The Geylang Serai Ramadan Bazaar is a yearly event that draws in huge crowds of people in Singapore. However, this year’s event faced controversy when it was revealed that the organization behind it, the People’s Association, outsourced the task to a private company for a hefty sum of S$2.26 million. Many were left questioning the ethics and necessity of such an outsourcing, and the implications it may have on the future of the beloved bazaar. In this article, we delve deeper into the issue and explore the various perspectives surrounding it.
Controversy arose regarding the high rental costs of the Geylang Serai Ramadan Bazaar in Singapore, drawing complaints from both stallholders and members of the public. The bazaar is organised byWisma Geylang Serai, the social and cultural heritage hub in Geylang Serai led by the People’s Association. Reports stated how some vendors struggled with the high bids needed to secure a space, with rent ranging from S$15,000 to S$30,000 for one unit for food and beverage stalls. Food stalls promised exclusivity on ‘Kebab’ and ‘Burger’ food sellers were offered at a higher rent than other F&B stalls. However, some of the stallholders regretted taking up a booth. One of the Kebab sellers, Mr Hasan, said, “We’re all losing money. (We) cannot cover costs, cannot even cover rent.”
Besides the high rent, stallholders also have to pay for power points, sinks, lights, and tables from the organisers. Nearly 30% of the 700 stalls at the bazaar were reported to be empty. To fill the vacant stalls, the organisers offered a solution by allowing businesses that are unable to pay the rental fee in full upfront to instead pay a percentage of their sales to the organisers after the event concludes.
The operating right to the annual Ramadan Bazaar was tendered out in November last year. A consortium of three companies, S-Lite Event Support, TLK Trade Fair and Events, and Enniche Global Trading, won the bid at an award value of S$2.26 million, the second highest bid of the seven.
The tender document does not regulate the pricing of the stalls, but it does set limits on the number of food stalls that can be established at 80 and 70 for the two designated bazaar sites. Additionally, it specifies that at least 60% of the food stalls should sell Hari Raya/Ramadhan traditional food, and at least 80% of non-food stalls should offer items associated with the traditional festival. There are no restrictions on the number of non-live cooked food stalls.
Although WGS was listed as the organising authority for the bazaar, the winning tenderer was responsible for running most, if not all, of the event and paying the tendered amount to the grassroots organisation. On top of providing manpower to oversee the operation of the bazaar, the operator had to comply with instructions and requirements of the Authority and relevant government authorities, obtain and maintain all necessary permits, and ensure that all stallholders also obtained and maintained requisite permits. The operator was also required to bear all costs, fees, expenses, charges, and payments in connection with the Tender and the Fair, including permits/licenses, rent, utilities, services, security, pest control, and other fees imposed by relevant authorities.
The consortium told CNA that the costs of setting up the bazaar came up to nearly S$2.5 million this year. This is on top of the amount that they have to pay WGS. These indicate that WGS essentially received the S$2.26 million by issuing the tender without doing anything else.
