Act of Parliament · 1985 Revised Edition · 1 part
Local Government Integration Act
Feedback & supportMoving certain council and rural board functions to the GovernmentPart I
Preliminary
Official textFrom Singapore Statutes Online, unchanged
s 1Short title
This Act may be cited as the Local Government Integration Act.
Any scheme, contract, document, licence, permission or resolution prepared, made, granted or approved under the Municipal Ordinance [1936 Ed. Cap. 133], the Local Government Ordinance 1957 [24/57] and the Burials Ordinance [1955 Ed. Cap. 212], shall, except where otherwise expressly provided in this Act or in any other written law, continue and be deemed to have been prepared, made, granted or approved, as the case may be, under this Act.
Notwithstanding the repeal of the Municipal Ordinance, the Local Government Ordinance 1957 and the Burials Ordinance, any subsidiary legislation made under those Ordinances, so far as it relates to matters falling within the scope of this Act and is not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, shall remain in force within the respective areas of Singapore affected by that subsidiary legislation prior to the repeal of those Ordinances and shall have the force of regulations made under this Act until it has been revoked or replaced by subsidiary legislation issued or made under this Act:Provided that the Minister may by regulations made under section 92 vary, amend, extend or revoke such subsidiary legislation so remaining in force or any part thereof as he thinks fit.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —
“aerial sign” means any sign, representation, communication or advertisement visible against the sky from any street or public place or any sound audible therefrom made, exhibited or displayed by or by means of an aircraft or other means not attached to premises other than a sign, representation, communication or sound made, exhibited, displayed or used for the purposes of aerial navigation;
“annual value” means annual value within the meaning of the Property Tax Act [Cap. 254];
“arcade” includes verandah;
“building” includes any house, hut, shed or roofed enclosure, whether used for the purpose of a human habitation or otherwise, and also any wall, fence, platform, staging, gate, post, pillar, paling, frame, hoarding, slip, dock, wharf, pier, jetty, landing-stage or bridge, or any structure, support or foundation connected to the foregoing;
“Building Authority” means the Deputy Director-General (Development and Building Control) of the Public Works Department;
“City Council” means the City Council of Singapore originally incorporated by Indian Act No. 27 of 1857 and incorporated under and by virtue of the Municipal (Elections—Amendment) Ordinance 1948 [29/48] with the status of a City conferred by Royal Charter dated 24th July 1951 and as constituted under section 6 of the Local Government Ordinance 1957 [24/57];
“competent authority” means any competent authority appointed under section 3 of the Planning Act [Cap. 232].
“dwelling-house” includes a building or tenement wholly or principally used, constructed or adapted for use for human habitation;
“footway” includes footways and verandah-ways at the sides of streets;
“holding” means any piece or parcel of land held or possessed under an instrument of title, capable of being registered under the Registration of Deeds Act [Cap. 269], or where applicable under the Land Titles Act [Cap. 157], relating exclusively thereto;
“house” includes dwelling-house, warehouse, office, counting-house, shop, school, and any other building in which persons are employed;
“Municipal Provident Fund” means the Municipal Provident Fund established by the City Council under the provisions of the Municipal Ordinance [1936 Ed. Cap. 133] and continued and deemed to have been established under the Local Government Ordinance 1957 [24/57];
“occupier” means the person in occupation of the premises in respect of which the word is used or having the charge, management or control thereof either on his own account or as agent of another person, but does not include a lodger;
“owner” means the person for the time being receiving the rent of the premises in connection with which the word is used whether on his own account or as agent or trustee for any other person or as receiver or who would receive the rent if the premises were let to a tenant and shall for the purposes of section 40 include a mortgagee not in possession and includes the person whose name is entered in the Valuation List authenticated under section 15 of the Property Tax Act [Cap. 254];
“port” means the port within the meaning of the Port of Singapore Authority Act [Cap. 236];
“premises” includes messuages, houses, buildings, lands, tenements, easements and hereditaments of any tenure, whether open or enclosed, whether built on or not, whether public or private, and whether maintained or not under statutory authority;
