FMSS has been 'grossly profiteering' off AHPETC: MND
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Originally posted by lce:
how come no one barks when some town councils lost millions in investment?
Got, channel 8 informed Singaporeans of the losses, but non-PAP parties play cleaner politics and did not make it such a big issue. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8EGgVSBwOk .
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Tables will turn when WP releases the annual report tomorrow.
Looks like LTK played them out 1 big time.
Saved the best for the last.PAP will question where the surplus come from?!?!
MND released the funds, you dunno meh?
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Long time ago, far far away.....
http://news.asiaone.com/News/The+New+Paper/Story/A1Story20081120-101963.html
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Originally posted by SJS6638:
AIM, is it under the carpet now?
AIM under the carpet lor
but there is too many things under the carpet, so much that i see more to question the PAP.
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Originally posted by ditzy:
Tables will turn when WP releases the annual report tomorrow.
Looks like LTK played them out 1 big time.
Saved the best for the last.PAP will question where the surplus come from?!?!
MND released the funds, you dunno meh?
Worker's Party!
Worker's Party!
Worker's Party!
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Workers’ Party, FMSS will enter mediation to resolve dispute over unpaid contract fees
SINGAPORE: The former managing agent of Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC), FM Solutions & Services (FMSS) has sent a legal letter of demand to the Workers’ Party-run town council saying that it is owed more than S$3.5 million for services provided between April and July this year. The story was first reported by The New Paper on Monday (Aug 31).
When asked about it later on Monday, Workers' Party chairman Sylvia Lim said "this is quite old news because it has been overtaken by events".
"This letter was received by the Town Council in late July, about one month after the managing agent contract had expired," said Ms Lim during the WP press conference to introduce its final three candidates for the General Election. Describing it as a "normal course of events” Ms Lim explained that “all our contractors know that the Town Council, when it receives claims, it will exercise due diligence to check and verify whether those claims are accurate and valid."
She said that "since that time, we have made some further payments to FMSS but there are some payments that are not being made because the town council sees those claims as disputed claims".
Ms Lim added that FMSS and AHPETC will settle their differences over the outstanding payments through mediation.
"Right now, the parties - both FMSS and ourselves - we have agreed to following the Managing Agent (MA) agreement, which provides for any disputes between the parties to be settled by mediation," said Ms Lim.
"So this matter is actually set for mediation before the Singapore Mediation Centre. And the process is supposed to be amicable, and we will go through that process which is fixed for October," she said. "And if for some reason that process does not yield the agreed result, then the MA agreement further provides for the matter to be solved by arbitration," she added.
"There will not be any litigation concerning this case."
FMSS' contract to manage AHPETC expired on July 15, but it has been the Town Council's managing agent since 2011.
Ms Lim refused to confirm the amount of money still owed after the initial payments, and said: "I don't think it's helpful to talk to us about the details of the numbers. Because for one thing, mediation, it’s supposed to be a private process. So I don't think its very helpful for us to go into the details of the amounts."
Ms Lim also explained the Town Council’s position over the seven-day deadline for payment mentioned in the letter.
"It doesn’t matter what deadline people give us well, because fundamentally, for the TC, we still have to exercise our due diligence. If it's to take more than seven days or a week for us to verify, the TC will do the due diligence accordingly," she said. "We will not pay out just because people give us deadline to pay."
The WP chairman added that the money owed will not affect the FY14/15 annual report.
"It does not impact the figures for FY 14/15, in fact, most of the claims relate to the current FY, FY 15/16," said Ms Lim. "And a substantial portion of them are actually related to projects. They are actually sinking funds payments, so that do not impact on the routine funds."
Later on Monday, Ms Lim posted an open letter on the WP website - reiterating her earlier arguments - to "reassure" residents of Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East town that there was "never any conflict of interest whatsoever" between WP and FMSS. She also said that allegations that AHPETC is bankrupt and running huge deficits are "misguided".
FMSS was set up seven days after WP won in Aljunied GRC in the 2011 General Election, and it replaced CPG Facilities Management as AHPETC's managing agent.
The legal letter comes even as the Ministry of National Development (MND) has said that FMSS has been "grossly profiteering" off the Town Council. MND said the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) conducted an ad-hoc review of FMSS' auditor, Teo Liang Chye and Co. In FY 2013/2014, while AHPETC suffered an operating deficit of S$2 million, FMSS made a net after-tax profit of S$2 million, after paying its directors and shareholders fees and salaries amounting to S$1.14 million, MND said in a statement on Saturday (Aug 29).
When asked about the MND statement on Monday, Ms Lim said that it is not for the WP to explain what the Ministry meant by "grossly profiteering".
"I think the MND is the one that came up with this term 'grossly profiteering', so I think they should tell us what is an acceptable level of profit in their view, and perhaps also tell us how much money has been made by the Managing Agents managing the PAP Town Councils," said Ms Lim. "This is just a statement from them, and I don't think it's for us to explain what they mean."
