March 9, 2010 by admin
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Written by Our Correspondent
After proclaiming that the Singapore economy is set to start
growing again this year, the PAP ministers have been quick to
increase their own pay and now it seems that the Town Councils will
be raising their S&C charges as well.
Two PAP Town Councils Aljunied and Jurong have announced that
they will raise their monthly service and conservancy (S&C)
charges from April onwards, citing “higher maintenance and
operating costs.”
According to information posted on their websites, charges will
go up by between 50 cents and $4.50 for Singapore homeowners,
depending on the type of flat.
At least three angry readers have emailed us the flyers they
received informing them of the hike in S&C charges:
Attached below are the revised charges for Aljunied:
One reader told us that he suspected that the hike is linked to
the investment losses suffered by the Town Council:
“I don’t see the opposition wards increasing their S&C
charges, why only us? How much did they lose in Lehman? Should open
their accounts and let us residents have a look! Where is the
transparency?”
Another added:
“To us a few dollars mean alot. We are not so rich like GIC
which can afford to lose billions of dollars in a flash!”
Aljunied Town Council claimed on its website that “it was ‘no
longer sustainable’ to maintain charges at the current level
without running into an operating deficit. Keeping the current
charges would mean deteriorating standards over time, which would
only raise costs further.”
On their websites, both town councils said the increases were
not tied to losses made in investments linked to the failed Lehman
Brothers investment bank.
While the economy has improved this year, its effects are hardly
felt by ordinary Singaporeans whose wages remain stagnant as the
cost of living continues to rise.
As a certain percentage of their multi-million salary package is
pegged to GDP growth, the PAP ministers are quick to raise their
own salaries by an estimated 8.8 percent which will cost Singapore
taxpayers another $58 million dollars or so.
A quick check reveals that the S&C charges for Potong Pasir
are only about 70 to 80 percent that of Aljunied:
The hike in electrical tariffs and cleaning costs affect the
whole of Singapore including Potong Pasir. Why then did Potong
Pasir not increase its S&C charges. Are PAP MPs less efficient
than opposition MPs in managing the Town Councils?
As expected, the state media jumped quickly to the defence of
the PAP Town Councils without revealing the truth that the
opposition is able to run their estates equally as well with less
S&C charges.
It was reported in 2008 that the PAP Town Councils have
accumulated millions of dollars in their sinking funds to save for
rainy days.
The two PAP Town Councils should reveal their sinking funds
before asking Singaporeans to pay more for the S&C charges.
