SINGAPORE: Overpayments to contractors by the Ministry of Education ( MOE ) and the National Parks Board ( NParks ) were among the lapses flagged by the Auditor-General’s Office ( AGO ) in its report on Wednesday ( Jul 17 ).
Government economic statements that included the records of all 16 ministers and eight condition organs were included in the inspection for the fiscal year 2023/24. AGO even audited , three government money, eight legal boards, four government-owned businesses and two additional accounts.
” This is an independent verification that the government’s accounts are prepared, in all material aspects, in accordance with the law and public funds have been properly accounted for”, said the Ministry of Finance ( MOF ) in a separate statement.  ,
The Ministry of Home Affairs ( MHA ) and Nanyang Polytechnic ( NYP ) are two other organizations where errors were discovered.  ,
AGO also conducted a thematic audit of the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA ) and the Ministry of Social and Family Development ( MSF ) parent support programs.  ,
MOF claimed that the government takes the AG O’s studies seriously and that the reviews are essential to upholding common confidence, accountability, and clarity in the management of public funds.  ,
” Where errors have been identified, company heads will examine each situation carefully to get to the underlying cause, and adopt measures to address the issues promptly”, said the Finance Ministry.
” We also continually undertake efforts to strengthen management capabilities, methods, and techniques across agencies. To increase management standards, fine practices may be shared across open agencies.
EDUCATION MINISTRY’S OVERPAYMENTS
Under failures in purchasing and contract management, overpayments by MOE and NParks were highlighted.  ,
AG O’s test results for MOE revealed lapses in contract management for three of the three university construction contracts managed by professionals.  ,
The errors included approvals obtained after work was started on variant, lapses in contract valuations, and payments for works that were not completed or completed in accordance with legal standards.  ,
The net possible overpayment to the contractors was estimated to be S$ 317, 100 ( US$ 236, 000 ).  ,
AGO also noted how much the finalized accounts for 20 construction deals spanned more than three times, with delays that amounted to two months.
In a split speech on Wednesday, MOE said it “takes a major see” of the errors observed in the AGO statement.  ,
We have taken quick action to address the issues that AGO has identified and will work to improve our procedures to prevent recurrence.
MOE further stated that it has recovered S$ 68, 000 from the estimated overall net excess of S$ 317, 000 to companies and intends to finish recovering the money by the year’s finish.
MOE will check through all other ongoing class development projects for potential overpayments and other contract control lapses, it said.” In addition to the projects audited by AGO, MOE will even check through all other continued college development projects.”
Regarding the 20 construction contracts that caused delays in the finalization of accounts, MOE claimed to have paid its contractors for all work that had been vetted by its appointed consultants before the audit.  ,
This represented 98.3 % of the total contract amount. MOE has since given the contractors an additional S$ 1.8 million in exchange for the outstanding balance of S$ 6.41 million, which is equal to 1.7 per cent of the total contract price.  ,
Because discussions with the contractors regarding the valuation of the work done were still ongoing, our appointed consultants were unable to advise MOE to pay the remaining sum. We will engage the respective consultants and contractors directly, and pay the remaining balance by end-2024″, said the Education Ministry.  ,
It added that it has issued” stern warnings” to the consultants of audited projects for not adhering to MOE’s procedures.
NPARKS ‘ OVERPAYMENTS
For NParks, test checks found lapses in the valuations of and payments for 22 of 60 works orders issued under two-term contracts.  ,
The lapses included payments made in full for works that were not completed in accordance with work orders, lapses in the value of the work completed, and duplicate payments for works.  ,
According to the report, the potential overpayment to the contractors was estimated to be S$ 1.93 million.  ,
NParks responded to AG O’s observations in a media release on Wednesday, saying it has since taken immediate action to address and fix the errors.  ,
AGO discovered potential irregularities in some of the documents that its consultant and contractor submitted to NParks in exchange for a contract to build a park connector.  ,
NParks has reported to the police for further investigation and takes a” serious view” of these concerns about the accuracy of the quotes provided by the consultant and contractor.  ,
On top of current practices, improvements have been made to the management of star rate items, items for which rates are not listed in the contract.  ,
The most recent changes include enhancing consultancy tenders by including requirements that include, where necessary, sourcing for independent quotes from consultants.  ,
NParks said it is considering using technology to better detect irregularities and conduct checks, and that additional training is being held to improve staff competence.
NParks also made note of AG O’s report that suggested potential overpayment to contractors for term contracts for park and open space projects.
