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War of words over financial, IT systems continues
04:46 AM Dec 29, 2012
by Ashley Chia
SINGAPORE - The war of words over the termination of Aljunied-Hougang Town Council's (AHTC) former computer and financial systems raged on yesterday.
Yesterday, Ms Sylvia Lim said it was "regrettable" that the press statements had been "calculated to side-step the most critical question of how the public interest was served when the PAP-managed town councils, which developed the computing and financial systems at significant cost and co-owned them, sold them off to a third party which could exercise rights of termination if there was a 'material change' in the composition of a town council". She also asked for the reason behind the termination clause.
Said Ms Lim: "What justification was there for the town councils to relinquish ownership and leave the continuity of town council operations at the mercy of a third party? Residents ... have a right to know."
She also noted that Dr Teo had confirmed that AIM is "fully owned" by the PAP. "In other words, the PAP-managed town councils saw it fit to sell away their ownership of the systems, developed with public funds, to a political party, which presumably could act in its own interests when exercising its rights to terminate the contracts. Was that the very reason why there was such a termination clause in the first place?" said Ms Lim.
In response, Dr Teo said Ms Lim had raised "several new issues relating to allegations of conflict of interest". "We will go through the latest allegations and deal with them openly, in a further statement over the next few days."
04:46 AM Dec 29, 2012
by Ashley Chia
SINGAPORE - The war of words over the termination of Aljunied-Hougang Town Council's (AHTC) former computer and financial systems raged on yesterday.
Yesterday, Ms Sylvia Lim said it was "regrettable" that the press statements had been "calculated to side-step the most critical question of how the public interest was served when the PAP-managed town councils, which developed the computing and financial systems at significant cost and co-owned them, sold them off to a third party which could exercise rights of termination if there was a 'material change' in the composition of a town council". She also asked for the reason behind the termination clause.
Said Ms Lim: "What justification was there for the town councils to relinquish ownership and leave the continuity of town council operations at the mercy of a third party? Residents ... have a right to know."
She also noted that Dr Teo had confirmed that AIM is "fully owned" by the PAP. "In other words, the PAP-managed town councils saw it fit to sell away their ownership of the systems, developed with public funds, to a political party, which presumably could act in its own interests when exercising its rights to terminate the contracts. Was that the very reason why there was such a termination clause in the first place?" said Ms Lim.
In response, Dr Teo said Ms Lim had raised "several new issues relating to allegations of conflict of interest". "We will go through the latest allegations and deal with them openly, in a further statement over the next few days."