SINGAPORE – To prevent conflicts of interest, public servants who have access to government property leasing or valuation matters will have to make a declaration before they can rent such properties managed by their agencies.
Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean said on Monday in Parliament that the Public Service Division (PSD) will introduce a standard declaration requirement for a selected group of officers with access to or who are involved in leasing and valuation matters.
PSD will work with relevant ministries and statutory boards such as the Housing Board, JTC Corporation, National Environment Agency and Singapore Land Authority (SLA) to do so.
Officers in these organizations who have access to privileged information or who can influence the outcomes of decisions, or both, will have to declare that they have taken adequate steps to prevent any conflict of interest from arising before they can rent the government properties managed by them agencies.
For example, they can recuse themselves from overseeing or processing the transaction.
These properties include commercial and residential state properties such as black-and-white bungalows, terraced units, factory or office spaces, business parks, and shops in neighborhood centres, as well as hawkers and market stalls.
Mr Teo said the Prime Minister will also review the declarations required for property transactions for ministers and People’s Action Party MPs.
He was speaking in Parliament following the release of the Ridout Road report on June 28, detailing the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau’s (CPIB) investigation into Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan’s rental of the black-and-white bungalows from SLA.
CPIB was tasked by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to investigate and determine if there was any corruption or criminal wrongdoing in the two rental transactions.
Mr Teo had also been appointed by PM Lee to review the matter, and establish whether proper processes had been followed, and if there had been any wrongdoing.
The CPIB report said it found no evidence of corruption or criminal wrongdoing, while Mr Teo’s report said there was no conflict of interest. It was also found that both ministers, the public officers and private sector intermediaries involved had conducted themselves properly.
On Monday, Mr Teo reiterated the independence of CPIB’s investigation.
He noted that the agency reports directly to PM Lee – “not to the Minister of Home Affairs, or to me, for that matter, the Coordinating Minister for National Security”.
“Moreover, the director of CPIB can go directly to the president if the prime minister stops him from investigating a possible crime – the Constitution provides the CPIB director that right,” he said.
“There is no more thorough, persistent, and I dare say even fearsome investigative body in Singapore.”