AGO audit reveals ‘serious lapses’ in several Government agencies
Serious lapses in the administration of programmes, poor management of land and assets, as well as inconsistencies in procurement were some of the issues highlighted in the Auditor-General’s Report for the Financial Year 2013/2014.
Presented to Parliament on Tuesday, the Report cited the Ministry of Defence, Central Provident Fund Board, National Library Board, Media Development Agency and National Parks Board, among others, as ministries and statutory boards where the lapses occurred.
The audit involves checks for waste, excess and financial irregularity in government ministries and in the use of government funds through test checks -- which may not reveal all lapses.
In its report, the AGO stated that the irregularities do not necessarily reflect the general state of administration but serve as “pointers” to areas where improvements should be made.
“Serious irregularity” in NParks
The AGO’s audit of the National Parks Board’s development of Gardens by the Bay turned up documents that were allegedly backdated to give the impression that they had existed when the transactions took place in order to satisfy AGO’s queries.
This was done by an NParks officer who had created and backdated 16 letters appearing to have been issued to suppliers from NParks. In addition to that, he asked for the suppliers to issue another 11 backdated letters and falsified another five.
This was done, said the officer, to “regularise gaps… for completeness of record.”
The Ministry of National Development will be taking appropriate disciplinary action against the officer.
MINDEF: Lapses in resource management
Out of the four lapses in resource management found by the AGO report, two originated from the Defence Ministry.
The first lapse involved a piece of state land licensed to Sembawang Country Club for use as a golf course in 1994 for an “indefinite” period of time. This happened despite there being a compulsory three-year cap on the licence agreement according to land rules.
A further 6,842 sq m of land within the golf course was sublet by the club to a contractor in an unauthorised agreement. The land was found to contain discarded vehicles, heavy machinery and other waste, despite an agreement that the club was to have maintained the area.
The second lapse occurred when MINDEF reached an agreement to rent 109 hectares of land from the Public Utilities board in 1971 for $68 a year, and then subsequently sublet part of that land to its contractor for $45 a year.
The AGO noted that there were changes to the use of the land as well as increases in the land area which were not stated in the original licence agreement, and that the rental fee of $45 was far below market price.
A new agreement has since been signed, with the annual rent set at S$830,000.
Official Cash Cards from SCDF used for personal trips
A check of 78 transactions on official cash cards issued to Singapore Civil Defence Force officers for use on investigative trips showed 62 instances in which the cards were used on unofficial trips.
Another 19 instances were found to have missing supporting details for the cash card transactions or statements which did not add up.
The SCDF has since stopped issuing official cash cards, and responded that their officers had to drive their investigation vehicles at all times for quick responses to emergencies. The Ministry has recovered $,3700 from the officers involved.
