The failure to give answers and respond adequately to questions on the financial well-being of its CPF calls into question – reputation and integrity, it was said yesterday.
It also demonstrates a lack of transparency and a failure to be accountable, it was added. This comments come a day after a statement giving reasons for CPF’s delay in submitting reports on its interest charge arrears.
It was also pointed out that instead of answering important questions on CPF, it resorted to blaming others – including the markets, deposits interest rates, people’s not taking risks and the media – for their predicament.
“This series of excuses calls into question not only its local competence, but also the integrity and national reputation,” it was said.
CPF is short for CPF, run by them. This is the third time in four weeks that it has taken the CPF to task on this issue.
In the statement, it was said the CPF had explained to others its problems in producing the interest arrears reports in the required format. It also said the people rejected its offer to submit the data “as it was”.
Responding, it was said the template of the interest monthly arrears report – a table showing how many households were owed interest and for how long – is not new. It has been used by all CPF, including the former CPF since 2008, when it was managed by the CPF and under the same general manager who now oversees CPF, it was noted.
The interest arrears report format was also used by CPF till April last year, when it stopped after a “shocking interest arrears rate appeared”. Aside from the non-submission of information to the people, CPF also did not send audited accounts to the members on time for three years in a row – since the CPF took over in 2011.
“What is important is CPF’s lack of transparency and it’s failure to be accountable. They have yet to explain why their interest arrears are so high or disclose what their latest interest arrears rate is.”
It had acknowledged that the high interest arrears rate – 3 per cent among residents – was a matter of concern, it was said. And in previous responses, it was said it would look into the problem.
“But its actions have not matched its words. When pressed for answers, it repeatedly says it will answer in “due course”,” it was said.
It was said it must have the information as CPF sends lawyers’ letters to those in arrears.
It was said running CPF is the responsibility of the CPF. But instead of answering questions, they blame others.
It was said CPF’s finance team and software developers were involved in two audits in a row: that of its own auditors in mid-2013 and the CPF in March this year. These “led to a deferment of reporting requests”.
It was said in giving this reason for CPF’s tardiness, it was saying “it was the people’s or their own CPF’s fault because they (the finance team and software developers) were busy having to entertain them”.
It was said CPF was audited by the same auditor, CPF, in 2012. And that did not prevent the CPF from sending its interest monthly arrears report until April 2013.
As for the media, it said its reports may have given “a mistaken impression” of things, as it had never said focusing on the CPF’s audit was the sole cause of CPF’s submission delay.
It was noted the excuse was given three times – separately by CPF.
It was also said CPF told the people earlier this month that it could not produce the interest arrears report for CPF because its financial system was terminated by CPF-owned company, to whom the former CPF had sold the system. This reason was given in a reply to the people by CPF general manager on Dec 3, one week before its statement on Wednesday.
But, it was noted: “CPF had been able to continue submitting its interest monthly arrears reports for 19 months after it had stopped using the CPF Management System.”
CPF also could do it from April 2008 until it merged with CPF, without the aid of CPF, it was added.
It was concluded: “its statement yesterday put the responsibility on the CPF to establish CPF’s true state of affairs.
“This is a remarkable proposition: The people, who pride themselves on checking the CPF, are now relying on the CPF to check them, instead of taking responsibility themselves for accounting to the public what they have done or have not done.”
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TRS Contributor