<!--end: postmeta-->
Letter by Leong Sze Hian to Straits Times
forum page published on
14 August
2010:
I REFER to yesterday’s report
(“Caterer acts after criticism of YOG food”).
It states: “The committee did not respond to questions on how
much was budgeted for volunteers’ meals and whether there had been
any guidelines for food provision.”
Since volunteers are not paid, I think the least that organisers
could do is provide them with decent meals. As Singapore is hosting
the first Youth Olympic Games, which will be reported by media
internationally, such news does not bode well for Singapore’s
reputation.
In the interest of public accountability, and given the fact
that the YOG budget is already almost four times over the original
budget, the following questions should be answered:
- How much was budgeted for each meal of a volunteer? Was it a
problem with the budget or a case of the caterer scrimping to make
more money perhaps?
- Was a tender exercise done to award the catering budget? If
so, was it given to the lowest bidder, and what was the second
highest bid?
Answering the above questions may help to ensure that similar
problems do not occur in future events.
