AHPETC projects pulled because of bust budgets - 'unfair' to blame CCCs, says MND

Channel NewsAsia, 11 Mar 2015

Some projects to upgrade neighbourhood facilities in the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) had to be cut as costs exceeded the approved budget, and not because the ward was run by the Opposition - a "mischievous distortion", said Minister of State for National Development Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman on Wednesday (Mar 11).

However, Workers' Party MP Pritam Singh "rejected" the accusation, and instead called for a more open forum where project funding can be discussed without political bias.

Dr Maliki had said it was "unfair" of Mr Singh to blame Citizens’ Consultative Committees (CCCs) for the time it took to work with the town council on neighbourhood projects.

"The Ministry of National Development has been fair to AHPETC and has treated AHPETC no differently from other town councils," said Dr Maliki at the 2015 Committee of Supply Debate.

He also noted that the Opposition-run town council has been given its "fair share" of housing upgrading projects.

The AHPETC was given six Home Improvement Programme (HIP) and three Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP) projects in Financial Year 2012 and 2013. This was comparable to the number of projects received by other town councils. 

Meanwhile, Dr Maliki said: "When it comes to exerting its autonomy even against prevailing HDB policies, it is the AHPETC that has been especially aggressive and often with total disregard to such national policies."

He took issue with how the town council had "unilaterally cut the works" at Serangoon North Avenue 1 and 2, after various NRP projects had been handed over for implementation. 

Dr Maliki said: "As a result, residents will no longer get shelters over the basketball court at the Family Park and the Community Plaza, which were committed earlier. The local grassroots informed HDB that residents had the impression that the items were cut by HDB because AHPETC was run by the Opposition.

"Again this is a mischievous distortion. These items were cut because the TC’s costs are higher and exceeded the approved budget."

But the chairman of AHPETC, Ms Sylvia Lim, disputed this claim. She said: "The decision to omit a particular item that was mentioned was actually done quite early in the process - nothing to do with overspending as such, but it may have been linked to the tender prices that we received.

"And I would like to highlight also that for this particular NRP in Serangoon, the consultants were actually appointed before we took over really. So the architects and other consultants were actually in a sense passed over from the previous town council management to work with us.

"The project management fees which our managing agent is charging for that project is 3.5 per cent, which is within the market norm, so I do not really know what is being meant.

"In any case, I thought I would just mention this for now and after I read fully what was being said, I will reserve the right to give more information to the public on this."

Dr Maliki said: "The point I was making was that it was unilaterally cut because the working committee, as I understand it, was not consulted. I think in the nature of the NRP, there was a working committee that was formed, and we hope that the process is one in which the decision to cut whichever projects because of cost issues could have been better managed and handled with consultation with the working committee."

Dr Maliki also pointed out how the town council had allocated more of its upgrading projects to its Hougang constituency, though this decision was explained by the Workers' Party.

Dr Maliki said: "MND gave AHPETC full flexibility to nominate and prioritise the eligible HIP and NRP projects assigned to it. AHPETC has used this flexibility to give the bulk of the projects to Hougang SMC, although Aljunied GRC has more eligible projects. Nonetheless, that is of course a call the MPs are entitled to make."

Mr Singh noted: "The latest nominations for HIP and NRP are quite instructive. For NRP, one precinct in Hougang has been nominated by the town council, four for Aljunied. Two precincts in Hougang for HIP have been nominated by the town council, 16 for Aljunied. 

"There is a reason why in earlier years, more Hougang precincts were nominated for HIP and NRP also. That is because Hougang was not given any main upgrading or interim upgrading projects prior to 2011."

Dr Maliki also responded to Mr Singh's calls for the nomination system under the Community Improvement Projects Committee (CIPC) to be improved in opposition wards.

The scheme provides funding for improvement projects initiated by the community, like sheltered walkways and fitness corners, with funds disbursed through the CCCs.

Mr Singh noted that after the town council had submitted its proposals in August 2013, the CCC had replied with a much shortened list of projects it supported two months later. But he noted there had been no substantive update 16 months after.

