NParks, MOE possibly overpaid contractors, among other lapses: AGO report

The National Parks Board (NParks) possibly overpaid an estimated $1.93 million to contractors responsible for developing and upgrading parks and open spaces in Singapore, said the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO).

- Wong Pei Ting

Separately, the Ministry of Education (MOE) could have overpaid its contractors a net amount of $317,100 for three school construction projects, the AGO said.

These were among the lapses flagged in its annual audit of government accounts, made public on July 17, a day after it was presented to Parliament.

The report for the 2023/2024 financial year covered the financial statements of three statutory boards, four government-owned companies, and two other accounts, as well as the government financial statements. The government financial statements incorporate the accounts of all 16 government ministries and eight organs of state.

The report highlighted three main areas in which lapses were uncovered: procurement and contract management, grant management, and revenue and collection management.

The AGO also conducted a thematic audit on several parenthood support measures administered by the Ministry of Social and Family Development and the Early Childhood Development Agency. The Government had disbursed $4.55 billion under these schemes during the audit period from April 2021 to end-June 2023.

NParks, MOE and Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP), meanwhile, filed police reports after the AGO detected possible irregularities in records provided by these institutions.

In a statement on the report, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said the Government takes the AGO’s observations seriously.

“Where lapses have been identified, agency heads will review each case thoroughly to get to the root cause, and implement measures to address the issues promptly,” it said.

NPARKS' CONTRACT MANAGEMENT LAPSES

Test-checks on two NParks term contracts uncovered 42 lapses, including instances when full payment was made for work not done according to specifications, as well as shortfalls involving the valuation of work done and duplicate payments.