SINGAPORE: All town councils, except Ang Mo Kio, achieved the top green rating for corporate governance in the latest management report released by the Ministry of National Development (MND) on Thursday (Dec 18).
The assessment covered the 17 town councils in the pre-General Election period, for the financial year from April 2024 to March 2025. GE2025 took place on May 3, 2025.
Ang Mo Kio Town Council was given an amber rating for FY2024 due to two cases of administrative oversight, said MND.
The town council did not publish changes to its re-appointed vice-chairperson and members in the Government Gazette by the statutory deadline, as required by the Town Councils Act. It published the re-appointments subsequently, according to the report.
The town council also did not complete the required fund transfers to its Lift Replacement Fund and Sinking Fund bank accounts for the first quarter of FY2024 by the statutory deadline, as mandated by the Town Councils Financial Rules. It made the transfers subsequently.
“As the non-compliances were cases of administrative oversight that have since been rectified, they were considered as two low-severity observations,” said MND. As a result, the town council scored one point for its corporate governance indicator and was banded amber.
Assessments are given using three colour bands – green, amber and red. Points are assigned based on the severity of the observations, with more points for more severe observations.
Ang Mo Kio Town Council manages Housing Board estates in Ang Mo Kio GRC, Kebun Baru SMC and Yio Chu Kang SMC. The Members of Parliament for the report’s relevant period, before GE2025, were Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Mr Darryl David, Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin, Ms Ng Ling Ling, Ms Gan Thiam Poh; Mr Henry Kwek, who is the MP for Kebun Baru; and Mr Yip Hon Weng, the MP for Yio Chu Kang.
Three other town councils – Nee Soon, Pasir Ris-Punggol and Sengkang – each had one case of non-compliance with the Town Councils Act that was deemed as “low-severity”. They each scored 0.5 points, putting them in the green band.
Each of the three town councils did not obtain consent from the Housing and Development Board (HDB) before commencing works on common property, said MND. HDB’s retrospective consent was sought and given subsequently.
For each of the three town councils, MND said: “As the non-compliance was a first-time administrative oversight that has since been rectified, it was considered as a low-severity observation.”
MND added that for FY2024, all town councils generally reported surpluses.
“By maintaining a sustainable financial position, (town councils) can continue to carry out more town improvement projects that benefit residents.”
It added that the government will continue to monitor the town councils’ financial positions and work with them to ensure their long-term financial sustainability.