... the writer asked a very pertinent question; are we
getting VALUE for the money we are paying?
... well, I just want to add that this question is also VERY
applicable to what kind of value Singaporeans are getting as
citizens, from all the Taxes & high costs of living as well as
CPF we have to bear with?
===============================================
Conservancy charges: Is HDB giving value for money
collected?
Tue, Feb 12, 2008
The Straits Times
A RESIDENT of a five-room HDB flat pays $73.50 a month in service
& conservancy charges and another $90 in parking charge.
A resident of a similar-size flat in a typical condominium pays
about $200 per month. But that includes water, electricity,
maintenance, mandatory lift check, cleaning service every day,
clean lift, pest control, pleasant landscape, security, security
cameras, covered parking lot, swimming pool, tennis court, function
room, barbecue pit, recreation events, managing agent fee, some
surplus for sinking fund at year-end and so on.
The HDB resident gets a parking lot and a not exactly clean
environment.
Is the HDB overcharging residents or is it not doing enough to get
value for residents?
My friend lives in a condo, pays $200 a month and get all the
things I mentioned, while I pay $163.50 in service &
conservancy charges and for a parking lot. I get a dirty lift and
floors. Furthermore, the HDB collects parking fines and hourly
parking charges and keeps them.
As a big buyer, the HDB certainly has better bargaining power
than the condo. The $163.50 paid to the HDB is excessive.
The HDB must explain how it spends the money it collects.
Richard Lim Poh Chuan
