Who would, in his wildest imagination or nightmare, think an educational institute like the Temasek Polytechnic (TP) has $62.50 million of free cash to dabble in the bond market? Instead of prepping its students to survive in the job market, they were bleeding them bone dry with exorbitant fees and charges. That plus the fact that the 5 bonds, averaging $10+ million a piece, were committed without requisite approval from the sleeping Investment Committee (page 42).
Remember the errant fishball stick that triggered a multi-agency, mayor-led fact-finding mission to figure how it could possibly remain on the ground for two whole days? Lee Hsien Loong set up the Municipal Services Office (MSO) to end the quibble about who, National Environment Agency (grassy slope), National Parks (park connector) or Land Transport Authority (pavement), should clean up after the juvenile pick-up-sticks game. It turns out the efforts of the prime minister, and his disgraceful minister charged with the heavily funded initiative, have been largely ignored.
The AGO found that the National Environment Agency (NEA)'s $4.19 million rodent infestation eradication contract covers only burrows found in areas under its purview. NEA told AGO that, although not worded such, its intent was, for burrows found in other areas, it would inform other agencies "to take care of the problem themselves". This has to be NIMBY at its worst. As a result, AGO said that 115 burrows were found but not destroyed. For that kind of money, our aunties collecting cardboard for exercise would have a more lucrative alternative catching rats. Tan Chuan-Jin, please take note.
Now it makes sense why netizens were distracted by efforts to hunt down the identity of the errant Citizens’ Consultative Committee (CCC) chairman who signed off personal expense claims to the tune of $114,767. There are more gems in the AGO report to be glossed over.
All this while that self-righteous Khaw offered that samurai sword to the WP and is intent on dragging the HDB into the fray, using taxpayers' money. It is time for him and his colleagues to take his own advice and put themselves to the sword, failing which the voters will deliver the coup de grace at the coming GE.
ReplyDeleteLooks like samurai swords factory can't keep up with the production to meet demands here !
Delete'The AGO found that the National Environment Agency (NEA)'s $4.19 million rodent infestation eradication contract covers only burrows found in areas under its purview.
ReplyDeleteNEA told AGO that, although not worded such, its intent was, for burrows found in other areas, it would inform other agencies "to take care of the problem themselves".
.
Please don't hide behind NEA.
Will the person who made this policy decision please stand up and identify yourself.
If you have the courage to accept a million dollar salary, please have the courage to stand behind your decisions.
Are you hoping that we will only blame the PAP Minister?
In the meantime, can somebody please teach our Environment Millionaire Minister:
DeleteThe rats that were apared by NEA will very rapidly re-infest the empty burrows left behind by the rats that have been eradicated.
What part of "National" in "NATIONAL Environment Agency" don't you understand?
Just how big is the island of Singapore that you need so many different agencies to eradicate a simple rat problem in such a small island?
You guys really deserve to be sacked immediately.
above TYPO. Should be read as:
Delete"The rats that were SPARED by NEA will very rapidly re-infest the empty burrows left behind by the rats that have been eradicated."
17 burrows in 7 locations increased to 32 burrows within span of 6 months.
Delete16 other rat-infested burrows in 9 locations also remained active.
Aiseyman. That is total of 48 active burrows still to be tackled. This kind of increasing KPIs is sure win-win for the Contractors/pest terminator leh. Why won't anybody wants to be in the mice business?!! Is that also why mosquitoes dengue also quadrupled like that huh?
The government is DBS to issue multi-million dollar contracts for catching rats. If you are the rat catcher, will you catch all the rats, or will you prefer to let the rats multiple? The more rats there are, the bigger your contract. Clear conflict of interest encouraged by the government. No wonder there are so many rats.
DeleteMs Vivian must still be looking up in the ceiling instead of the ground for rats. Doesn't he know that it is a complete waste of the $4.19M to exterminate the rats only partially? The surviving rat community will automatically increase their reproductive rate to re-populate within a matter of a few months. As the national agency to control and exterminate varmints, NEA must co-ordinate and assume the central role and not tai chi responsibility to other agencies.
