairman Lim Swee Say told Parliament today (Aug 17).

Detailing the instances of non-compliance by grassroots leaders highlighted by the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) in its latest annual audit report, Mr Lim said most of these were borne out of “good intentions”.

For example, when the haze hit unprecedented levels in 2013, a community hospital appealed to a grassroots organisation for air purifiers for patients in non-air-conditioned wards. Grassroots volunteers found the purifiers in a “small store” and quickly bought them without seeking three quotations — a requirement under the Government’s rules and procedures. 

Among other lapses, the AGO report found 13 tenancy contracts that were given without prior approval from the PA headquarters for a waiver of competition. 

Mr Lim said five of the contracts were by two community clubs “with poor locations to provide children enrichment, food and entertainment services”. The other contracts were for a non-profit community organisation that promotes healthy lifestyles, the renewal and continuation of childcare services, food outlets, the installation of an automated teller machine and new community lifestyle concepts. 

“We can fault (grassroots volunteers) for their non-compliance of financial procedures, but please do not doubt them in their passion and commitment in always doing their best for the community,” added Mr Lim. 

Mr Lim was responding to Hougang Member of Parliament (MP) Png Eng Huat and Non-Constituency MP Lina Chiam. Mr Png had filed parliamentary questions seeking details of the lapses cited by the AGO in its latest audit report on the PA. 

Citing the PA’s failure to provide the financial statements of grassroots organisations to auditors for more than a decade, Mrs Chiam had raised the issue of proper accountability for public resources by the public sector in a motion for adjournment.

Mr Lim said the accounts of the grassroots organisations had been subjected to internal audits “all these years”.

In financial year 2012, the PA’s accounts received an “adverse opinion” during the annual statutory audits. This was due to the exclusion of grassroots organisations’ accounts from the PA’s financial statements. 

Since then, the PA has consolidated all the 1,800 grassroots organisations’ accounts into the PA’s financial statements. For financial years 2013 and 2014, the PA’s accounts were deemed by the AGO to be in order, and public funds were properly spent and accounted for.

Following the findings of the latest AGO report, the PA set up a committee to review its financial and procurement rules for grassroots organisations to enhance compliance. 

Mr Lim noted that the committee consists of members with standing and expertise. The accounting systems of the PA and the grassroots organisations are accurate, and they have accepted responsibility for the mistakes, he said. 

“The house is not on fire. The house is not at risk of collapse. We’ve learnt from findings of the Auditor-General’s Office and will improve to do better,” he said. 

The AGO findings on the PA had led to the voluntary resignation of the chairman of the Admiralty Citizens’ Consultative Committee over a conflict of interest in related-party transactions. The chairman was involved in awarding two contracts amounting to S$32,000 to a company in which he held a senior management position. He was also involved in approving seven of his own claims totalling S$114,767. 

Four of the claims had no supporting documents. Of these, one was for immediate financial assistance to a needy family for funeral matters, Mr Lim said. The other claims were for work-plan retreats, and although the receipts were misplaced, steps were taken to verify the amounts of the claim with the vendors. 

Mr Lim stressed there was “no evidence of dishonesty”. Reiterating that PA takes the AGO audit findings seriously, he said: “We have taken swift and decisive action to put things right immediately. When things go wrong, we do not shy away from taking responsibility and tough action to put things in order.”