SINGAPORE:
The Public Accounts Committee said it is
concerned about the lapses related to procurement and contract management in
four ministries and some of the statutory boards under their charge.
In a
report released on Thursday, the committee said the lapses undermine the
government's procurement principles of open and fair competition, transparency
and value for money and could erode public confidence in public sector
procurement.
A
number of these lapses have resulted in the government being overcharged and,
in some cases, with no recourse for recovering the money, the committee noted.
The
committee has also recommended that the Ministry of Finance (MOF) consider
setting up a Central Procurement Agency, in order to improve public sector
procurement practices.
The
recommendation comes following the committee's hearing of oral evidence given
by the MOF.
The
committee had noted that most of the lapses as reported in the Report of the
Auditor-General for FY 2010/11 are in procurement, and is concerned that this
may be a reflection of underlying weaknesses in public sector procurement which
need to be addressed on whole-of-government level.
The
committee had sought the views of MOF on the matter as it is responsible for
government procurement policies and rules.
The
committee said that with such a central agency, smaller ministries and
statutory boards can opt in to use the services it offers.
In
addition, the committee feels that specialist career development and
institutional knowledge on procurement and project management can be developed
and retained in such a central procurement agency.
The
committee had sought written explanations from four ministries on the
procurement and contract management lapses.
The
ministries concerned are the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Ministry of
Information, Communications and the Arts, the Ministry of Trade and Industry,
and the Ministry of Transport.
Two
other ministries, the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of National Development,
were queried on other irregularities.
In the
case of MHA, the committee also called upon the ministry's permanent secretary
to present oral evidence.
The
committee said this was because serious lapses in procurement in the Singapore
Police Force (SPF) had been reported in the last two Reports of the
Auditor-General.
The
committee said these suggest underlying broad-based weaknesses in procurement
management in some departments of SPF.
In
financial year 2010/2011, the Auditor-General observed irregularities at every
stage of the management of two projects undertaken by the Police Coast Guard
(PCG) which resulted in SPF being grossly overcharged.
The two
PCG projects had a total contract value of S$6.86 million.
In
financial year 2009/10, lapses were found in the management of a contract for
the maintenance of surveillance camera systems of the Traffic Police resulting
in SPF paying, over many years, for maintenance work which was not done.
MHA
informed the committee that SPF has since recovered S$1.18 million from the
contractors and S$53,154 from the project management company in respect of work
items overcharged.
MHA is
also seeking to recover an additional overcharged amount, estimated by the
Auditor-General's Office (AGO) to be S$700,000, from the contractors.
MHA
informed the committee that it would be implementing several measures to
strengthen financial control, contract administration and project management
across all departments in the ministry.
The
committee also noted that falsified documents could have been provided to AGO
by the project manager engaged by PCG for the two projects.
MHA
said it had referred the matter to the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) for
investigation.
CAD has
since referred the case to the Attorney-General's Chambers (ACG) for
evaluation.
The
Ministry of Finance (MOF) has attributed most of the procurement irregularities
reported by the Auditor-General in the past five years to procurement officers'
poor understanding of procurement principles and their lack of familiarity with
procurement rules.
MOF has
since changed existing rules and guidelines to make clearer the roles of key
officers in the procurement process.
MOF
would also be implementing several measures. They are: providing an online
resource centre for procurement officers and pilot-testing a business
intelligence tool for procurement planning and monitoring; informing every
officer vested with approval authority of his responsibilities upon appointment
to the role; and developing a checklist to help approving officers understand
and better discharge their responsibilities.
-
CNA/wm/ac
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