Standards of governance and accountability raised for town councils

Singapore

TOWN councils in Singapore must abide by higher standards of governance and transparency, after Parliament on Friday passed amendments to existing laws to give the government greater oversight over how they are run.

Among the many changes, town councils must now submit audited financial reports to the Ministry of National Development (MND) within six months of the end of the financial year. They also have to publish the statements for public access and viewing.

On the area of governance and accountability, town council staff must maintain a registry of conflict of interest …