Report Card On AHPETC's Finances: Financial Statements For FY2014/2015 Still QUALIFIED

Chairman Sylvia Lim of Workers' Party declared that AHPETC's latest financial statements show a 'marked improvement' on the financial health of the town council. 

She went on to talk about government grants and achieving surplus with the grant and so on. 

Marked improvement? Not quite. How can one conclude anything about the financial health of the town council when their auditor expressed 'disclaimer of opinion' on various financial statements? How can one conclude anything on the financial health of the town council when the financial statements they submitted remain QUALIFIED. 

So, it's now 4 years in a row that their own auditors had given them a qualified opinion on their accounts. 

This is Workers' Party's REPORT CARD as they go into this election.

Depleting The Funds At AHPETC

Let's take a look at how WP depletes the funds at AHPETC. 

Note: the graph shows the period when AHPETC RECEIVED FULL GOVERNMENT GRANTS. 

Despite having a healthy surplus and despite receiving full grants, they ran the town council into deficit. 

So don't be deceived by some who argue that the town council is in deficit because of grants withheld from them.

Then of course there is the other explanation that alternative sites have put forth to explain why AHPETC in in deficit: they had to transfer the accumulated surplus from the previous town council into the sinking fund. 

First, WP is made up of many lawyers. Many of their friends are also lawyers. Do you think they know the Town Councils Act less than the alternative sites? Would WP be keeping silent if having to transfer accumulated surplus to sinking fund is unique to them? 

Under the Town Councils Act, if there is no change of electoral boundaries and no change in political party, 80% of accumulated surplus will be transferred to the sinking fund. 

If there is a change in political party and no change in electoral boundaries, 100% of the surplus will be transferred to the sinking fund. 

If there is a change in political party AND a change in electoral boundaries as well, only 80% will be transferred to the sinking fund. 

Aljunied GRC falls into this category in 2011. There was a change in electoral boundaries as well as a change in political party. Hence 80% of the accumulated surplus was transferred to the sinking fund. THIS is the same situation in all the PAP-run town councils. Please note that this money transferred to the sinking fund is not locked away and out of reach. It can be used for long term maintenance such as the painting of blocks. 

And none of the PAP-run town councils run into a deficit.

You can read all about it here: http://bit.ly/1KFISrS

It's The Quality, Not The Quantity

 

FACT: 

7 WP MPs and 2 WP NCMPs failed to table a single motion in parliament to debate on the issues that they raised so fiercely and with so much drama standing all drenched in the rain and with their 90 degree bow to Singaporeans tugging at your heartstrings during their 2011 election rallies. 

Zero motion filed after all the drama!

Now Mr Low Thia Khiang had just told you they would need at least 20 MPs in order to have sufficient resources to scrutinize government policies. Do you believe him? 

FACT: 

ONE NMP - Assoc Prof Walter Woon - introduced a bill in parliament to legislate for the maintenance of parents (23 May 1994) He highlighted that although there were no urgent need at the time, the nation needed to prepare to cope with an increasingly aging population.

9 WP MPs and NCMPs did not make any difference to the well-being of Singaporeans. One NMP did. 

TRUTH:

How many MPs are needed to scrutinize government policy? ONE. 

The drama will soon begin but don't let your emotions be manipulated again. Once bitten twice shy.
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FMSS: The Rich Winner

The Art Of Lying: From Sylvia Lim

One can perhaps say that Sylvia Lim, chairman of Workers' Party, has perfected the art of lying with an earnest face and without remorse.

The number of lies are just adding up.

Her latest is her response to the MND's media release on the excessive profiteering by FMSS from AHPeTC.

She said, "In fact, during the audits by the AGO, all our papers were open to the auditors to look at, the way the contract was assessed and so on. There has been no finding by the AGO or anyone that we did not exercise due diligence in our assessment of the contract price."


We are going to provide you with PROOF THAT SYLVIA LIM IS LYING.


(A) "There has been no finding by the AGO or anyone that we did not exercise due diligence in our assessment of the contract price." - Sylvia Lim

We will list just one example out of many from the AGO Report to prove that she is lying.

Here it is:

PROCUREMENT OF EMSU SERVICES IN 2011

5.10 (b) ... AGO also observed that there was a lack of due diligence in assessing the fee proposal submitted by FMSS.
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(B) "...during the audits by the AGO, all our papers were open to the auditors to look at, the way the contract was assessed and so on." - Sylvia Lim

Here's the proof that she is lying.

From the AGO Audit Report:

3. Failure to provide all requested documents and information which are critical for our evaluation of transactions.

3.1 AHPETC did not provide us with all the necessary and relevant accounting documents and information, which are essential and critical for our work. Accordingly, we are unable, amongst others, to fully review AHPETC's FY2012-13 accounts, records and books and determine whether public funds in AHPETC have been properly applied.....

3.2 Since the commencement of our review in April 2014, we have made various requests for documents from AHPETC as part of our review of selected transactions......Notwithstanding numerous requests and reminders, AHPETC did not provide a number of the requested documents.