Dr Maliki said: "AHPETC’s proposals actually accounted for 12 out of the 17 projects selected. And the CCCs have to raise funds for these AHPETC’s proposed projects. The CCCs would need a bit more time to implement the projects." 

In 2013, AHPETC had proposed 90 CIPC and 52 CCC projects following consultations with residents. However, as the CIPC budget had been exceeded for the year, the CCCs had to prioritise 17 projects, which could be funded within the allocated budget, said Dr Maliki.

Said Dr Maliki: "I don’t know why Mr Singh would now turn around, blame the CCCs for tardiness, and unfairly paint them in such a negative light in the eyes of the public, when the CCCs took the time and trouble to seek, go through, gave significant consideration to the TC’s proposals and were prepared to support many of them?

"I think the grassroots and the local community leaders are fully prepared to work with the TC to serve residents better. But it takes two hands to clap."

In response, Mr Singh called for a forum at which CIPC nominations can be discussed constructively, without any fear of decisions being made on the basis of political allegiance.

The current situation is "unfair to the residents", he argued.

DESMOND LEE ON CALLS FOR TRIBUNAL TO DEAL WITH DISPUTES BETWEEN HDB, TOWN COUNCIL AND RESIDENTS

Separately, Minister of State for National Development Desmond Lee also responded to Ms Lim's call to set up a tribunal to act as a neutral party in dealing with disputes between the HDB, town council and residents.

But Mr Lee noted that currently, there are various avenues of recourse, and town councils must also be prepared to accept the decisions and abide by the rules that govern all town councils.

One example of non-compliance that Mr Lee cited was how AHPETC has been letting out public spaces at Hougang Central Hub and Kovan City to retailers for profit.

Mr Lee said: "This contravenes HDB's guidelines, which allow but control the frequency of such promotional activities to mitigate the impact on the business of shopkeepers, who also pay the TC S&CC.

"A number of shopkeepers are unhappy about this. HDB has therefore written several times to remind the TC of the guidelines, to no avail. The TC had simply ignored HDB." 

Ms Lim responded: "Our town council, I'm sure every town council, would like to abide by the circulars issued by Government departments. But when we find that some of the circulars perhaps, we find to be inconsistent with certain laws, I think there should be some avenues for us to resolve it.

"I think MOS would agree the circular does not have the force of law anyway. So these things would have to be clarified and hopefully by a tribunal that is neutral."

Mr Lee noted: "This example, one of two examples I gave earlier, was in the context of emphasising the need for all parties to abide by certain set of rules, procedures, guidelines and framework.

"We are not here to debate the merit of the guidelines, suffice to say there were guidelines in place, which all town councils abide by, for which there has been no compliance in this particular regard by AHPETC.

"I accept the member has referred this matter to the courts, in the context of the NEA case - not specifically on HDB guidelines, because that was not the basis for the enforcement action. Notwithstanding that court case, which is still pending, compliance with the guidelines which all town councils abide by has not been forthcoming by the TC, even though the matter has been adjudicated at first instance.

"So I think the key is a framework in which all parties can come to agreement but ultimately agreeing to follow the policies and guidelines that have been set."

Maliki rebuts Pritam on upgrading bias
By Chong Zi Liang, The Straits Times, 12 Mar 2015

MINISTER of State for National Development Maliki Osman yesterday rejected suggestions by Workers' Party MP Pritam Singh (Aljunied GRC) that grassroots groups were slow to push for upgrading programmes in opposition wards.

Dr Maliki said the Ministry of National Development (MND) has been fair to the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) and treated it no differently from other town councils.

The Citizens' Consultative Committees (CCCs), grassroots bodies appointed by the Government, had worked with the WP town council to identify upgrading projects under the Community Improvement Projects Committee (CIPC) programme, he said.

A list of 17 projects was finalised, of which 12 were proposed by AHPETC.

Mr Singh had sought to give his version of events to the House, saying CCCs had been slow in working with his town council to secure funding from the ministry.

