Sengkang Town Council to manage constituency directly from next year

The Workers' Party-run Sengkang Town Council (SKTC) will directly manage all the divisions under Sengkang town from next year, after it failed to find a managing agent to do the job, said the town council yesterday. A three-week tender exercise from April 8 to 29 attracted no bids.

The town council now manages only Anchorvale division directly, while the other divisions are managed by EM Services, one of the bigger players providing facility management services, it said in a statement posted on its Facebook page. But the town council's contract with EM Services will end on Jan 31 next year, and the managing agent did not put up a bid during the tender exercise.

The town council had inherited the contract when it took over areas that used to be under Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council and Ang Mo Kio Town Council after the July 2020 General Election.

SKTC was formed on July 30, 2020, to manage Sengkang GRC, a newly formed constituency that was won by the Workers' Party (WP) in the general election that year.

The four-member constituency is made up of the Buangkok, Compassvale and Rivervale divisions, formerly part of Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC and Punggol East SMC, as well as Anchorvale division, formerly part of Sengkang West SMC.

The areas that had been under Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC and Punggol East SMC were previously managed by EM Services under Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council, while the areas under Sengkang West SMC were previously managed by CPG Facilities Management under Ang Mo Kio Town Council, said SKTC.

On Oct 31 last year, SKTC took over management of Anchorvale division after its contract with CPG ended.

SKTC had called for a tender before taking over, but received only one bid from a company that had no prior experience running a town council.

Yesterday, SKTC said that as a matter of prudence this time, it had called for a tender for a managing agent last month, well in advance of next year's expiry of its contract with EM Services, but did not get a single bid.

"Given the circumstances, Sengkang town councillors deliberated on this matter and voted to transit into direct management of SKTC, after the management period of EM Services comes to an end," it said, adding that it appreciated EM Services for its years of service to Sengkang residents.

The town council also said that EM Services will continue to manage the relevant areas until the expiry of the contract.

"SKTC and, in particular, the MPs for Sengkang GRC would like to assure all Sengkang residents that continuity of services is an utmost priority," said the town council, which is led by Workers' Party MPs He Ting Ru, Louis Chua and Jamus Lim, after the departure of their former colleague Raeesah Khan, who was involved in a lying saga.

"With the experience gained from directly managing Anchorvale division, and more than eight months to the handover of the Buangkok, Compassvale and Rivervale divisions from EM Services, SKTC is confident of a smooth transition, and its ability to deliver the standards of service that Sengkang residents have come to expect."