News

Growing up, I saw the town council as an entity which made living in a Housing Board estate easier, and kept the surroundings clean to make life happier for residents. However, in recent times, I am starting to see some cracks beneath the facade. It seems the town council is heavily dependent on complaints and feedback to get things done. In my estate, I do not see the cleaner coming by as often as before. Town councils should work towards becoming more proactive when they do their rounds to check on the estate’s condition and see how they can improve the lives of residents. By walking in the shoes of residents, they would be able to notice the things residents do, for instance, if there is dog poo in a certain area, if riser cabinets are filled with clutter, or if a wall has mould or dirt. They could then implement solutions, and follow up regularly to ascertain if the solutions are working or if they need to take other steps to rectify the issue. While town council meetings with Residents’ Networks are good for garnering feedback, it would be better if the town council takes the initiative to catch problems before they become major issues, rather than merely react to complaints. There are certainly some town councils that do fantastic jobs and go above and beyond their duties. All town councils should have a set of common standards to set and manage expectations, such as how often block cleaning will be done.