He said AHPETC made contact with the CCCs in May 2012 on CIPC funding but, after a series of correspondence, "there has been no substantive update".

Dr Maliki replied that the CCCs have to raise funds for the proposals and "need a bit more time to implement the projects".

"I don't know why Mr Singh would now turn around, blame the CCCs for tardiness, and unfairly paint them in such a negative light in the eyes of the public, when the CCCs... gave significant consideration to the town council's proposals and were prepared to support many of them," Dr Maliki added.

In response, Mr Singh said "the CCC can work much faster as shown by the previous town council management", adding that $12 million was allocated to the CCCs through MND between 2009 and 2011 but "nothing has been allocated to AHPETC since 2012".

Dr Maliki said CIPC funds were disbursed through CCCs and so "it is therefore incorrect for Mr Singh to say that MND had previously given CIPC funding to the former Aljunied town council, but withdrew it from AHPETC".

The WP won Aljunied GRC in the May 2011 general election and formed a town council that included Hougang. It took in Punggol East after winning it in the January 2013 by-election.

Dr Maliki also said AHPETC was given six Home Improvement Programme and three Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP) projects from 2012 to 2013, "comparable to the number of projects received by other town councils".

But "when it comes to exerting its autonomy even against prevailing HDB policies, it is the AHPETC that has been especially aggressive and often with total disregard to such national policies".

Dr Maliki said AHPETC had unilaterally cut NRP works at Serangoon North avenues 1 and 2 as it exceeded the approved budget.

"The local grassroots informed HDB that residents had the impression that the items were cut by HDB because AHPETC was run by the opposition. Again, this is a mischievous distortion," he said.

WP chairman Sylvia Lim (Aljunied GRC) said the consultants for the Serangoon project were appointed before the WP took over.

"The architects and other consultants were in a sense passed over from the previous town council management to work with us," she said, adding that the project's management fee was 3.5 per cent, which "is within market norm".

Dr Maliki also said AHPETC had given "the bulk of the projects to Hougang SMC, although Aljunied GRC has more eligible projects", adding that this was a call MPs could make.

Mr Singh said three precincts in Hougang and 20 in Aljunied had been nominated for the upgrading programmes. He said more Hougang precincts were picked as "Hougang wasn't given any main upgrading or interim upgrading projects prior to 2011".

WP-run town council accused of ignoring rules
By Chong Zi Liang, The Straits Times, 12 Mar 2015

THE Ministry of National Development already has a system to deal with disputes between residents and town councils, said Minister of State for National Development Desmond Lee, rejecting a call by Workers' Party chair Sylvia Lim (Aljunied GRC) for a tribunal to deal with them.

A town council cannot only accept decisions or rules that suit it and disregard the inconvenient, Mr Lee said, citing the repeated refusal of Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) to repair a resident's letterbox despite reminders from the HDB.

AHPETC even wanted residents to maintain and repair their own letterboxes, he added.

Also, AHPETC has been leasing public spaces at Hougang Central Hub and Kovan City to businessmen for profit, against HDB guidelines that control the frequency of such activities to mitigate the impact on shopkeepers, Mr Lee said.

"A number of shopkeepers are unhappy about this. HDB has... written several times to remind the town council of the guidelines, to no avail," he added.

Responding, Ms Lim said: "We believe that the town council has a legitimate interest and is empowered to manage, not just maintain, the common property. Exactly what the ambit of that is has still not been decided."

Last year, AHPETC was found guilty of organising a Chinese New Year fair without a permit from the National Environment Agency (NEA), and fined $800. AHPETC has appealed against the ruling. Mr Lee said the court case was about NEA's enforcement actions, and not HDB's rules on managing the use of public spaces.

As for the HDB letters to AHPETC, Ms Lim said a neutral tribunal could resolve issues with circulars from agencies that "we find to be inconsistent with certain laws". "The circular does not have the force of law anyway."

Mr Lee said "we're not here to debate the merits of guidelines". "Suffice to say there were guidelines in place which all town councils abide by, and for which there's been no compliance in this particular regard by AHPETC."