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Defence Minister outlines Mindef's anti-corruption processes
AsiaOne
Tuesday, Mar 12, 2013
SINGAPORE - In response to a question by Aljunied MP Sylvia Lim in Parliament yesterday, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said that Mindef is unable to release information on how much is spent on sensitive operations and classified research, but assured her that in place, Mindef has several layers of internal and external checks to reduce the risk of corruption.
Here is an excerpt of his speech:
Ng Eng Hen: Mr Deputy Chair, Ms Sylvia Lim asked about Transparency International's (TI) D+ grading for Singapore in its Government Defence Anti-Corruption Index 2013.
TI's assessment of corruption risk is weighted heavily towards the availability of public information in its defined risk areas of political, finance, personnel, operations and procurement risk.
For example, we would have scored higher if we release information about how much we spend on sensitive operations and classified research and development projects. But Singapore does not publicise such details of our defence and security expenditures, as it would compromise our security.
To reduce the risks of corruption, MINDEF has instead put in place several layers of internal and external checks.
Internally, officers that are in positions to approve projects are subjected to security vetting regularly. The checks conducted as part of the vetting process would include credit bureau checks and checks of the assets held by the officers and their family members to identify any indications of unexplained wealth. In addition, the officers are regularly rotated to reduce the risk of them being cultivated by suppliers.
MINDEF also conducts regular reviews of our financial and procurement procedures, and MINDEF's Internal Audit Department or IAD also performs regular audit checks.
As part of our processes, we utilize data analytics to spot outliers and investigate each and every such incident. IAD's audit reports and the follow-up actions are reviewed by the MINDEF Audit Committee chaired by the Permanent Secretary (Defence Development), which meets every two months. On an annual basis, a comprehensive report that grades how MINDEF and the SAF agencies perform is also submitted by the IAD to the Minister for Defence.
Externally, MINDEF is audited by the Auditor-General who submits an annual report to the President and Parliament for scrutiny. That annual report is publicly available.
Over the years, the Auditor-General has identified areas in MINDEF's procurement and payments systems for improvement, which MINDEF has rectified.
MINDEF, like the rest of the government, has zero tolerance towards corruption. Our defence procurement process is widely recognised to be of the highest standards.
Suppliers know that MINDEF has high expectations and that we drive a hard bargain when it comes to pricing. We have also been described as a "reference customer" - that means that when Singapore buys a platform, it sets a benchmark for cost effectiveness for that platform.
We have studied the TI report in detail and will decide where more information can be released, so long as it does not compromise our security goals. We are confident that our current systems and processes to guard against corruption remain robust.
Nevertheless, we will regularly review our processes to ensure that we remain corruption free because we owe this to Singapore and Singaporeans to be good stewards of the resources entrusted to us.
AsiaOne
Tuesday, Mar 12, 2013
SINGAPORE - In response to a question by Aljunied MP Sylvia Lim in Parliament yesterday, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said that Mindef is unable to release information on how much is spent on sensitive operations and classified research, but assured her that in place, Mindef has several layers of internal and external checks to reduce the risk of corruption.
Here is an excerpt of his speech:
Ng Eng Hen: Mr Deputy Chair, Ms Sylvia Lim asked about Transparency International's (TI) D+ grading for Singapore in its Government Defence Anti-Corruption Index 2013.
TI's assessment of corruption risk is weighted heavily towards the availability of public information in its defined risk areas of political, finance, personnel, operations and procurement risk.
For example, we would have scored higher if we release information about how much we spend on sensitive operations and classified research and development projects. But Singapore does not publicise such details of our defence and security expenditures, as it would compromise our security.
To reduce the risks of corruption, MINDEF has instead put in place several layers of internal and external checks.
Internally, officers that are in positions to approve projects are subjected to security vetting regularly. The checks conducted as part of the vetting process would include credit bureau checks and checks of the assets held by the officers and their family members to identify any indications of unexplained wealth. In addition, the officers are regularly rotated to reduce the risk of them being cultivated by suppliers.
MINDEF also conducts regular reviews of our financial and procurement procedures, and MINDEF's Internal Audit Department or IAD also performs regular audit checks.
As part of our processes, we utilize data analytics to spot outliers and investigate each and every such incident. IAD's audit reports and the follow-up actions are reviewed by the MINDEF Audit Committee chaired by the Permanent Secretary (Defence Development), which meets every two months. On an annual basis, a comprehensive report that grades how MINDEF and the SAF agencies perform is also submitted by the IAD to the Minister for Defence.
Externally, MINDEF is audited by the Auditor-General who submits an annual report to the President and Parliament for scrutiny. That annual report is publicly available.
Over the years, the Auditor-General has identified areas in MINDEF's procurement and payments systems for improvement, which MINDEF has rectified.
MINDEF, like the rest of the government, has zero tolerance towards corruption. Our defence procurement process is widely recognised to be of the highest standards.
Suppliers know that MINDEF has high expectations and that we drive a hard bargain when it comes to pricing. We have also been described as a "reference customer" - that means that when Singapore buys a platform, it sets a benchmark for cost effectiveness for that platform.
We have studied the TI report in detail and will decide where more information can be released, so long as it does not compromise our security goals. We are confident that our current systems and processes to guard against corruption remain robust.
Nevertheless, we will regularly review our processes to ensure that we remain corruption free because we owe this to Singapore and Singaporeans to be good stewards of the resources entrusted to us.