Although NParks ‘ internal investigations have determined that no indications of fraud or bad behavior by staff, disciplinary actions have been taken against the staff involved, the statement read.  ,
The organization further stated that it has taken action to recover S$ 0.29 million as of May and is working with the contractors to recover the rest over the coming months.
INDUSTRY FEES AT MHA
AGO identified flaws in inventory and records management in the audit of MHA’s management of a contract for the provision of logistics services, including warehouse management services.
The total contract value was S$ 783.83 million over 10 years, including a four-year optional extension period.
As part of the audit, AGO conducted” surprise stocktakes “at three locations – two for Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) equipment and one for Singapore Police Force ( SPF ) equipment.  ,
The checks discovered discrepancies between the physical inventory at all locations and the inventory balance records.
The SPF equipment included helmets, vests, and gas masks, while the SCDF equipment included emergency supplies and disaster recovery equipment.  ,
AGO claimed that MHA has acknowledged its observations and taken immediate action to improve its inventory management.  ,
SCDF has increased its daily, weekly, and monthly inspections of the vendor’s physical inventory and records.  ,
In order to conduct surprise checks, SCDF has also requested access to the vendor’s inventory balance records. SCDF personnel would approve and keep records of all checks performed.
In terms of SPF, its investigations determined that the discrepancies were caused by recording mistakes.  ,
SPF informed AGO that there had not been any inventory loss and that the store’s stock management could be improved.  ,
By July, it will collaborate with the vendor to improve storekeeping management and reorganize its location. By July, it would be able to finish the logistics management system’s inventory records and work with its line units.
NANYANG POLYTECHNIC
AGO discovered shortcomings in Nanyang Polytechnic’s ( NYP ) management of revenue and collections.  ,
Data analysis revealed that the issuance of course fees has taken longer. Bills worth S$ 8.98 million were only issued after the course’s commencement dates, with some going as far as a year after the course’s start.  ,
Additionally, it was discovered that NYP failed to follow-up promptly on outstanding course fees that were due. Course fees totalling S$ 0.24 million for 304 bills had been outstanding for six months to as long as three-and-a-half years as of Nov 15, 2023.  ,
It is crucial that NYP perform more due diligence and improve its processes to prompt payment and payment of course fees. Otherwise, the longer the fees remain unpaid, the lower the likelihood of recovery,” said AGO.  ,
Since then, NYP has followed up on the pending bills.  ,
As of April, course fees totalling S$ 0.11 million – or 46 per cent of the total outstanding bills– had been recovered, with another S$ 30, 000 from 62 bills written off. The remaining fees are currently being recovered by NNYP.
According to AGO, NYP has acknowledged that there were insufficient debt recovery actions and delays in billing.  ,
With the implementation of a training portal in July 2023, improvements had been made to the processes for billing and collection of course fees, according to NYP’s statement to AGO.
For instance, depending on the type of course and trainee, bills would be automatically issued at various points. Additionally, the polytechnic will try to find a service provider for debt recovery services.
PARENTHOOD SUPPORT MEASURES
AG O’s thematic audit on parenthood support measures , covered MSF’s government-paid leave schemes ( GPLS ) and Baby Bonus Scheme – Child Development Account ( CDA ) benefits.
Additionally, it examined the anchor operator scheme and partner operator scheme, as well as ECDA’s infant care and childcare subsidies, kindergarten fee assistance scheme ( KiFAS ), and other options.
During the audit period from April 1, 2021 to June 30, 2023, the government distributed a total of S$ 4.55 billion under these schemes.
Additionally, the audit examined withdrawals from the CDAs made by parents or trustees. During the audit period, the total amount of withdrawals was S$ 1.49 billion.
AGO claimed that MSF and ECDA had implemented procedures and controls throughout the various grant stages to ensure proper scheme management.  ,
Improvement-possibility areas were also identified.
Both organizations could improve claims surveillance and inspection to find ineligible claims and potential irregularities, according to the report.  ,
AGO discovered errors in the evaluation of grants as a result of system errors, inadequate system checks, or system checks that did not function as intended.
” The agencies could take into account additional system rules or validation checks to improve the processing of grant applications and claims and make sure system checks were functioning as intended.”
Improvements could also be made to the Baby Bonus Scheme’s monitoring systems to make sure that only authorized beneficiaries and items with CDA withdrawals were withdrawn from registered, approved institutions and from eligible items.