So in the long running drama that is the AHPETC / AHTEC Town Council accounts, the Workers Party have decided that in the best interest of the public, as well as to demonstrate what it really means to be "Transparent & Accountable", WP are demanding that a Non-Disclosure clause be imposed BEFORE any Town Council Documents relating to Punggol East SMC (which Lee Li Lian lost in the 2015 General Elections to PAP's Charles Chong) is released to Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council (PRPTC) to finish the handover of accounts.
According to a TODAY news article, there are two reasons given by AHTC vice-chairman Sylvia Lim to explain why there has been a delay in handing over the Accounts.
(1) There are "... confidentiality concerns that “need to be worked out”. Information relating to the town council’s vendors, contracting rates, and staff must not fall into the hands of a third party."
and
(2) that it would be "... physically challenging for AHTC staff to sieve through files and extract documents pertaining only to Punggol East."
First reason given - The Docs are "confidential" and must not fall into the hands of a "third party".
First reason given - The Docs are "confidential" and must not fall into the hands of a "third party".
Can we say that this reason is rubbish to the nth degree? Why should the documents of the Town Council be "confidential"? Who are the "third parties" that you are afraid of?
You are managing and operating a public entity. You are dealing with pretty mundane municipal matters like maintenance, area cleaning, facilities management etc. You are NOT a company with confidential Intellectual Property or designs that could be stolen by a competitor.
And what third parties? The Govt? What bullshit! The AGO just audited you. The PAP? Come on lah, you lost the SMC to the PAP. And they (PAP & PRPTC) are taking over Punggol East SMC from you. They have every right to any and all documents relating to PE SMC.
And what third parties? The Govt? What bullshit! The AGO just audited you. The PAP? Come on lah, you lost the SMC to the PAP. And they (PAP & PRPTC) are taking over Punggol East SMC from you. They have every right to any and all documents relating to PE SMC.
Unless, of course, you have something to hide which is either horribly embarrassing or will be politically very damaging to the Workers party (like showing how incompetent the Town Council was managed and where all the TC surplus was spent on).
Second reason - "Physically challenging"???
Second reason - "Physically challenging"???
What kind of a rubbish, bull-shit, primary school level type of excuse is this?
Hello! Didn't you invest in a new accounting/Town Council Mangt system when you took over in 2011? (See here, here and here)
Are you now suggesting that that this accounting/TC mangt IT system never materialised and/or is the system so badly built that the Town Council accounts are all hard-copy based?? (which in itself is a real cause for concern too. You spent the resident's money on the system but it fails to do the job it was designed for??)
Come on lah.. who are you trying to bluff?
Come on lah.. who are you trying to bluff?
The last few times AHPETC / AHTC tried to put obstacles in the way of the AGO / HDB in trying to sort out the TC accounting mess that WP created, it turned out that WP was simply trying to hide their incompetence from the public.
For example, back in Jan 2016, WP refused to use a "Big-Four" Audit firm to audit the TC accounts. Instead, WP wanted to appoint their own Auditors. It would later turn out that WP's choice of Auditors would be poorly qualified and simply not up to the task.
And what's even more interesting is that in the end, all of the WP nominated audit firms Business Assurance and MRI Moores, withdrew from being considered as AHTC's nominated accountants, without providing for any substantial reasons to explain their withdrawal.
What is interesting is that WP then applied to the Court for ACRA’s PMP documents (relating to WP's choice of Auditors) to not be released to the public. (CNA, 22 Jan 2016)
Isn't this all very suspiciously convenient? WP (intentionally?) chooses an incompetent unqualified audit firm. When this rejected by the Courts , WP applies to for the relevant documents to be kept secret.
Why does WP want to seal the documents?
In MND's Reply to Media Queries on the Court of Appeal Hearing of 7 Jan 2016, it stated that:
2(ii) Accountants’ Terms of Reference – AHTC’s Statement refers to the Court’s “helpful clarification that the accountants… were not being given a carte blanche to look into the TC’s affairs”.
However: the Statement fails to disclose that AHTC had tried, unsuccessfully, to limit the accountants’ terms of reference, to:
(a) Only the non-compliances identified by the Auditor-General’s Report (the “AGO Report”) of Feb 2015, and
(b) Only any improper past payments involving its former managing agent, FM Solutions & Services (“FMSS”) and FM Solutions and Integrated Services (“FMSI”).
In other words, when WP failed to appoint an unqualified Auditor (perhaps in hopes that using an unqualified Auditor would mean less Audit findings.), WP had attempted to restrict what the Independent Auditor could do in its Audit.
And since the appointment of KPMG as the Independent Auditors, the public has since come to known that there are so many problems with the AHPTEC / AHTC accounts, that it really simply unbelievable.
The TC Accounts are under WP's direct control and oversight. How can WP have let things get into such a mess?
Why is WP constantly blocking access to documents?
Why did WP attempt to appoint unqualified Auditors?
Why did WP attempt to limit the scope of the Independent Auditors?
Is this an attempt at hiding something that would be disastrous for WP?
What ever happened to WP's promise of Transparency and Accountability?
What happened to WP's "over 25 years of experience managing Town Councils" ?
This are pertinent questions that remained unanswered by WP.
And yet, Low's response to the whole mess is simply this.
Read more here:
And since the appointment of KPMG as the Independent Auditors, the public has since come to known that there are so many problems with the AHPTEC / AHTC accounts, that it really simply unbelievable.
The TC Accounts are under WP's direct control and oversight. How can WP have let things get into such a mess?
Why is WP constantly blocking access to documents?
Why did WP attempt to appoint unqualified Auditors?
Why did WP attempt to limit the scope of the Independent Auditors?
Is this an attempt at hiding something that would be disastrous for WP?
What ever happened to WP's promise of Transparency and Accountability?
What happened to WP's "over 25 years of experience managing Town Councils" ?
And yet, Low's response to the whole mess is simply this.
Read more here:
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