Originally posted by the Bear:
ahem.. not the UNSW fiasco, but just as bad..
Today 26 May 2007, p18
[b]EDB lapses
revealed
Government audit finds it allocated $105 million without board's
approval
IT was the first time that the Economic Development Board (EDB)
came under the scrutiny of the Auditor-General and it did not
pass with flying colours.
A report by the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee revealed
that the EDB the Republic's powerful economic agency had shown
lapses in its governance structure and financial operations.
In particular, a sum of $105 million allocated in the EDB's 2005/06
budget was not submitted to the EDB's board for approval, according
to the report released on Friday.
The EDB's board had also allowed staff to grant loans and to borrow
without reporting back to the board, it charged.
"These matters were of particular concern because this was the
first audit of the EDB undertaken by the Auditor-General," said the
report, "the audit had given rise to a large number of observations
in which the board had not established proper internal control
procedures."
The annual report by the committee made up of MPs including Mr
Cedric Foo, Mr Liang Eng Hwa and Ms Josephine Teo also
highlighted the financial irregularities and unfair payment
practices of other Government bodies.
For instance, it said that the Ministry of Information,
Communications and the Arts (MICA) had asked some of its suppliers
to change the dates or credit terms on invoices "apparently to
conceal late payments".
"Although the cases reported might not be significant in monetary
terms, the committee took a very serious view of this issue because
it casts doubt on the integrity of the Public Service and the
reliability of the Government's financial information," the report
said.
It also highlighted that an overseas mission of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs had circumvented the dual control on cheque
payments by having cheques pre-signed when its signatories were on
home leave to Singapore.
Concerned whether this practice was pervasive, it noted: "Being
away from the Ministry headquarters, these missions would have an
increased risk of fraudulent payments."
In addition, it also pointed at deficiencies in the land sales
procedures of the Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC), the
developer of the Sentosa Cove residence.
"The instances of deficiencies ... would cause the public to view
the land sales as not being transparent, fair and competitive," it
said.
The committee was also concerned that the Auditor-General found the
certification of the land and buildings by the Ministry of Law to
be "inaccurate".
Does this inaccuracy indicate that the reliability of the records
has been compromised, it asked?
In reply, the Ministry of Law told the committee that the omission
of a land parcel from the certified listing was due to "human
error".
Also, the Government land and buildings record had been converted
from a spreadsheet system to a new computerised system, hence the
likelihood of similar lapses would be "extremely low" in the
future.
[/b]
the new
EDB chief goto take the brunt
