SINGAPORE: All 16 town councils had unqualified financial statements for the 2018 financial year, the Ministry of National Development (MND) said in a press release on Thursday (Dec 5).
The ministry also released its Town Council Management Report for the financial year, which saw two town councils score an “amber” rating for corporate governance.
The town councils are assessed annually under five indicators using three colour bands – green, amber and red.
For corporate governance, a “green” rating means that there was full compliance with the checklist for the indicators; “amber” means there is one item of non-compliance or one observation from the auditor; “red” is the worst rating, with at least one item of non-compliance and one observation from the auditor, or two or more items in either category.
(Image: Ministry of National Development)
Broadly, the results of the 2018 Town Council Management Report are comparable with that of previous years, with improvements observed in estate maintenance, said MND.
Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council and Jurong-Clementi Town Council scored “amber” for corporate governance, due to one count each of non-compliance with the Town Councils Act and the Town Councils Financial Rules.
The amber rating for Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council was related to the collection of charges for the use of outdoor display areas by third-party retailers.
This went beyond the provisions of the Town Councils (Use of Common Property) Rules, which require these areas to be confined to incidental use by existing businesses, said MND.
Jurong-Clementi Town Council’s rating was due to quotations under the Town Councils Financial Rules.
The rules allow quotations of up to S$3,000 to be obtained verbally and approved, and then circulated to the town council for information.
While the Jurong-Clementi Town Council had obtained approval from the appropriate authority for these quotations, it had not circulated them as required by the financial rules, said MND.
The ministry also singled out Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) for mention, noting that it had achieved a green banding for corporate governance, an improvement from its previous amber rating for the previous financial year.
“This was due in large part to the efforts of KPMG (the accountants appointed by AHTC pursuant to a court order in 2015), which assisted AHTC in its remediation of past control failures and audit points over a period of 24 months,” said MND.
“HDB had provided funding for this work done by KPMG.”
Separately, MND also voiced concerns over Ms Sylvia Lim and Mr Low Thia Kiang’s continued involvement in the financial affairs of AHTC.