In an earlier response on Saturday, WP said that they were appalled by MND's "series of careless accusations". National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan added that the contract awarded by WP to FMSS was "an arrangement to reward their supporters and friends", and was a "very sad" outcome for AHPETC residents.
The Workers' Party is currently managing AHPETC, after no one came forward to submit a bid, WP chairman Sylvia Lim said in an open letter to residents in June.
- CNA/av
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'Marked improvement' in AHPETC's financial position: Annual report
SINGAPORE: The Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC)'s updated financial statements show a "marked improvement" in its financial position, both on an annual and accumulated basis, the town council said in its annual report for financial year (FY) 2014/2015.
A note from the immediate past chairman of the Workers' Party-run town council, Ms Sylvia Lim, said that AHPETC would have a surplus of S$1,651,706 if the Ministry of National Development (MND) disbursed its annual Service and Conservancy Charges (S&CC) Operating Grant for FY2014/2015 of S$7,191,770. Without the grant, AHPETC showed an operating deficit of S$3,238,496.
"This turn-around from the annual deficits of the preceding two years to a budgetary surplus was brought about by a combination of factors. For FY2014/15, AHPETC had higher revenue, reduced its general and administrative expenditure, and had savings in utilities due to the use of contestable energy," Ms Lim stated.
As for the accumulated position, the financial statements show an accumulated deficit of S$4,693,250. If the S&CC Operating Grant had been received, AHPETC would turn in a modest accumulated surplus of S$196,952, Ms Lim added.
AHPETC said it has cleared most of the disclaimers from its previous annual audits. "The remaining observations relate mainly to opening balance issues for which there are still information gaps and legacy issues," Ms Lim said. She acknowledged that there are still areas to work on and said AHPETC will continue to improve its financial management.
She also stressed that the audited financial statements for FY2014/2015 were filed on time, and less than two months after the preceding financial statements for FY2013/2014 were filed on June 30.
Said Ms Lim in the report: "This timely filing required overcoming daunting odds, achieved through the concerted effort of many parties. These parties included AHPETC’s auditors, IT system vendors, financial consultants and the new in-house finance team put in place when AHPETC’s former Managing Agent contract expired on Jul 14, 2015."
"SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT WORKS"
Ms Lim said significant improvement works were done for AHPETC residents. These included a new platform lift for the disabled at the Hainanese Market and Food Centre at Paya Lebar Division, constructed at the town council's cost; as well as the refurbishing of playgrounds and fitness equipment in Eunos Division.
Blocks in all seven wards – Hougang, Punggol East, Bedok Reservoir-Punggol, Eunos, Kaki Bukit, Paya Lebar and Serangoon – benefited from fresh coats of paint and building repairs.
"DAUNTING CHALLENGES"
Taking stock of the last few years running the town council, Ms Lim, who is also chairman of WP, said the challenges faced were "daunting".
She noted that when WP took over management of the town council, the financial and accounting software known as the Town Council Management System (TCMS) was terminated by Action Information Management Pte Ltd (AIM), an IT company wholly-owned by the People’s Action Party. AHPETC management had to upscale a town council financial accounting system designed for Hougang SMC that was "inadequate to cope with the voluminous activities of a bigger GRC town council like Aljunied TC" she said.
AHPETC also had a limited choice of service providers and vendors with only one company responding to a public tender for the provision of managing agent services and Essential Maintenance Services Unit services in 2012. "With limited choice from tenders, the TC was effectively a price taker ... Compared to the contracts awarded by Aljunied TC before WP took over, the cleaning contracts awarded by the WP TC saw increases of between 13 per cent to 88 per cent," Ms Lim wrote.
She added: "We have done our best to serve the residents of AHPETC town. I look forward to serving our residents better."
MND has said it is "deeply concerned" about AHPETC's financial position and has applied to the Court to have independent accountants appointed to the town council to safeguard public monies. The High Court denied its application, but MND is appealing against the decision.
- CNA
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I liked it with Sylvia ask MND what is a acceptable level of profit for the managing agent and ask that MND disclose the profit levels of the PAP wards.
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The MND said the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) conducted an ad-hoc review of FMSS' auditor, Teo Liang Chye and Co. In FY 2013/2014, while AHPETC suffered an operating deficit of S$2 million, FMSS made a net after-tax profit of S$2 million, after paying its directors and shareholders fees and salaries amounting to S$1.14 million, the MND said in a statement on Saturday.
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Originally posted by Divyasingla68:
The MND said the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) conducted an ad-hoc review of FMSS' auditor, Teo Liang Chye and Co. In FY 2013/2014, while AHPETC suffered an operating deficit of S$2 million, FMSS made a net after-tax profit of S$2 million, after paying its directors and shareholders fees and salaries amounting to S$1.14 million, the MND said in a statement on Saturday.
And so .......... ? What is your point? You come here discrediting WP?
Did you find out if AHPETC use money from S&CC for investment?
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Why is a civil servant engaging in partisan politic?
Shouldn’t a civil servant adheres to strict code of conduct by not engaging in smear campaign? -
