In Parliament on Monday, DPM Tharman said that the government is putting more emphasis on the supervision and oversight of procurement procedures in the public service.
Now, permanent secretaries and heads of government agencies must actively oversee procurements and conduct internal audits. They must also report to the Ministry of Finance each year regarding the audits.
Tharman talked about how procurements are likely to grow and diversify further in the future and reiterated the importance of creating proper plans to avoid weakness in the future.
He said that the system of checks and balances worked as a whole and it was not only about having proper rules for procurement but also about having regular audits.
The need to met out disciplinary action for lapses is also important in keeping the integrity of the procurement process.
Tharman's statements are particularly important as a series of financial lapses have recently come to light in the public sector.
This includes the high-profile case of Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong misappropriating more than $1.7million from the CPIB accounts as well as the Auditor-General Office's report highlighting procurement lapses in many government agencies.
Talking further about the AGO report, Tharman insisted that the lapses were not due to gaps in the rules, but were rather due to a lack of compliance with the rules.
He also highlighted that most of the lapses were found to have occurred before the government enforced stricter rules last year.
Tharman said that Singapore's system as a whole is working, citing factors such as our international recognition for having one of the most 'clean and efficient' systems of government.
However, Tharman also explained that the rules are still regularly reviewed and top management must set the right tone.