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SINGAPORE: Under-utilisation of land and buildings, resulting in losses from possible rental revenues; "generous" interpretation of government instruction manuals by the various agencies to support management action or omissions; statutory boards taking longer than the recommended timeframe to present their annual reports and financial statements to Parliament.
These were the three areas of concerns highlighted by the Auditor-General's Office (AGO) in its annual report, which was presented to Parliament last week.
While the report took several ministries and statutory boards to task for coming up short in various areas, Auditor-General Lim Soo Ping added: "The lapses reported should not be seen as a reflection of the state of governance of the organisation as a whole. This is because even in an organisation with good governance and management practice, lapses do occur occasionally."
Here is a look at some of the findings for Financial Year 2007/2008:
CONTRACT FOR DEBARRED FIRM
An engineering specialist firm was allowed to serve as a sub-contractor for a project managed by the Ministry of Defence's procurement agent, the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA), even though it had been debarred by the Government.
This happened after the DSTA contract was awarded to another company who had won the contract based on its sub-contractor (the debarred firm) having the relevant technical expertise and track record.
The AGO noted that the engineering firm was debarred because it had, in another DSTA project, bribed employees of the same company. The case indicated a need to tighten the rules on procurement, said the AGO.
REMOVAL OF COMPUTER ACCESS RIGHTS
Access rights to computer systems in ministries, state agencies and statutory boards should be given on a "need" basis to ensure confidentiality and integrity of systems and data, the AGO report said.
However, its checks revealed that lapses had occurred in some of these bodies.
For example, at 12 ministries and four organs of state, 359 users — who had either resigned, retired or been transferred or had their duties changed — did not have their existing access rights promptly removed.
The AGO suggested that these institutions look into effective ways of ensuring "prompt removal of access rights when no longer required".
RENTAL ARREARS FOR STATE PROPERTY
The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) serves as the Government's agent for the administration and management of state properties.
The AGO's checks on some of these properties revealed five cases of long delay — ranging from one to six years — in repossessing premises after tenants had defaulted on the rental payments. As of Aug 31 last year, the rental arrears were $4.14 million.
In one case, after the tenancy agreement lapsed, the tenant continued to occupy the premises for about six years, defaulting on its rental payments in the last year of occupation.
The SLA had accepted the AGO's recommendations to refine its existing procedures in repossessing premises.
LEAVING BUILDINGS VACANT
The AGO report singled out several state-owned buildings that were left vacant for several years, resulting in foregone rental revenue running into hundreds of thousands of dollars.
For example, Capitol Building was allocated to the Ministry of Trade and Industry for use as a performing arts venue. However, after spending $1.51 million over seven years on feasibility studies, maintenance and reinstatement works, the Singapore Tourism Board found that it was not a viable project. The building was returned to the SLA last year — resulting in over $280,000 loss in possible rental revenue each year.
In another instance, the former Catholic High School building was handed over to the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts in September 2000 for development as an art gallery for local artists.
However, the plan did not materialise and the building was eventually returned to the SLA in March this year. Some $420,000 in possible rental revenue annually had been forgone as a result of leaving the building vacant for over seven years.
STILL NOT SETTLED AFTER 28 YEARS
In December 1979, the Insolvency and Public Trustee's Office (IPTO) was appointed to handle the liquidation of a co-operative society. Twenty-eight years on, the process had yet to be completed.
The AGO report also noted that there were 200 ex-members of the society who had not been paid dividends with accrued interest in 1996. It was only in 2005 that the IPTO managed to locate and pay 64 of them.
The IPTO, which hopes to clear the backlog of 136 unpaid ex-members by August, has assured the AGO that it had taken steps to improve its system of administering cases.
GENEROUS ADVANCE FOR PARTNERS
The Workforce Development Agency (WDA) provided its programme partners with funds "well ahead of need", said the AGO.
For example, between March and December 2006, the WDA issued grants worth a total of $25.51 million for six programmes. By the end of last October, $16.02 million had remained unused.
The AGO noted that giving out the grants much earlier than needed carried "an opportunity cost of interest lost".
The WDA told the AGO that it had since recovered the surplus grants (including interest) from its partners whose programmes had been scaled down. The agency had also revised its criteria for disbursement of grants.
IRREGULARITIES IN CONTRACTS
Between April 2002 and January 2006, the Singapore Discovery Centre (SDC) awarded 14 contracts worth $15 million to a certain contractor and another company with the same executive director-cum-major shareholder.
The figure accounted for 92.4 per cent of the value of contracts related to the redevelopment of the Discovery Centre. An AGO investigation revealed "many serious irregularities" related to the 14 contracts. The matter was referred to the police for further investigation.
The SDC has since introduced a number of measures to ensure the "rigour and integrity of its procurement and payment processes".
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