Sengkang Town Council Works With IT Vendor To Fix Management System
UPDATE (29 Oct, 2.30pm): Sengkang Town Council posted on Facebook that residents were able to make S&CC cash and cheque payments since 8am on Thursday (29 Oct).
However, residents using AXS, SAM or online banking should pay via alternative methods. Residents paying via GIRO or recurring credit card arrangements don’t have to take any action. It thanked residents for their patience and understanding.
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The brand-new Sengkang Town Council (SKTC) finally started management of the estate on Wednesday (28 Oct), more than 3 months after the Workers’ Party (WP) scored a stunning upset victory in GE2020.
The first day of their operations should have been filled with promise of the dawn of great things to come.
However, as with many new efforts, some teething problems will be encountered. For SKTC, it’s their IT systems.
It has updated residents in a Facebook post, saying that the Town Council Management System was not fully working despite the IT vendor saying it would.
Configurations not in place
According to the statement sent on Wednesday (28 Oct) night, SKTC staff found out at 8am on that day that configurations for the front end collection systems were “not in place”.
Thus, they were not able to receive cash payments for Service and Conservancy Charges (S&CC).
This was the case up till 6pm of their 1st day of operations.
IT vendor had assured SKTC of functionality
The problem emerged even though the IT vendor for the Town Council Management System (TCMS) had assured SKTC that it would be functional by 28 Oct.
SKTC also said that it had been “actively engaging” the IT vendor even before the handover, so that IT services would continue smoothly when SKTC took over.
201A Compassvale Drive, one of the affected estates.
Source
SKTC apologises for inconvenience
SKTC apologised for the inconvenience caused to residents.
It’s working with the IT vendor to get the TCMS back in operation, it said.
More updates will be provided when possible.
Read SKTC’s full statement here:
SKTC took over 2 offices
As SKTC took over areas formerly under Pasir Ris-Punggol and Ang Mo Kio town councils, Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council’s 2 offices within Sengkang were also handed over to SKTC.
They’re located in Block 266, Compassvale Bow and Block 156A, Rivervale Crescent.
Residents were supposed to be able to make cash payments of their S&CC at these new offices — however, with the IT system issues, this won’t be possible for the time being.
Arrangements were also made such that residents who pay their S&CC via GIRO or other similar payment methods would not be disrupted, so it’s unclear whether these residents will be affected by the latest IT problems or not.
Initial hiccups aren’t surprising
SKTC is a new town council for a new constituency, which took over the operations of 2 town councils led by a different political party.
Hence, it’s not surprising that there might be some initial hiccups, especially with external vendors.
SKTC has already pledged to faithfully serve their residents, so let’s hope it will resolve the IT issues soon.
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Featured image adapted from Facebook and Facebook.
