The principal officials of the City Council are also the employees of the companies that are employed to manage the premises.
Observers said it was common practice for management agents to double the cap on this type of work, and he added that strong safeguards must be in place to prevent conflicts of interest.
They reported Thursday that the general manager and the secretary general of the Ang Mo Kio town council, Mr Wong, has been removed from office and is being investigated by the Corrupt Practices Bureau (CPIB)), the Straits Times reported Thursday.
The discussion is similar to the governance and financial blunders of the Albanian-post-town council (AHTC) that the Workers’ Party runs.
Mr Wong is an employee of CPG Facilities Management, a management agency for the City Council, which received a complaint in September about “how he handled contracts and transactions in the City Council”. Mr Ang Hin Kee, chairman of Ang Mo Kio Town Council, said on Thursday that Mr Wong was dismissed last month.
Yesterday, the anti-corruption regulator confirmed that it had received a report and was investigating the matter. A spokesman for the Central People’s Government said Mr Wong was “suspended from office and awaiting investigation”.
National University of Singapore corporate governance expert, said yesterday, this case seems to be an isolated, so far, does not seem to indicate systemic failure.
“AHTC has a wider range of issues, and so far this involves individuals. But he noted that the current case was a criminal investigation while the Criminal Investigation Bureau was not involved in the investigation of AHTC.
In the case of AHTC, the auditors found that the City Council was exposed to a serious conflict of interest because its management agency owners and shareholders also held key positions in the City Council.
In this regard, the Singapore Management University affiliated law professor Eugene Tank yesterday pointed out that Mr. Wang is a CPG staff, and there is no ownership in the company’s shares. If he is an owner, he will be directly through the decision on the tender to obtain the benefits, for example, Professor Chen said.
Mr MAK said that in order to completely eliminate the conflict of interest, the City Council should not appoint an employee of the management agent to be an officer.
“The best protection is to separate the two sides and have a full arm length relationship,” he said. But he added that this could increase costs.
Of the 16 municipal councils, 14 use management agents. The two men who do not do so are Bishan-Toa Toa Payoh City Council and AHTC.
Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Mr. Baey Yam Keng, Mr. Lim Biow Chuan and Mr. Ang, the four PAPs who run the town councils, say that staff are constantly reminded to announce any potential conflict in order to prevent possible problems with double caps. Weiden.
Mr. Lin said that the tender and the tender must also be a group of people rather than a person to assess.
In the end, Professor Tan said, “No system is foolproof, and (inherent) human weaknesses in the system when people participate.”
“It is important to ensure that the penalties for dishonesty are serious,” Mr Lam said. He added: “Clearly there is no cover; no matter the extent of the mistakes, we will take action.
The Ministry of National Development said, “to determine the appropriate action to be taken after the determination of the facts”.
dansonc@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on Dec 31, 2016.
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