Hong Kong’s government is expected to announce next month the results of its investigation into a bottled water scandal that rocked the city and disciplinary action against those officials involved after confirming that the probe has been completed. The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, which set up a task force to probe the scandal…
A new accountability system for senior civil servants aims to strengthen the fitness of government departments and raise public trust in authorities, Hong Kong’s leader has said. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu told a radio programme on Saturday that the measure would push department heads to consistently look for areas for improvement, likening the practice…
Hong Kong’s senior civil servants will be subject to a new mechanism to hold them accountable for underperformance, with dismissal as the maximum penalty. Announcing the new “Heads of Department Accountability System” in his annual policy address, the chief executive later dismissed concerns that the move might deter senior servants. “If they think like that,…
Hong Kong’s senior civil servants will be subject to a new mechanism to hold them accountable for underperformance, with dismissal as the maximum penalty. Announcing the new “Heads of Department Accountability System” in his annual policy address, the chief executive later dismissed concerns that the move might deter senior servants. “If they think like that,…
Hong Kong’s leader has delivered a comprehensive policy blueprint pushing for further economic reforms by expediting key infrastructure projects and doubling down on the city’s competitive strengths, while also improving livelihoods, notably charting more paths to home ownership. In a wide-ranging speech that left no stone unturned, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu vowed to entice…
Hong Kong’s leader will introduce a mechanism to hold senior civil servants accountable for their misconduct in his policy blueprint, targeting incidents such as a recent bottled water supply scandal, the Post has learned. But political observers have warned of a possible pushback from civil servants concerned about job security, while recommending the government implement…
Hong Kong should be very concerned about the recent flurry of cases involving misbehaviour in the construction industry. It would be too easy to write them off as isolated incidents when they could just as easily be straw in the wind, indicating a serious underlying malaise. One high-profile case is the Anderson Road quarry redevelopment…
It is quite unimaginable that Hong Kong continues to struggle with basic necessities such as water. However, that is the case, at least when it comes to the government. Ten years ago, opposition lawmaker Helena Wong Pik-wan found excessive levels of lead in drinking water that was later discovered to have affected 11 public housing…
Hong Kong’s treasury chief has dismissed calls to set up a separate commission of inquiry to investigate officials’ roles in a bottled water procurement scandal, arguing that the government’s auditors will be able to identify lapses in a “professional and independent” manner. Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu, the head of…
A vague public apology and blaming a procedural “flaw” have failed to quell public discontent over the government’s water procurement scandal, political analysts have said, urging Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu to accelerate developing a civil servant accountability system. Analysts made the call on Friday as the government said that the central tender board,…