WP leader's reputation, integrity in question: Desmond Lee

The failure by the Workers' Party (WP) to give answers and respond adequately to questions on the financial well-being of its town council calls into question its leaders' reputation and integrity, said Minister of State for National Development Desmond Lee.

It also demonstrates a lack of transparency and a failure to be accountable, Mr Lee added in a statement yesterday, the third time in four weeks that he has taken the WP to task on the issue.

He also pointed out that instead of answering important questions on their town council, WP leaders resorted to blaming others, including the Ministry of National Development (MND), Auditor-General's Office (AGO), People's Action Party (PAP) and the media, for their predicament.

"This series of excuses calls into question not only AHPETC's local competence, but also the WP leaders' integrity and national reputation," he said.

AHPETC is short for Aljunied- Hougang-Punggol East Town Council, run by the WP.

Mr Lee's latest response comes a day after WP chairman Sylvia Lim issued a statement giving reasons for AHPETC's delay in submitting its service and conservancy charge (S&CC) arrears reports.

Ms Lim said the town council explained to MND its problems in producing the arrears reports in the required format. She also said the ministry rejected its offer to submit the data "as it was".

Responding, Mr Lee said the template of the monthly arrears report - a table showing how many households owe S&CC and for how long - is not new. It has been used by all town councils, including the former Hougang Town Council since 2008, when it was managed by the WP and under the same general manager who now oversees AHPETC, he noted.

It was also used by AHPETC till April last year, when it stopped after a "shocking arrears rate appeared". The non-submission of information to the MND aside, AHPETC did not send audited accounts to Parliament on time for three years in a row - since the WP took over in 2011.

"What is important is AHPETC's lack of transparency and Ms Lim's and her fellow MPs' failure to be accountable. They have yet to explain why their arrears are so high or disclose what their latest arrears rate is."

Ms Lim acknowledged that the high arrears rate - 30 per cent among residents and 50 per cent among commercial tenants - was a matter of concern, he said. And in previous responses, she said she would look into the problem.

"But her actions have not matched her words. When pressed for answers, she repeatedly says she will answer in 'due course'," he said. Ms Lim must have the information as AHPETC sends lawyers' letters to those in arrears.

Mr Lee said running a town council is the responsibility of the WP's MPs. But instead of answering questions, they blame others.

Ms Lim said AHPETC's finance team and software developers were involved in two audits in a row: that of its own auditors in mid-2013 and the AGO in March this year and these "led to a deferment of reporting requests".

Mr Lee said that in giving this reason for AHPETC's tardiness, Ms Lim was saying "it was the AGO's or their own auditors' fault because they (the finance team and software developers) were busy having to entertain them".

He said AHPETC was audited by the same auditor, Foo Kon Tan Grant Thornton, in 2012. And that did not prevent the town council from sending its monthly S&CC arrears report until April last year.

As for the media, Ms Lim said its reports may have given "a mistaken impression" of things, as she had never said focusing on the AGO's audit was the sole cause of AHPETC's submission delay.

Mr Lee noted the excuse was given three times - separately by WP chief Low Thia Khiang, AHPETC vice-chairman Png Eng Huat and Ms Lim herself.

He also said AHPETC told the Housing Board earlier this month that it could not produce the arrears report for the HDB because its financial system was terminated by PAP-owned company, Action Information Management, to whom the former Aljunied Town Council had sold the system.

This reason was given in a reply to the HDB by AHPETC general manager How Weng Fan on Dec 3, one week before Ms Lim's statement on Wednesday.

But, Mr Lee noted: "AHPETC had been able to continue submitting its monthly S&CC arrears reports for 19 months after it had stopped using the AIM Town Council Management System."

Hougang Town Council also could do it from April 2008 until it merged with Aljunied, without the aid of AIM, he added.

Mr Lee concluded: "Ms Sylvia Lim, in her statement yesterday, put the responsibility on the Government and the AGO to establish AHPETC's true state of affairs.

"This is a remarkable proposition: The elected MPs of Aljunied, Hougang and Punggol East, who pride themselves on checking the Government, are now relying on the Government to check them, instead of taking responsibility themselves for accounting to the public what they have done or have not done."

This article was first published on December 12, 2014.
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