Venue was best value for money

We thank Mr Bernard Chua for his feedback (PA's spending on event troubling; Nov 23).

We would like to assure Mr Chua that we took care to ensure prudence and accountability of public funds when organising the PA Wellness Programme's 10th anniversary celebrations for 1,500 guests.

The event aimed to appreciate the contributions of volunteers and partners of the PA Wellness Programme.

These volunteers, mostly seniors themselves, have been actively involved in the Wellness Programme for the last 10 years, and have put in a lot of effort and time to help fellow seniors stay mentally and physically active.

Beyond celebrating the 10th anniversary, we also charted the future direction for the Wellness Programme to better reach out to and engage seniors in the community.

When selecting the venue for the event, we considered several options to ensure prudence and overall value for money. Venues such as the Singapore Expo, Suntec City Convention Centre, PA-owned facilities and even outdoor public fields were considered. However, most indoor venues were either booked or could not accommodate 1,500 guests. RWS Convention Centre offered us the lowest quote out of the available event venues with a similar seating capacity.

For outdoor venues, when we factored in the cost of additional logistics such as tentage, tables and chairs, the cost exceeded that offered by RWS Convention Centre.

We were heartened to receive positive feedback from participants and their family members at the event.

Many were very touched and honoured as they had contributed their time and effort without expecting anything in return.

We are happy to have played a small part to positively inspire other residents to join us in this journey of helping seniors age well in the community.

Seah Hwee Kia

Chairman

People's Association Active Ageing Council

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on November 28, 2018, with the headline Venue was best value for money. Subscribe