ReplyDeleteVivian is busy pretending to be smart these days trying to stick his feet into a not so smart project called smart nation. In reality his team has been outsmarted by the rats. He forgot why he was appointed the gutter minister is due to his gutter campaigning during ge2011 and thus responsible for sewage and gutters.
DeleteHe was out hazed by the haze, by the mosquitoes and now the rats. Come, we clap for him.
Just pay like $2 bounty per rat caught, and suddenly they will be more extinct than dinosaurs on this island. Economics 101.
DeleteSo much for "better, cheaper, faster".
If the NEA spent $4.19 million on a contract to eradicate the rodents at Bukit Batok, and 300 rats were exterminated, it works out to $13,966.66 per rat. Wouldn't it have been cheaper to offer a bounty of $10 per rat to the Bangla workers at Bukit Batok New Town?
DeleteWhy should the PAP govt answer to their gross misconduct of public money? The taxpayers are merely their serva-I mean slaves.
ReplyDelete//For that kind of money, our aunties collecting cardboard for exercise would have a more lucrative alternative catching rats. Tan Chuan-Jin, please take note.//
ReplyDeleteSomehow I think Tatler you are leading to something.
Our cardboard collecting, back bending ah mahs and ah cheks might know ancient and better ways to trap mice.
At $2 a bounty, they could jolly well work in hands with that $4m dollars contractors who hopefully wont mind some crumbs to them. I imagine it better than putting them through 18 layers of kuey lapis before real help arrives.
I saw a bangla worker caught a rat with the old-style rat trap made of a wired cage, with a bait of rotten leftover hanging inside. He told me he never failed to catch one whenever he had some leftover. That chap will do it for $1 per rat, maybe even less, and then your grand idea to pay cardboard collectors to catch mice will go down the drain because the garmen will issue 3 quotes and choose the cheapest provider! How you expect old ah mah to submit tender? Leave the cardboard collectors alone, make sure the fat garmen provide them healthcare and transport free, like garmen is suppose to provide, the more you drag this garmen in, the more they will screw it up and the more GST they charge you. For every problem , they create another 2.
DeleteOn Temasek, if you re-read AGO's report in page 42, it says Temasek has invested $62.5m in bonds up till 31 Mar 2014. The report did not say Temasek had "only" $62.5m to invest. What is the total amount in all asset classes? Are they into things like hedge funds, private equity, venture capital? Chinese stocks? Currency derivatives?
ReplyDeleteThe report said Temasek's justification for buying those corporate bonds was based solely on interest rates and they were corporate bonds, not AAA-rated Singapore government bonds!! Just remind one of a certain town council's dalliance with minibonds using town council cash in 2008, except this time its 6 times more money than before.
The garmen is so keen to boost the fund management industry, it just seems they are getting lax with and forgetting the lesson from 2008.
"The garmen is so keen to boost the fund management industry"
DeleteLet's give them some credit, they must have known that our economy is more or less fundamentally screwed.
-No agricultural sector to speak of
-No raw materials to export
-Manufacturing is dying out to every other country that does it cheaper
-Retail and SMEs squeezed dry by exorbitant rents
-Decades wasted to raise educated but uncreative, risk averse workforce that despises menial labor and to unquestionable obey Big Brother which they totally had played no hand in (sarcasm)
So here are the stats in summary that frankly led me to be extremely concerned :
ReplyDelete35 out of 91 (38%) CC/CCMCs have major lapses! That's 1/3 of the cases evaluated.
53 Tenancy Agreement (TA) valued $17.78m = No approvals.
13 TAs valued $3.67m = No competitive quotes.
5 GROs with 9 contracts valued $152.6k = No approvals, 15 contracts $565k = Wrong approvals
4 GROs with 10 purchases for $53.7k = No approvals.
3 GROs with 13 purchases for $187.9k = No competitive quotes.
4 GROs with 8 contracts for $311.8k = No competitive quotes
1 RCs for $1.11m = No tender/no competitor quotes
4 RCs for $1.26m = No SOP, No course fee collected, No evidence !?
1 RC for $414k = Delayed course fees collected by 1-16 months
1 CCC for 7 contracts/caims valued $32k + 114k = Ownself approved, ownself claimed !
That total came up close to $25 million +++ of taxpayers money not properly accounted. WOW!
