“Every PAP town council has between S$30 million and S$150 million in their
sinking funds. Although some of the town councils have purchased
Lehman Brothers-linked products, the investments
are minimal. Maybe a couple
of percentage out of the total investment portfolio
(were used in those investments), so the exposure will not affect
the overall investment portfolio or the sinking funds per se.”
My interpretation: Assuming the
most conservative 1 percent of the sinking fund is
used in those investments, this will represent a loss
ranging from S$300,000 to S$1.5 million dollars for ONE Town
Council only. We do not know how many town councils have
bought the products. “Some” can mean three, four or even ten town
councils, but what we can be sure about is that the TOTAL
LOSS incurred by the PAP Town Councils are definitely close to or
even more than S$ 1 million dollars !!
XXX
Public funds should never be used in high-risk
investments at all to generate returns. When there is a
surplus, it should either be used to provide more amenities for the
residents and or refund back to the residents in the form
of decrease in the annual conservancy fees.
The reserves of sinking funds held by the Town Councils
(ranging from S$300 million to S$1.5 million) begs the question if
there is really a need to accumulate such a huge
surplus in the first place. Since there is more than
enough funds to maintain the estates, why not reduce the
conservancy fees of the residents ?
At a time when Singapore is in technical recession and
Singaporeans are tightening their belts in a worsening economic
climate, losing such a large amount of public funds is
tantamount to gross negligence and dereliction of duties.
It is disappointing that both the authorities and media do
not realize the magnitude of the mistake and of the
urgency to address the underlying flaws and loopholes in the
administration, choosing instead to dismiss it as another
“honest and unavoidable mistake“.
Read the full article and watch the CNA video here:
http://wayangparty.com/2008/10/29/how-much-public-funds-did-pap-town-councils-lose-in-total-from-the-failed-minibond-investments/