Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa formally unveiled the framework of the accountability system for principal officials -- to be launched on July 1 -- to members of the Legislative Council Wednesday.
The new echelon comprises the Chief Secretary for Administration (CS), Financial Secretary (FS), Secretary for Justice and 11 policy secretaries. All 14 officials must report to Tung.
The post of Secretary for the Civil Service, though a political appointment, will be filled by a senior civil servant to make sure that the stability, professionalism and political neutrality of the civil service are preserved.
All the officials will be appointed on five-year terms, and the Chief Executive has the authority to nominate them and terminate their contracts when necessary.
They will all sit on the Executive Council and participate in policy- and decision-making.
The present ExCo Secretariat will be transferred to the Chief Executive's Office to facilitate the decision-making process in the ExCo.
The position of Information Coordinator, who serves as Tung's spokesman, will be re-titled Director of the Chief Executive's Office to oversee the work of the ExCo Secretariat and continue to work with the media.
In his address, Tung brushed aside fears that too much power will be concentrated in the Chief Executive's hands.
The Basic Law provides that the Chief Executive is the head of the Hong Kong SAR government and it is up to the Chief Executive to determine how to delegate his authority according to his policy agenda, he said.
"As the Basic Law has already conferred all necessary powers to the Chief Executive, there is no need for these powers to be strengthened by the new system," Tung said.
"In fact, the Chief Executive will be devolving his authority to all 14 officials, so that in assuming responsibility for their respective portfolios, they will have the authority to formulate, coordinate and implement policies."
The Chief Executive will continue to rely on the CS and FS to oversee and coordinate the work of the policy bureaux.
They will also coordinate the work of important policy agendas and priorities set by the Chief Executive and ExCo respectively, Tung said.
In the past year or so, the CS has overseen Guangdong/Hong Kong cooperation and major infrastructure coordination, while the FS has been in charge of discussions with the mainland on the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement.
Tung said: "This method will not be changed following the introduction of the accountability system. But the role of the ExCo will be enhanced as the CS and FS will chair certain ExCo sub-committees to pre-examine proposals to be submitted to ExCo."
On selecting a senior civil servant to be the new Secretary for the Civil Service, Tung said this will guarantee that new principal officials have a full understanding and appreciation of the civil service structure and system.
Since the appointee will be a member of the ExCo, they will be able to represent the interests of civil servants in the highest level of policy decisions.
He stressed that the checks and balances for the government will not diminish after the launch of the new system.
"The Legislative Council will continue to play the same important role in holding the government accountable," Tung said.
(China Daily April 18, 2002)
