MCCY Statement on AGO audit observations on People's Association

Deputy Chairman of the People’s Association Minister Lim Swee Say addressed questions in Parliament today on the Auditor-General’s audit observations on the People’s Association. The following is a statement by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, in relation to the questions raised in Parliament on 17 Aug 15.

1. The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) takes any lapses in the governance and internal controls of its agencies seriously. Upon being informed of the AGO observations, MCCY advised PA on appropriate action to address the lapses highlighted and to conduct a comprehensive review of its processes.
   

2. PA subsequently updated the Ministry that it had taken immediate actions to address the transaction lapses. With regard to the AGO observations on conflict of interest, PA convened an Investigation Panel to ascertain if  any wrongdoing had led to the lapses. It completed its investigation on 14 July 2015, which found the non-disclosure of conflict of interest to be a serious lapse but did not find any evidence of dishonesty.

3. As the Deputy Chairman of PA updated Parliament today, PA has taken immediate steps to address areas of weakness in its controls environment and will strengthen its supervision of the Grassroots Organisations’ (GRO’s) compliance with its financial rules and regulation. PA has also convened a Grassroots Finance Review Committee, led by Board Member Timothy de Souza, to review the financial rules relating to the GROs and to propose measures to enhance compliance.

4. The Ministry will continue to work closely with PA and the Committee to put in place adequate measures to enhance PA’s and the GROs’ control environment.

5. MCCY and our statutory boards remain committed to ensuring prudence, transparency and accountability in the use of public resources.