The Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) has flagged lapses in the National Parks Board's (NParks) procurement and payment processes, as part of its report for the financial year 2023/2024 (FY 2023/2024), on Jul. 17.

The AGO is an independent office that audits all of Singapore’s government entities’ accounts.

The "more significant audit observations" were highlighted in the report, including lapses in procurement and payment for the development and upgrading of parks and open spaces by NParks.

The AGO’s audit for FY2023/2024 for NParks covered areas relating to procurement and payment, grants, and revenue and collections, said NParks in a media release.

NParks stated that it acknowledges the observations made by AGO and has since taken immediate steps to rectify the lapses and put in place measures to address them.

The Ministry of Finance (MOF) noted in a separate statement that the Auditor-General issued an "unmodified audit opinion" on the government financial statements.

This, MOF said, is "an independent verification that the government’s accounts are prepared, in all material aspects, in accordance with the law and public funds have been properly accounted for".

However, MOF added that the government takes the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO)’s observations seriously, saying lapses would be reviewed thoroughly, while good practices would be shared across agencies to raise standards.

NParks' overpayment estimated to be S$1.93 million

AGO’s test checks found lapses in the valuations of and payments for 22 of 60 works orders (WOs) issued under two term contracts.

The lapses included payments made in full for works not done according to WOs, lapses in the valuation of work done and duplicate payments for works.

One of the examples cited in the report involved bollard markers. While two WOs specified bollard markers of 5 mm-thick steel, the contractor installed distance markers of 3.2 mm-thick steel instead. NParks had paid the contractor using the rate for the thicker bollard markers, resulting in possible overpayment of S$0.25 million.

The total amount of possible overpayment to the contractors due to the lapses was estimated to be S$1.93 million, said AGO's report.

NParks' response

NParks, responding to the report on Jul. 17, said AGO found possible irregularities in some of the documents submitted to NParks by its consultant and contractor for a park connector construction contract.

“NParks takes a serious view of these concerns regarding the authenticity of the quotations provided by the consultant and contractor and has lodged a report with the police for further investigation,” it said.

On top of current practices for the management of star rate items – items for which rates are not listed in the contract — NParks said that further steps have been taken to improve.

This includes further enhancing consultancy tenders by incorporating requirements that include sourcing for independent quotes by consultants, where necessary.

In addition, training sessions are being conducted to enhance staff competency and NParks said it is exploring the use of technology to better detect irregularities and conduct checks.

NParks noted that AGO’s report also pointed to a possible overpayment to contractors for term contracts for development and upgrading works at parks and open spaces.

While the agency's internal investigations have shown "no indications of fraud or ill intention by staff", it said disciplinary actions have been taken against staff involved for the oversight.

NParks added that it is committed to improving its management of term contracts and has taken action to recover S$0.29 million as of May 2024.

It is working with the contractors to recover the remaining amount in the next few months.

Top photos via NParks