3.3 This led to the AGO having to issue a formal letter to the Chairman of AHPETC on 22 August 2014, asking that AHPETC provide both AGO and PwC the outstanding documents by the final deadline of 12 September 2014.

3.4 AHPETC subsequently provided us with some further documents on 12 September 2014. However when we reviewed this, we noted that a significant number of documents remained outstanding....

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Note: The Chairman of AHPeTC is.....Sylvia Lim

The Populist Minimum Wage Call By SDP and WP

If minimum wage is the answer, wouldn't you expect the problem of poverty solved in countries with minimum wages?

In the US where statutory minimum wages were introduced nationally in 1938, poverty has not declined. In fact, child poverty in the US is among the worst in the developed world. One in three US children lives in poverty according to UNICEF. (http://wapo.st/1IdtFvs)

Australia has the highest minimum wage in the world. Yet poverty is on the rise according to a report by the Australian Council Of Social Services (ACOSS). It rose from 13% in 2010 to 13.9% in 2012.

So what drives minimum wage? It's mainly politics. 

The call for a minimum wage is a populist appeal to votes and it is in SDP and WP's manifestos to call for a minimum wage.

Implementing a minimum wage is akin to treating symptoms without addressing the causes. It is just a cosmetic change that looks good on the outside but changes little on the inside.

Every revision to the minimum wage without a corresponding rise in worker's productivity adds to the cost of doing business and renders the worker with little skill more vulnerable. 

Why more vulnerable? Because businesses may compensate by cutting back on spending for workers' training. In the long run the worker with little or no skill loses out on skill training and therefore the prospect of earning more with better skills. 

Businesses may also decide to hire fewer workers. As a result, while some workers benefit immediately from a rise in income, others find themselves out of a job. 

The Singapore government's approach to social mobility is a holistic one with social and economic policies working hand to hand to lift people up. 

First it encourages the person who earns little to stay employed by supplementing their income through Workfare. Such an approach which rewards regular and productive work reinforces 'work ethic' which has been the bedrock of our success.

Complementing WIS is the Workfare Training Support (WTS) Scheme. While WIS rewards productive work, WTS encourages the worker to go for training to improve his skills and employability and earn more!

The Progressive Wage Model rolled out by NTUC recognizes that workers must be paid fair wages. Thus it has a minimum wage feature incorporated into it. At the same time, it also recognizes that the way for a worker to earn more after the starting-out wage is to be more productive and not by a revision of that minimum wage. Hence there are provisions for the worker to go for training so that he/she can progress up the wage ladder through higher productivity.

Home ownership is a very important part of lifting people out of poverty. The person who owns his home is free to focus on his job and further training to enhance his employment.
Through generous housing grants, a person earning just $1000 a month is able to afford a 2-room flat using CPF to finance it with no cash outlay. 

What many people do not realize is that the housing grants they receive are not merely a discount on the purchase price of the flats they buy. These housing grants are cash gifts which stay with them and should they sell their flat, the grants will be credited into their CPF account for their retirement. 

Children from low income families can access a range of financial assistance which include waiver of school fees, free textbooks, uniforms, and school shoes, waiver of national examination fees, transport subsidy, pocket money, free breakfast (primary schools), bursaries etc. 

Anyone can make the call for a minimum wage. It's doesn't require much effort to implement it either. You can simply legislate it and pass the cost to businesses. 

But takes more than a minimum wage to lift people out of poverty. It takes a whole lot of schemes and policies to help people and that requires brain work.

FMSS' Earnings: Shocking!

While AHPETC suffered an operating deficit of S$2 million, FMSS made a net after-tax profit of S$2 million, after paying its directors and shareholders fees and salaries amounting to S$1.14 million.

AHPETC’s deputy general manager, who was also a shareholder and director of FMSS, certified invoices received from FMSS totalling S$2.1 million on behalf of the town council, and subsequently also approved the related payment vouchers by the TC to FMSS, with no segregation of duties.

For FY2012/2013

FMSS made a profit after tax of S$510,904. This was after FMSS paid its three owners/directors, fees and salaries of S$702,295, and consultancy and secretarial fees of S$300,000 .

Total payments to the three FMSS Owners/Directors for FY2012/2013 amounted to S$1,513,199.

 

For FY2013/2014

FMSS made a profit after tax of S$2,035,784. This was after FMSS paid its four owners/directors fees and salaries of S$839,696, and consultancy and secretarial fees of S$300,000 .

Total payments to the four FMSS owners/directors for FY2013/2014 amounted to S$3,175,480.

Between FY2012/2013 and FY2013/2014

While FMSS’ revenue increased by 30 per cent in one year, from S$6,740,572 to S$8,773,429, its profit after tax rose 300 per cent, from S$510,904 to S$2,035,784.
Total payments by AHPETC to FMSS owners and directors amounted to 22 per cent of FMSS’ revenue in FY12/13. It grew further to 36 per cent in FY2013/2014. "Such levels of profit margin are abnormal," said MND. "As AHPETC was FMSS’ only client, these findings support MND’s earlier concern that the TC had overpaid FMSS excessively."