LOCAL GOVERNMENT INTEGRATION BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

3.13 p.m.

The Minister for Finance (Dr Goh Keng Swee): Sir, I have His Excellency the Yang di-Pertuan Negara's recommendation to proceed with this Bill. I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

You will recall, Sir, at the Budget session last year I mentioned that the integration of the City Council into the Central Government was a major administrative reform undertaken by the People's Action Party Government. I touched at some length on the make-up of the City Council and the manner in which it was proposed to integrate it into the Central Government. Since 1st January, 1961, the physical integration of the City Council other than the three trading departments has been in progress, and administratively and operationally they have been absorbed by various Government Ministries. This major administrative reform is in accordance with the pledge of the Party to bring about a smoother and more efficient public service to serve the people of the State. In the process, duplication of functions that had previously existed has been removed, and it is expected that in the long run economies will be effected and efficiency raised.

Sir, the Bill before the House is complementary to the Public Utilities Bill which was earlier moved for a Second Reading by the Prime Minister, and it provides for the transfer to the Government with retrospective effect from the 1st January, 1961, of all assets as well as liabilities and employees of the City Council and of the Rural Board other than those transferred to the Public Utilities Board for the running of water, gas, and electricity undertakings. These are contained in Part I of the Bill. It also enacts in Parts II to VI and VIII all provisions of the Local Government Ordinance, 1957, relating to streets, sewage, public health, etc . - matters which hitherto have been within the jurisdiction of the City Council and the Rural Board - and vests the necessary statutory powers in Government officers.

The only new legislation is in Part VII which establishes District Offices and gives certain powers to District Officers.

The enactment of this Bill will formally complete the Government's policy of integrating local authorities into the central administration. Since it is proposed to refer the Bill to Select Committee for closer examination and since the Explanatory Statement gives the objects and reasons of the Bill, I shall confine my remarks to two important aspects of the Bill: namely those concerning personnel and finance.

The Bill provides that all employees of the City Council who are not transferred to the Public Utilities Board shall be transferred to the service of the Government at the same rate of pay or as near as may be the same conditions of service as those on which they were employed by the City Council. Upon the coming into operation of this Ordinance, these employees will become Government servants and will legally be governed by Government regulations and by the Constitution. But it is our intention, in so far as salaries are concerned, that all serving employees on the permanent establishment of the City Council shall be allowed to retain, if they so desire, their existing salaries and salary scales on their transfer to the Government service.

With regard to other terms and conditions of service, it is hoped, in consultation with the Staff Unions concerned, to bring about a set of conditions of service that would be acceptable and which would be patterned on the terms and conditions now applicable to Government servants. It is envisaged that in the process certain minor adjustments and changes may be necessary.

The Bill also provides that persons transferred from the City Council who are already members of the Municipal Provident Fund will continue in membership of that Fund. In addition, such persons who are eligible for membership of the Fund at the time of transfer to the Government service will retain that eligibility. Officers of the City Council who are not members of the Municipal Provident Fund nor are eligible for membership thereof will be governed by the Pensions and Central Provident Fund Ordinances in every respect as they are applicable to Government servants. Persons appointed after the coming into force of this Bill will, of course, be governed by the Pensions Ordinance and the Central Provident Fund Ordinance. The management of the Municipal Provident Fund will be transferred to the Government together with all its assets and liabilities, and the accounts thereof will be kept by the Accountant-General. The assets and liabilities connected with the public loans of the City Council, including the sinking fund for those loans, are to be transferred to the Public Utilities Board under the Public Utilities Bill, but the Government will contribute to the Board in respect of those portions of outstanding public loans which were used to buy assets to be transferred to the Government under this Bill.

As I said earlier, the only new provision in this Bill is the establishment of District Offices. The principal function of District Officers is to ensure the adequacy of various services provided in the districts, to receive representations, and generally to act as liaison officers in the districts with respect to matters coming within their jurisdiction.

It is envisaged that certain functions and powers of the Government Ministries, in particular the Ministry of Health and the Public Works Department of the Ministry of National Development, will be delegated to the District Officers so that a more efficient and quicker service can be provided to the people in the rural areas.

This Bill will involve the Government in extra financial expenditure in the payment of salaries and operational expenses of various Government departments integrated with those of the Government. These expenses were formerly chargeable to the Municipal Provident Fund. The amounts cannot at present be fully ascertained but will be dependent on the services to be provided and improvement works to be carried out by the Government under the Ordinance. However, this extra financial expenditure is in reality not so for these services had in previous years been borne by the City Council and the Rural Board.

It is the Government's hope that when the administrative machinery of integration is fully implemented there should, over a period, be overall savings to the Government in that additional costs from duplication of functions and services will have been reduced, if not totally removed.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question proposed.

