********************************************

The Treasury will accomplish a 5 per cent cut in its recurrent baseline operating expenses in 2000-01 with the implementation of a series of initiatives under the "Enhanced Productivity Programme(EPP)", also a long-term operational target for the department.

The Director of Accounting Services, Mr Shum Man-to, said today (Monday) that the department had embarked on a range of cost-cutting measures since 1999-2000. This will result in total savings of about $17 million by the end of 2000/01, which represents about 5 per cent of the department's operating expenses.

Those EPP initiatives undertaken are as follows:

(1) Services adjusted according to demand and usage: re-organising the Sub-Treasuries and the Postal Remittance Office in view of the continuous drop in number of government bills settled by mail/over-the-counter.

(2) More effective use of technological knowhow: promoting a wider use of electronic means to settle government bills e.g. by phone, auto-pay or via automated teller machines so as to reduce workload of the Sub-Treasuries and the Postal Remittance Office.

(3) Work process re-engineered: decentralizing the double checking of payment vouchers, and the procurement of government air passages to individual departments.

(4) Existing work procedures reviewed and streamlined: those areas reviewed include the disbursement of passages and education allowances, financial management and internal audit.

(5) Expenses of overtime allowances reduced: staff taking time offs in lieu of overtime allowances, and temporary staff employed to cope with additional workload during busy periods.

As a result, a total of 49 posts, representing about 6 per cent of the departmental establishment, has been deleted. This has been made possible through natural wastage or staff redeployment, with the agreement of relevant Heads of Grades. The resultant savings are mainly in expenditure on staff renumeration, with the rest in spending on allowances and other departmental expenses.

"In carrying out the various EPP measures, the Treasury will ensure there are sufficient measures to maintain the quality of service," Mr Shum said.

"We would provide suitable training and guidance to staff to cope with the revised and streamlined work procedures. The performance of temporary staff will be closely monitored to ensure that services thus provided are up to the standard required. We would also ensure that the staff released as a result of the implementation of EPP measures will be properly redeployed," Mr Shum added.

Despite an early achievement of the EPP target of 5 per cent ahead of 2002-03, Mr Shum said EPP is not a one-off exercise for the department. "Indeed, the EPP is a long-term operating target for the department. We are committed to the objectives of proper allocation of resources and optimal cost-effectivenss in government spending," Mr Shum stressed.

End/Monday, March 6, 2000

NNNN