Everyone makes mistakes, including the gahmen.
In its latest audit, the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) flagged several lapses in three out of 16 government ministries and eight out of 13 statutory boards, according to TODAY.
The three ministries named in the report were the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Accountant-General Department of the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Public Service Division of the Prime Minister’s Office.
And the errant statutory boards include the National Library Board (NLB), the Public Utilities Board, as well as Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Republic Polytechnic.
One particular lapse on the part of the Jurong Town Corporation (JTC) was particularly worrying, as it involved the illegal storage and sale of diesel.
AGO Found Some JTC Premises Storing Illegal Disesel That Could Potentially Cause a Big Fire
When auditing JTC, the AGO discovered that several tenants were storing and selling diesel to the public illegally.
Not only had they done so without JTC’s approval, some of these tenants didn’t even have licences from the relevant authorities to store or sell diesel to the public, reported TODAY.
And this illegal storage may not have met the relevant fire safety requirements, which means it could have led to a fire.
That wasn’t the only fault detected on JTC’s premises, though.
AGO checks also found that around 26,000 business entities had listed JTC premises as their registered addresses, even though they were not in JTC’s list of approved lessees, tenants, or subtenants.
72% of these entities that were investigated turned out to be suspected cases of unauthorised subletting.
Why exactly is this a problem?
Well, as AGO pointed out, these unauthorised entities could engage in illegal activities on JTC’s premises.
It could also lead to financial losses for JTC, due to the under-collection of sublet fees.
JTC’s Response
In response to the lapses detected, JTC said it’s working with the Singapore Civil Defence Force to take enforcement actions against tenants who illegally store and sell diesel on its premises.
It also vowed to toughen its inspection practices to sniff out unauthorised entities.
“JTC takes a serious view of unauthorised subletting and will take legal action to repossess the site from recalcitrant occupants found in breach of the authorities’ or agencies’ Acts and Regulations.
“JTC remains committed to ensuring accountability and will continue to review and tighten our controls and processes, step up inspections, and take enforcement actions where necessary.”
Biggest Offender Had 14 Lapses
The biggest offender of the lot, however, was Workforce Singapore, a statutory board under the Ministry of Manpower, where 14 lapses were observed.
Their offences include:
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- Inconsistent practices in administering grants
- Possible fraudulent grant claims
- Delays in grant disbursements
According to TODAY, five police reports have been made as a result of the AGO’s observations at Workforce Singapore.
As for the rest of the entities, issues with IT controls kept were the most common, such as flaws in the management of user accounts.
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AGO said it would take the necessary steps to rectify the lapses and weaknesses detected.
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