“private street” means any street not being a public street;
“public bridge” means a bridge which carries a public street;
“public street” means any street over which the public has a right of way which was usually repaired or maintained by the City Council or the Rural Board before the commencement of this Act or which has been transferred to or has become vested in the Government under this Act or in any other manner;
“Public Utilities Board” means the Public Utilities Board established by section 3 of the Public Utilities Act [Cap. 261];
“regular line of street” means a line of street shown on the Master Plan as defined in the Planning Act [Cap. 232], and includes a regular line of street prescribed by the Singapore Improvement Trust under the Singapore Improvement Ordinance [1955 Ed. Cap. 259] and before 1st July 1927 by the Municipal Commissioners of the Town of Singapore;
“Rural Board” means the Rural Board, Singapore, constituted under the Municipal Ordinance [1936 Ed. Cap. 133];
“Singapore Improvement Trust” means the Singapore Improvement Trust constituted under the Singapore Improvement Ordinance;
“sky-sign” means any erection consisting of a frame, hoarding, board, bar, pillar, post, wire or any combination of such things, or any erection of a like nature, or any visible object which floats or is kept in position by wire or other flexible attachment, displayed for the purposes of trade or professional advertisement in such a position as to be conspicuously visible against the sky above the general level of the roofs of surrounding buildings from any street or public place;
“street” includes any road, square, footway or passage, whether a thoroughfare or not, over which the public has a right of way, and also the way over any public bridge, and also includes any road, footway or passage, open court or open alley, used or intended to be used as a means of access to two or more holdings, whether the public has a right of way thereover or not; and all channels, drains, ditches and reserves at the side of any street shall be deemed to be part of the street;
“street works” includes work of sewering, levelling, paving, metalling, flagging, kerbing, channelling, draining, lighting, laying of water, gas or electricity services and otherwise the making good a street or part of the street;
“trade effluent” means the water-borne waste of any trade, business or manufacture;
“Treasury” means the Minister charged with responsibility for finance and includes any officer under the administrative control or direction of the Minister.
In any written law and in any document whatsoever, unless the context otherwise requires, any reference to a local authority or the City Council or the Rural Board or any officer thereof, shall be construed as a reference to the Government, Minister or public officer for the time being, under and by virtue of this Act, discharging the functions performed by such local authority, the City Council, Rural Board or any officer thereof, as the case may be, prior to the commencement of this Act.
s 4Exemption
The Minister may by order published in the Gazette exempt any area or place from the operation of this Act or of any provision thereof.
Upon the commencement of this Act, all lands, buildings and other property, movable and immovable, of the City Council and of the Rural Board, including all assets, powers, rights, interests and privileges as well as debts, liabilities and obligations in connection therewith or appertaining thereto, other than those vested in and held by the City Council —
for the purposes of the water, gas and electricity undertakings of the City Council as defined in section 39 of the Public Utilities Act [Cap. 261]; and
in respect of all loans raised by the City Council by the issue of debenture stock and in respect of any other loans raised by the City Council for the purposes of the water, gas and electricity undertakings of the City Council under the provisions of the Municipal Ordinance [1936 Ed. Cap. 133] or of the Local Government Ordinance 1957 [24/57] including the sinking funds created for the redemption of such loans,shall be deemed to have been transferred to and vested in the Government without further assurance, if it was vested in and held by the City Council or the Rural Board on 31st December 1960, on 1st January 1961, and if it was acquired by the City Council or the Rural Board after 31st December 1960, on the date of commencement of this Act.
If any question arises as to which of the properties, movable or immovable, have been transferred to and vested in the Government under subsection (1), a certificate under the hand of the Minister shall be conclusive evidence of the vesting of such property, movable or immovable, in the Government.
