Sengkang Town Council begins direct management of whole town

Sengkang Town Council on Wednesday began direct management of the entire town after failing to receive any bids for a managing agent in 2022, and its contract with its previous managing agent expired on Tuesday.

The Workers’ Party (WP)-run council said in a statement on Wednesday that it has been working on transitioning into direct management of Sengkang Town, with recruitment for the direct management team beginning in the second half of 2022.

It added that it has recruited experienced and suitable individuals, including employees from both CPG Facilities Management and EM Services, for its town management works.

The Anchorvale division has already been under direct management since Nov 1, 2021.

The other three divisions are Buangkok, Compassvale and Rivervale.

This comes after the town council’s contract with the previous managing agent, EM Services, expired on Tuesday.

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EM Services had said in May 2022 that it did not put in a bid to continue in its role after its contract expired the next year, because of a manpower crunch. The town council did not receive any bids during a three-week tender exercise for a managing agent in April 2022.

The lack of bids had reignited debate among some quarters about the barriers that opposition-run town councils face, including the perception that facilities management companies prefer not to work for opposition-run town councils.

Wednesday’s town council statement added that existing contractors will continue to provide their services in the various divisions and there is no disruption to their day-to-day operations.

It said: “Sengkang Town Council would like to convey its appreciation to EM Services for its years of service to Sengkang residents, and for working with the Town Council on the handover of the Buangkok, Compassvale and Rivervale divisions over the last eight months.”

It added that experience gained from directly managing Anchorvale division means that the council is confident of delivering the standards of service that Sengkang residents have come to expect.

Sengkang Town Council is chaired by Sengkang GRC MP He Ting Ru. Its vice chair is fellow WP MP Louis Chua. Associate Professor Jamus Lim, also an MP for Sengkang, is an elected member of the town council.