There’s something hugely ironic about saying: AHPETC citizens have been done wrong and WP can't keep
their account and SOP in order, let’s bring in the MND and AGs, and freeze their funds!!
Looks like someone has alot to answer for such atrocious management. Shouldn't we be extremely concerned yet?
That someone is none other than he who does not know the difference between Mee Siam and Laksa. He ought to be look to exterminate the rats. Not the ones in the burrows; but the ones in the organisation he heads - the PA (acronym for PAP Associates).
DeleteOther acronyms:
RC - Rodent Centre
CCC - Centre for Cronyism & Conning
GRO - Ground Rat Organisation
Great interpretations of those Abbreviations.
DeleteSome Parliamentarians do look and behave like rats.
There are needs to rid the Four legged Species and more so the TWO LEGGED ONES IN THE CABINET THAT DO LOTS MORE SINFUL DEEDS.
The writer Extremely Concerned forgot to add the missing Australian steaks to his or her list.
ReplyDeleteTruly, this PAP50 (SG50) celebrations is turning out to be a farce.
ReplyDeleteLet's face it.
The PAPigs don't really care for us much.
They just need us to be present to make up the numbers.
Perhaps to justify all the Australian steaks (and God knows what else) they are gorging on.
And to make a nice photo to splash around the world.
I'm giving PAP50(SG 50) a miss.
I don't want to be with people who see me no up.
I don't want to waste my time with people who are clearly not on my side.
When the parliament is infested with PAP members, rodents abound. Fat cat hate catching rat. We really must stuff (or kick out rather) PAP in order to bring back the cleaniness of our country. I can't sleep at night thinking the cat is lazy. I wonder where is that dose of minister competent LKY was talking about when he tried to justify obscene salary to all these NIMBY CEOs.
ReplyDeleteYou mean the voice from the grave, er, urn?:
Delete"You know, the cure for all this talk is really a good dose of incompetent government. You get that alternative and you'll never put Singapore together again: Humpty Dumpty cannot be put together again... my asset values will disappear, my apartments will be worth a fraction of what they were, my ministers' jobs will be in peril, their security will be at risk and their women will become maids in other people's countries, foreign workers. I cannot have that!"
Same thoughts been crossing my mind over these last 5 years.
DeleteFamous last words indeed.
A fitting epitaph for his son's regime.
We used to have an PAP MP called rat catcher for his ability to catch rats at Chai Chee. He is no longer around but his son is a PAP MP - an ordinary MP, not a office holder.
ReplyDeleteHe must have inherited his father's ability to catch rats. It runs in the family blood,you see.
He may be able to do a better job at catching rat if given a portfolio. Say MinIstry of Rats.
You know you are in trouble when a country no longer has the ability to master old technologies like:
Delete- operating a small train network
- controlling the rat population
- modern trains were invented in the 1700's.
- controlling the rat population is a centuries old technology.
True @8.46am. hence the effort to be a smart nation.
DeleteUnder this regime, Singapore is going to the rats. It is a kuay lapis government, with more layers added on, the latest layers being the Municipal Services Office (Grace Fu) and the Smart Nation Programme Office (V.Balakrishnan). If you peel back each layer, as the AGO reports show, you find more and more rats...oops...lapses....for years.
ReplyDeleteBut the Minister said: "I am glad the investigation panel found no evidence of dishonesty." Was there any evidence of dishonesty uncovered in the AHPETC AGO report? If so, make a police report, then charge them. Otherwise they are just that, lapses, so let's move on, and stop with the witch hunt and cow-dung slinging. Unless the intent is to discredit the WP, and even to disqualify them from the General Election, because of the paranoia of the emperor.
"Was there any evidence of dishonesty uncovered in the AHPETC AGO report?
DeleteIf so, make a police report, then charge them.
Otherwise they are just that, lapses, so let's move on, and stop with the witch hunt and cow-dung slinging. "
Well said.
I'm glad other Singaporeans realize the red herrings being thrown around over this AHPETC issue.
the cracks are showing and spreading fast. wonderful timing. 12/9 !!
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ReplyDelete