PAP, WP spar over changes to Town Councils Act
By Neo Chai Chin
Published: 12:15 AM, March 11, 2017
Updated: 12:50 AM, March 11, 2017
SINGAPORE — After almost four years in the making, amendments to the Town Councils Act that give the Ministry of National Development (MND) more power to investigate suspected irregularities, among other changes, were passed in Parliament yesterday.
Opposing the Bill, Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Workers’ Party (WP) slammed the amendments over the new powers that will be given to the MND, and this in turn drew sharp criticism from the People’s Action Party MPs.
Under the new laws, the ministry will be able to periodically conduct compliance reviews of town councils, appoint inspectors (who may be public servants or professionals) to conduct the reviews, and order the town councils to take remedial actions. Previously, the MND did not have the authority to get town councils to submit any information beyond annual financial statements, or to intervene where there is non-compliance detected.
The new powers of oversight have the potential for abuse and “would not necessarily ensure good outcomes for Singapore, but rather politically good outcomes for the ruling party”, argued WP MP (Aljunied GRC) Pritam Singh during the debate.
Fellow Aljunied GRC MP Sylvia Lim said corporate governance experts have noted that having town councils report to the MND is “problematic”, as the Minister and his deputies are also involved in running town councils. “Is the Minister a suitable gatekeeper, with these massive conflicts of interest?” Ms Lim asked. She also asked if it was tenable for public servants to be inspectors of town councils run by, say, the Minister for National Development or the Prime Minister.
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