Mr Rajah: This Bill is namely a re-enacting Bill which is, at the same time, seeking to integrate the services now carried on statutorily under the Local Government Ordinance into the Government. As such, I have nothing much to say. But there are two or three provisions in this Bill which seem to involve questions of principle which I think I might raise straightaway.

Mr Speaker, Sir, under clause 2, the repeal of any Bill leaves any regulations under the Repeal Bill effective as law,

and there is a proviso which goes on to say:

`.... that the Minister may by order vary, amend, extend or revoke such subsidiary legislation so remaining in force or any part thereof as he thinks fit.'

You will notice, Mr Speaker, Sir, that the operative words there are "may by order". There is a provision to clause 182 for regulations. Under clause 182 - "The Minister may make Regulations...". And under sub-clause (7) of that clause - "All such regulations shall be published [and laid before the Assembly and the Assembly can take a certain line of action if it so desires]." The question I would like to ask the Minister is this, whether an order under clause 2 will be deemed to be a regulation under clause 182. If it is not, then it gives the Minister a whole host of powers to alter the law as he wishes without consulting the Assembly, or the Assembly being in any position to revoke that order made by the Minister. That is the first point. That seems to be a clause in derogation of the rights of the Assembly.

Now the terms of clause 9 are not understood. Normally when one service is being transferred to an existing service or two services are being integrated, the posts are held in the same way that they were before integration, and the persons holding the posts would hold those posts. But I seem to get the impression from this proviso that in some cases even the holders of the posts cannot hold the new "integrated" posts - if I may call it that without the approval of the Public Service Commission, unless I have misunderstood the provision. But it looks to me, on the first reading - or even the second and third readings - of this clause, that there may be posts coming into the Government in respect of which the approval of the Public Service Commission would be necessary before they can be confirmed insofar as the present holders are concerned. If my interpretation is correct it seems to be an unusual provision which has not been availed of before in respect of other services which have already been integrated.

The other provision which I am not clear about is the transfer to the Government of the assets and liabilities of the City Council and the Rural Board. Apparently, the assets which are to be transferred are at the end of the year 1960. I ask the Minister why at the end of the year 1960, and why not up to the time when integration takes place, because the City Council as such does, in fact, now exist and it must be holding assets now? So why the provision in clause 5 to the effect that it shall only take effect insofar as the assets of the Council as at 1960 are concerned?

Mr Speaker: Dr Goh, in reply.

Dr Goh Keng Swee: Sir, as regards clause 2 and clause 182, the position as I see it is this. In clause 2 (2) , the Minister is empowered to vary, amend, extend or revoke existing subsidiary legislation. I think the Member for Farrer Park agrees that this is a reasonable provision because, where by-laws and regulations have already passed and are now found to be working quite satisfactorily, there is no reason why they should be revoked and not allowed to continue.

Now the point he has made in respect of clause 182 is that he thinks in some way or the other the jurisdiction of the Assembly would be restricted in respect of ---

Mr Rajah: On a point of explanation.

Dr Goh Keng Swee: Yes.

Mr Rajah: Sir, I am not saying that the Minister should not have that power. By all means, let him have that power. All I say is that once he acts under clause 2, then such an order should come within the ambit of clause 182 (7) . That is all I say.

Dr Goh Keng Swee: I think the point the Member for Farrer Park is making is worth looking into in Select Committee. If, in fact, the objections to the Bill as it now stands which he has raised cannot be overcome, then I think the Select Committee will certainly look into the matter.

Now as regards the proviso to sub-clause (1) of clause 9, I think this is really a requirement which follows on the Singapore Constitution in that certain posts in the Government service can only be filled by the Yang di-Pertuan Negara acting on the advice of the Public Service Commission, and on integration certain posts which were formerly in the City Council are now part of the Government establishment and as such the incumbents must be approved by the Public Service Commission.

As regards the date of the transfer of the assets, we have decided on the end of 1960, the reason being that the effective date of integration will be 1st January, 1961. Therefore, it does seem to me that 31st December, 1960, gives the correct date on which assets should be listed as value for the purpose of transfer.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time.

Dr Goh Keng Swee: I beg to move,

That the Bill be referred to a Select Committee consisting of Mr Speaker as Chairman and such Members as may be nominated by the Committee of Selection.

Mr Speaker: Does the Minister not consider that the same Committee appointed to look into the Public Utilities Bill could very well look into this Bill, or does he require a different Committee?

Dr Goh Keng Swee: The same.

Mr Speaker: Then the motion will be that the Bill be referred to the Select Committee to which the Public Utilities Bill has been committed by this Assembly.

Committed to the Select Committee to which the Public Utilities Bill has been committed by the Assembly. -[Dr Goh Keng Swee].