The Straits Times, Sept 26, 1989
By Bertha Henson
BY 1991, town councils will take over from the Housing and Development Board the management of all public housing estates in Singapore.
They will see to it that corridors are swept, rubbish cleared and lifts repaired, besides managing common areas such as car-parks, building gardens and publishing newsletters.
The idea of town councils, which function very much like a mini-government, is not a new one. Other countries, such as France and Britain, have local councils which run villages, towns and cities. In Singapore, however, this is a big change since previously the Government made decisions on everything.
First suggested in 1984, town councils represent the Government's effort to put more power into the people's hands and to make them responsible for the area they live in.
The Government had concluded that the HDB had grown too large for the board to be able to respond to the differing needs and preferences of people living in different estates.
With a town council, however, residents will have a greater say in how their estates are run and what facilities they will have. This is because town councils are managed by their elected MPs and town councillors -- most of whom, according to the law, must be residing in the estate.
This does not mean that MPs and town councillors have to go round and clear rubbish or sweep corridors. The day-to-day running is left to professional estate managers who will get the cleaners and contractors to do the job.
Money to run a town council comes from residents' conservancy charges, government grants, money from investments and loans.
Besides such financial powers, a town council can also pass by-laws to manage common areas in the estate. For example, it can decide to penalise those who damage lifts or those who park their cars without concern for others.
The town council idea raised a number of questions when it was first broached. Would it be too taxing for the MPs? Can town councils really run the estates better than the HDB? What if it runs out of money?
To test if the idea of town councils would work, three pilot projects were started in Ang Mo Kio housing estate in 1986. It ran for more than two years and at the end of it, MPs and grassroots leaders in charge of the project gave it the thumbs-up.
The Town Council Act was passed in May last year and the first three Ang Mo Kio town councils were gazetted in October.
Since then, town councils have moved fast to create their own identities with logos and newsletters. Some have also started projects like landscaping.
Copyright © 1998 Singapore Press Holdings. All Rights Reserved.
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