Lawmakers have questioned the need to create three more positions in the office of Hong Kong’s leader amid the budget deficit, but an official has stressed the roles will support a “new culture” of better informing the public about policies.
The planned recruitment involved two information officers and a driver, who will cost taxpayers HK$2.66 million (US$342,000) annually in total.
The budget for the Chief Executive’s Office reached HK$130 million this year, after increasing by 7.8 per cent, or HK$9.2 million, over the previous year, surpassing the average spending hike of other government departments.
“Is [the hire] in line with the financial secretary’s call for everyone to endure the difficult time together?” lawmaker Tik Chi-yuen said during a Legislative Council finance committee meeting on Monday.
“Shouldn’t the Chief Executive’s Office set an example? Which department doesn’t have more work to do? … They all reduced manpower.”
Tik was referring to finance chief Paul Chan Mo-po’s budget address delivered in February, in which the minister said 10,000 civil service jobs would be axed by 2027 and the government would cut spending by 7 per cent over the coming three years to help reduce the HK$87.2 billion deficit.
But Kevin Choi, permanent secretary from the Chief Executive’s Office, sought to justify the new positions by noting the operation was relatively small with about 100 staff members.