The Minister for Finance may, by notification in the Gazette, direct that any of the assets and liabilities so deemed to have been transferred to and vested in the Government shall be transferred to and vested in the Public Utilities Board and they shall be vested in the Board with effect from the date specified in the direction.
In respect of the movable or immovable property transferred to the Government under this section —
any proceedings pending immediately before the commencement of this Act —
against the City Council or the Rural Board may be continued and enforced against the Government in the name of the City Council or the Rural Board, as the case may be, and the proceedings shall, if continued, comply with the provisions of the Government Proceedings Act [Cap. 121]; and
by the City Council or the Rural Board may be continued and enforced by the Government in the name of the City Council or the Rural Board, as the case may be, and the proceedings, if continued, shall, notwithstanding the provisions of the Government Proceedings Act, be continued and enforced in accordance with the provisions of any written law and the rules of practice and procedure in force relating to proceedings between private persons; and
any matter or cause of action existing immediately before the commencement of this Act by or against the City Council or the Rural Board may be continued and enforced by or against the Government in accordance with the provisions of any written law and the practice and procedure in force relating to proceedings by or against the Government.
All public streets, public sewers, public canals, public surface and storm water drains and public bridges and the pavements, stones and other materials thereof, and also all erections, materials, implements and other things provided for them shall be vested in the Government for the purposes of this Act.
The Minister may declare by notification in the Gazette that any unnavigable river or stream outside the limits of the port, together with such means of access thereto and along the same as are set forth in the declaration, is required for the purposes of this Act, and thereupon the river or stream including its bed specified in the declaration and the land forming that means of access shall become vested in the Government and shall be maintained and cleaned at the expense of the Government.
The Government shall make full compensation to the owner of any land for any damage which the owner sustains by reason of any such declaration as in subsection (2) mentioned and, if any dispute arises touching the amount of compensation, it shall be ascertained in the manner hereinafter provided:Provided that the owner shall not be entitled to any compensation for such damage under any other written law for the time being in force.
s 7Property in lamps, etc.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Part IV of the Public Utilities Act [Cap. 261], the property of and in all the lamps, lamp-irons, lamp-posts, posts, chains, poles and rails in, about or belonging to all public streets and public bridges and of and in all iron, timber, stone, bricks and other materials and furniture and things belonging thereto and of and in all public standpipes except when it is otherwise regulated by contract with the Government, shall be deemed to have been transferred to and vested in the Government with effect from such date not earlier than 1st January 1961 as may be directed by the Minister for Finance.
If any person wilfully removes, destroys or damages any property belonging to the Government by virtue of this Act or acquired by the Government for the purposes thereof, or hinders or prevents such property from being used or operated in the manner in which it is intended to be used or operated, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 and a Magistrate’s Court may order him to pay compensation to the Government for any damage done by him.
Any private person may apprehend any person who in his view commits an offence under this section and shall on such apprehension without unreasonable delay hand over the person so apprehended to a police officer.
Any person who carelessly or accidentally removes, destroys or damages any property belonging to the Government by virtue of this Act or acquired by the Government for purposes thereof, or hinders or prevents such property from being used or operated in the manner in which it is intended to be used or operated shall pay by way of compensation to the Government such sum of money not exceeding $1,000 as a Magistrate’s Court thinks reasonable. Nothing in this subsection shall prevent the Government from taking legal proceedings for the recovery of the full amount of the damage caused by such person.
Upon the commencement of this Act, every person in the employment of the City Council who is not deemed to have been transferred to the service of the Public Utilities Board under section 42 of the Public Utilities Act [Cap. 261] shall be deemed to be transferred to the service of the Government at the same rate of pay and, as near as may be, on the same conditions of service as those on which he was employed by the City Council:Provided that in respect of those persons whose appointment to the public service is required by the Constitution to be made by the Public Service Commission, their transfer shall be subject to the approval of the Commission.
The service under the City Council of every person transferred to the service of the Government under this section shall be deemed to have been service under the Government for the purposes and subject to the provisions of the Pensions Act [Cap. 225].