All town councils get top banding for governance, except Bishan-Toa Payoh

Nearly all town councils here received a green rating, the highest score, for their corporate governance in the latest town council management report (TCMR).

- Ng Wei Kai

Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council (BTPTC) was the only one among the 17 town councils to receive an amber rating —the second band out of three—due to multiple instances of the same type of non-compliance, the Ministry of National Development (MND) said on Dec 11.

BTPTC did not obtain approval from the authorities before commencing work on three projects and disbursing funds for these.

The town council, which manages estates in central Singapore, including Toa Payoh, Thomson and Marymount, retrospectively sought approval, which was subsequently granted.

The multiple instances of the same type of non-compliance were considered to be of medium severity, and BTPTC thus received an amber band, MND said. The lowest possible performance band is red.

The Dec 11 report is the second part of an annual report released by MND that reflects town councils' performance on their financial statements, auditors' reports and compliance with the Town Councils Act and rules over the last financial year.

The first part of the report, released mid-year, rates their performance on operations such as estate cleanliness and maintenance. All town councils received green ratings in the June report.