Everything about the Lapses Flagged by AGO & What the Government will be Doing About it

Everyone can make mistakes, but when the gahmen errs, people are going to want answers.

In its annual audit of public agencies in Singapore for the year 2020/2021, the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) discovered lapses and “possible irregularities” in the records of several ministries and statutory boards.

The three errant ministries listed were the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), the Ministry of Education (MOE), and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Possible irregularities were also found in the Housing and Development Board (HDB) and People’s Association (PA).

Naturally, the authorities have investigated the lapses and possible irregularities and implemented the necessary measures to ensure that they won’t happen again.

Before we get to that, here’s a long list of the lapses and possible irregularities identified, and the investigations that followed.

MCCY

The AGO said there were “signs” that supporting documents for claims could have been photocopies of one another; changes to the dates and duration of services provided were discovered.

Speaking about the matter yesterday (13 Sep) in Parliament, Second Minister for Finance Indranee Rajah said that an internal investigation at the ministry has concluded.

Investigations revealed that when AGO requested claims records for services rendered by external parties, two officers fabricated documents as they could not locate the records at the time.

However, Ms Indranee said investigations showed that the claims were indeed valid and that the services were rendered.

Fabricating the claims records was “wrong”, however, which is why both officers were issued official warnings. Their performance assessments were affected as well.

MHA

The ministry is believed to have created supporting documents or backdated other documents to satisfy AGO’s queries.

The ministry had three cases of possible irregularities in records furnished by contractors, two of which led to police reports being lodged.

One contractor was charged in court, while the other was given a 12-month conditional warning.

In the third case, action has also been taken against the contractor for non-compliance with contractual requirements.

Two officers are also undergoing internal investigations for lack of due diligence. No fabrication of records was found.

MOE & HPB

Like MHA, MOE is believed to have created supporting documents or backdated other documents to satisfy AGO’s queries.

At HPB, it’s believed that some quotations could have been created or changed to give the impression they were obtained from other suppliers.

Investigations at both HPB and MOE are still ongoing.

PA

The AGO said there were signs of quotations being falsified, hardcopy payment supporting documents being changed, and the creation and backdating of documents.

Possible irregularities were found in the supporting documents for 34 payments to contractors.

The AGO found that the PA could have overpaid around S$2 million for building materials for Our Tampines Hub (OTH).

An internal review by the association also showed that it could have overpaid contractors by an estimated S$60,000 for two construction projects.

PA filed a police report and launched investigations, but they’re still ongoing. The officers involved have been suspended from their duties until the investigations have been completed.

The AGO also found weaknesses in contract variations – a subsequent change to an original contract.

Out of 465 contract variations from construction contracts during the development phase of both Our Tampines Hub and Heartbeat @ Bedok, lapses were found in the approvals for 252 of them.

PA Takes Findings of AGO “Very Seriously”

Speaking about the lapses, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong said the PA takes the findings of the AGO “very seriously”.

Mr Tong said that the association has taken the necessary remedial steps to tackle the lapses, including appointing an external consultant from Ernst & Young (EY) to examine its governance system and oversight function.

This consultant will have the authority to make practical recommendations to rectify control weaknesses or lapses, as well as identify areas of improvement in terms of efficiency, economy, and effectiveness, he said.

PA will listen to these recommendations and make the necessary improvements.

Price Fluctuation Lapse Rectified 

Another lapse, related to price fluctuation, has also been rectified.

Speaking in Parliament, Mr Tong said that agencies are required to utilise full price fluctuation adjustment for projects with a contract value of more than S$5 million.

In its internal review, PA found that it had incorrectly adopted a 70% cap on price fluctuation adjustments in the past seven years.

This provision is now clear and fixed, Mr Tong said.

Task Force Set Up

Regarding the errant contract variations, Mr Tong said that investigations are still ongoing.

Meanwhile, an internal investigation over irregularities in documents confirmed the AGO’s findings.

To bolster the processes in place and improve oversight of contractors and managing agents, a task force has been set up, Mr Tong said.

Ms Foo Mee Har, MP for West Coast GRC, called the lapses “disturbing”, but Mr Tong maintained that they were not “systemic”.

Ms Indranee said it was “unrealistic” to expect zero lapses, as human errors and process gaps will occur from time to time.

She said agencies have stepped up the training of officers involved in IT roles, and that regular reviews at the “whole-of-government” level will be conducted.

Officers will also be better trained, as they will undergo refreshers and receive updates on policies and practices.

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