Local council transparency: Try this

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I wonder how many of our local councils can achieve this level of transparency.

A billboard in Auckland - Photo courtesy of S H Tan

We still have a long way to go. Even in the CAT land of Penang, the MPPP (the council for Penang Island) still does not put up its annual budget on its website for public view. It only has the annual accounts.

When I enquired with the MPPP when it would be displaying its budget on its website, I received a reply saying sedang buat kajian about the possibility of displaying it.

I then asked them how long this kajian would last.

No reply.

The MPSP (the council for mainland Penang), on the other hand, has its budget for 2010 up and its annual report for 2009, but even then its not easy to find the actual or budgeted surplus or deficit. It won’t be easily evident to the layperson looking up the website. Try it and see.

To win the confidence of the public, local councils should show their summarised and detailed results and budgets in and easy to read and even graphical format.

Hotline or complaint numbers must also be prominently displayed and publicised all over the state.

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kingkomg
kingkomg
28 Dec 2010 7.38pm

About the signbard, it is just a council signborad to promotes its name. Missing is who are the engineers, project managers and contractors and the NAME OF THE PERSON INCHARGE? If there is anything to complain about the site condition and who to see – Who is the person? Is it a real person or a big chimpazee that is managing the project. If any issue, it should raise with the person incharge of the site and if cannot be resloved, then it should be reported to AUCKLAND COUNCIL.

Hazami
Hazami
28 Dec 2010 6.41pm

Many BN project signange did not include the date of completion of project – thus allowing delay, and more payment to the ali baba contractors.

Labu Labi
Labu Labi
30 Dec 2010 8.25am
Reply to  Hazami

yes, they are practising shifting KPI.

CPL
CPL
28 Dec 2010 4.49pm

Displaying the project value is of no use if the project is over valued. I am sure we know the value of most projects and that most are over valued

semuanya OK kot
semuanya OK kot
28 Dec 2010 3.10pm

Local elections are a fundamental requirement, not a luxury. Next, the Senate should either be elected or disbanded.

Barisan Neraka is responsible for replacing democracy with its feudal Ketuanan… – personal and public losses, incompetence, degradation, destruction, violence and above all, hypocrisy.

banana
banana
28 Dec 2010 12.44pm

Wasn’t our PM (then DPM) being transparent when during the last GE, there was a prominent photo of him with his daughter in one of our dailies on board an RMAF plane after going to Pekan (I think) to campaign for his Party?

Ong Eu Soon
28 Dec 2010 10.59am

Form not ready! That will be the answer. What transparency? Pakatan dare not publicly declared the asset of it’s legislators 100 days after takeover Putrajaya!

Sundram J
Sundram J
28 Dec 2010 9.11am

For accountability & transparency, please (especially those MIC fleers) learn from SIVAJI THE BOSS, currently shown free-of-charge on Astro Fiesta (Channel 994) til 2 Jan 2011.

wandererAUS
wandererAUS
28 Dec 2010 7.24am

They say, “Half a loaf is better than no loaf” PR govt only took over the running of the State of Penang for about 3 years. Try asking the BN State govts?…how transparent they were after more than haf a century being State admintrators!
As long as UMNO/BN corrupted jerks are still voted in, there will be no transparency…if it is a PR govt, there is a strong psossiblity but, I will not lay my complete bet on it.

Yang
Yang
28 Dec 2010 7.01am

Looking at the bill board, this is what the Penang Council has also been doing that, in fact with more details.

The Tank
The Tank
28 Dec 2010 2.40am

NZ not just GREEN, CLEAN (air & of corruptions) as well.

kongkong
kongkong
28 Dec 2010 12.54am

FYI a former NZ Minister Pansy Wong also tender her resignation for partially abuse as her husband use a trip for his own business. What a joke when Gerakan/Umno Ex MB can go to Dizzyland with his whole family plus the maid w/o any problem and MCCA is blind as compare to the recent nab on 2 Penang Civil Servants

Jefri Mamak
Jefri Mamak
28 Dec 2010 5.21am
Reply to  kongkong

Well said. Wonder why MACC still does not investigate that Pek Mor of Sarawak?

Andrew I
Andrew I
28 Dec 2010 9.22am
Reply to  kongkong

Well, how can we put it, some people are not so thick-skinned.

There are also people who boast about how much money they have. Usually, the ones who are really rich do not feel the need to tell the world. They prefer their education, manners and social etiquette to do the talking.

The ones who boast have one huge inferiority complex.

Pendatang
Pendatang
27 Dec 2010 11.04pm

Not surprising to see a notice that this in NZ. That’s why NZ got one of the best governments in the world in term of transparency. I remember a case where a government minister was made to resign just over taking a test drive of a new government car not assigned for his use. In NZ, if a minister uses a government car for private use like sending his kids to school, would be made to resign. And if a private citizen writes to a government department even over a trivial matter, he or she can expects an immediate official… Read more »