Let us not centralise town council services

• Main Author: EUGENE, Tan K. B.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2013
• Subjects: Asian Studies; Housing Law
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/3759; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/5717/viewcontent/today_20130506_1.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

With the Government accepting the findings and recommendations of the Ministry of National Development (MND) Town Council Review Report, the focus has now shifted to a “strategic and comprehensive review of town councils (TCs)”. SMU Assistant Professor of Law Eugene Tan was of the opinion that such a move is timely and needed. He said that Singapore should not revert to the pre-1989 situation in which the management and maintenance of public housing estates was HDB’s sole responsibility. Apart from commenting on suggestions raised in the reviews, he also added what he thought should be included in this comprehensive review of TCs. He stated that this review should endeavor to reduce the “fundamental tension” between the political and administrative functions of the TCs. He added that a more robust set of rules and procedures as well as safeguards can remove unnecessary political catfights, but this should not take away from the fundamental character of TCs which is ultimately about promoting good governance and improving people’s lives at the local levels. Re-centralisation of control would be a retrogressive step.