Unless you’ve been hibernating in a cave for the last three months, you’re probably aware that the 2020 general elections was a rather momentous one.
For the first time in the country’s history, the Worker’s Party (WP) won two GRCs and one SMC, claiming 10 parliamentary seats.
It retained both Aljunied GRC and Hougang SMC, but managed to snatch the newly-formed Sengkang GRC as well, which came as a shock to many.
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This additional power means more responsibility, of course, but this is something the WP have welcomed.
Unfortunately, their town council has not had the smoothest start.
Newly Formed Sengkang Town Council Faced First Problem Upon Taking Over Estates Due to IT Issues
On Wednesday (28 Oct), the first day of its operations, the newly-formed Sengkang Town Council (SKTC) experienced some growing pains.
In a Facebook post on the same day, the town council said it was unable to receive cash payments at its offices for service and conservancy charges due to IT issues.
According to SKTC, it has been engaging with the existing IT vendor for the Town Council Management System (TCMS) to ensure that its services will continue as per usual from 28 Oct, when the WP take over Sengkang GRC.
The IT vendor reportedly assured SKTC that their services will still be operational, but SKTC noted that at 8am that day, configurations for their collection system was not in place.
“As such, we are very sorry to inform residents that as of 6.00pm today, we are still unable to receive cash payments for Service and Conservancy Charges (S&CC) at our offices,” the council said.
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The town council apologised and said it was working with the IT vendor to restore operational functionality of the TCMS.
SKTC said it will provide an update for residents once the system is up and running again.
Taking Over Estates From PAP
As you know, the WP chose to run an independent town council for Sengkang GRC, instead of merging with other constituencies.
This means that the newly formed SKTC will take over certain estates that were under Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council and Ang Mo Kio Town Council – both formerly run by the People’s Action Party (PAP).
This is because Sengkang GRC, which is a new GRC, is made up of parts of the Pasir-Ris Punggol GRC, Sengkang West SMC, and Punggol East SMC.
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As a result, the following estates are now under the management and maintenance of the WP and SKTC:
- Blocks 201A to 299C situated along Compassvale Bow, Compassvale Crescent, Compassvale Lane, Compassvale Link, Compassvale Road, Compassvale Street and Compassvale Walk
- Blocks 101 to 197 along Rivervale Crescent, Rivervale Drive, Rivervale Street and Rivervale Walk
- Blocks 121C to 282C located along Sengkang Central, Sengkang East Avenue, Sengkang East Road and Sengkang East Way
- Blocks 301A to 356B along Anchorvale Drive, Anchorvale Link, Anchorvale Road, Anchorvale Lane, Anchorvale Crescent and Sengkang East Way
Before the takeover, both the Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council and Ang Mo Kio Town Council wished SKTC the very best in its efforts to serve Sengkang residents.
The GRC may be small, but it’s home to 120,000 residents.
Logo Design Contest
In August, SKTC announced it would be holding a contest to see who could design the best logo for the council.
The winner would walk home with $500.
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On 23 Oct, just under a week before its takeover, SKTC declared it had chosen its winner among 419 entries.
The winner was Kelly Hah, who drew inspiration from Sengkang’s natural and built environments.
In a Facebook post, the Sengkang team said: “We hope that the logo represents, as Kelly aptly put it, ‘Sengkang Town – an inspiring and caring home for all generations, and where our dreams can be fulfilled.'”
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