Cost for bin centre ‘almost halved’ because of consultant’s input
The bin centre in question services The Victoria Theatre and Victoria Concert Hall, among other building in the area. TODAY file photo.
SINGAPORE — As questions on the public sector lapses flagged in the recent Auditor-General’s Office’s (AGO) report were raised in Parliament on Monday (Aug 15), it was revealed that contractors had quoted an S$890,000 fee to build the centralised bin centre for several arts buildings in the Civic District, but the consultant for the project cut the final cost to S$470,000 after “extensive value engineering”.
How the consultancy fees for the project had been assessed was among the lapses identified by the AGO in its annual report last month, with the National Arts Council drawing flak for paying the consultant S$410,000, which was more than 80 per cent of the construction cost.
On the bin centre, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong, who was covering for Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu on Monday, stressed that the AGO did not conclude that the consultant was overpaid; rather, it was concerned about the process by which the consultancy fees were assessed.
He noted that the bin centre serves Victoria Theatre, Victoria Concert Hall, the Asian Civilisations Museum, Old Parliament House and Parliament House. The work done by the consultancy included studying the operational needs of different stakeholders, identifying the structural, mechanical and engineering requirements, conducting soil bearing and loading tests, studying the pedestrian and traffic flows, studying the airflow and providing technical solutions for the construction.
And responding on behalf of their respective ministries on their lapses, Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Acting Education Minister (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung stressed the procedural element in those instances.
Mr Shanmugam was responding to questions from Mr Desmond Choo (Tampines GRC) and Mr Low Thia Khiang (Aljunied GRC) on the police’s overpayment of allowances to Volunteer Special Constabulary (VSC) officers, totalling S$2.63 million over seven years. The officers approving the increase in allowances were not authorised under the law to do so.
Pointing out that the ministry already intended to increase the allowance rate for part-time officers under the VSC from S$2.80 to S$3.60 per hour during a review in 2007, Mr Shanmugam said the only error was that its officers “did not take the next step of seeking approval from the minister, as was required under the Police Force Act”.
Adding that it was fairer to call it a procedural error, Mr Shanmugam said he authorised the payments “retrospectively” after seeking the Attorney-General’s Chambers’ advice. The ministry is also looking to raise the VSC allowance rate further.
“This was not a case of officers making decisions to increase allowances, and deliberately bypassing the minister,” he said.
Mr Ong also provided comments on Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP), which was criticised by the AGO for poor financial controls and governance, and excess funding disbursed to its subsidiary. Mr Ong stressed the subsidiary was fully owned by NYP and its profits did not go to any third party or benefit any individual for personal gains.
“The mistake NYP has made was to continue treating NYPi (NYP International Pte Ltd) as if it was a department or division of NYP, when it is no longer a case,” he said.
As for the Ministry of Education (MOE) failing to ensure that outstanding student loans were recovered promptly, which was also flagged by the AGO as an issue, Mr Ong pointed out that student loans were not “meant to be a commercial operation” and serve a social objective. With 1.4 per cent of the outstanding loan amount in default and deemed unrecoverable, delays in payment are not that “rampant” when compared with the high default rates in the
United Kingdom (about 40 per cent) and the United States (10 to 20 per cent), he added.
As for the issue of foreign students defaulting on scholarship bonds, Parliamentary Secretary for Education Low Yen Ling said 95 per cent of scholars are currently serving their bonds, have applied for deferment due to post-graduate studies or are unable to serve their bonds due to reasons such as illnesses.
The proportion of defaulters is only 1 per cent, and the MOE is contacting the other 4 per cent to determine their bond service status, she said.
She added that the MOE is “reviewing (the issue) very seriously and closely”. Ms Low cited efforts such as strengthening coordination between government agencies to track such scholars, work with universities to stress the importance of fulfilling the bonds and to chase these scholars to recover the liquidated damages.
Asked by Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar (Ang Mo Kio GRC) on what action the MOE would take against NYP, Mr Ong said no disciplinary action ought to be taken. But he urged “more transparency” and to improve its corporate governance framework. The ministry is also briefing every polytechnic and the Institute of Technical Education about such rules, he added. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY ILIYAS JUANDA
