Room for improvement to social enterprise hawker centres, Government open to feedback

SINGAPORE — Amid recent criticism about the way some hawker centres were run by social enterprises, Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for Environment and Water Resources, said on Friday (Sept 7) that there was room for improvement as this alternative model has only been in place for three years.

“We will continue to evaluate these alternative business management models and take into account suggestions and feedback… and see how we can adjust and make refinements to the model,” said Dr Khor during a visit to Our Tampines Hub Hawker Centre (OTH).

OTH, which is managed by Kopitiam subsidiary OTMH, is one of several such not-for-profit, social enterprise hawker centres. They are run by five entities: Fei Siong Food Management, NTUC Foodfare, Timbre Group, Hawker Management under Koufu, and OTMH.

Her comments came after the management model was heavily criticised by observers such as food critic and consultant K F Seetoh, as well as some hawkers operating in these centres.

Mr Seetoh had written on his Makansutra website that these hawkers had to pay high rental fees due to extra expenses. Among other things, the hawkers have to pay for coin-changing services, crockery washing, collection and return, as well as for spot checks on food quality and operation.

Some stall holders also complained to TODAY about the long operating hours, rental costs in spite of low footfall, and the lack of transparency about the services they were paying for.

Dr Khor noted that rental and operating cost which managing agents charge stall holders is one of the government’s key tender evaluation criteria for this management model.

“Those that propose lower rental and operating costs will be the ones considered more favourably,” she said.

Dr Khor added that managing agents are not allowed to increase a stall holder’s rent or operating cost during the lease period.

Operating costs such as fees for collecting and cleaning of crockery are already included by the bidder in the tender, and any optional services offered by managing agents, such as coin-changing services, need to be made known to the authorities, she added.

Despite the criticism from various quarters, Dr Khor said the alternative management model has benefited hawkers and patrons.

Using OTH as an example, she pointed out that “10 per cent or less of stalls sell the same type of food”, which translated to less competition for hawkers, and more variety for diners.

Dr Khor said that many hawkers appreciated productivity enhancements such as a centralised dishwasher and e-payment systems. These enabled the hawkers to cut down on laborious tasks, and "concentrate on the preparations and their business”.

Promotional campaigns offered by managing agents for festive celebrations, for example, also drove footfall to the hawker centres and helped increase business takings, she added. 

She reiterated that the “fundamental objective” of the Government is to help hawkers make a “decent livelihood”, and at the same time ensure that Singaporeans have “good quality and affordable food in a hygienic environment”.