By Sue-Ann Chia & Teo Wan Gek
HDB residents can now gauge how well their town councils are
doing their job, following the release of the first report card on
the performance of the 16 councils in Singapore.
The two best performers are Ang Mo Kio-Yio Chu Kang led by Prime
Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and Tanjong Pagar headed by Minister
Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, according to the government's Town Council
Management Report.
The two worst performers are run by the opposition: Hougang, by
the Workers' Party's Low Thia Khiang, and Potong Pasir by the
Singapore People's Party's Chiam See Tong.
Their low grades are due mainly to the bigger proportion of
homes failing to pay their service and conservancy charges
(S&CC) for at least three months.
But take away the level of arrears, and the gap between the
performance levels of the councils run by the People's Action Party
(PAP) and the opposition narrows significantly.
In releasing the report yesterday, the National Development
Ministry stressed that the objective is not to compare one against
the other but to see how each is doing over time. The report will
be issued every six months.
