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Following is the speech by the Acting Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service, Ms Anissa Wong, at the Opening Ceremony of the Exhibition on Outstanding Customer Service today (February 20):
Dear Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Welcome to the opening ceremony of the Exhibition on Outstanding Customer Service organised by the Civil Service Bureau today.
For the fourth consecutive year, the Civil Service Bureau launches the Civil Service Customer Service Award Scheme in recognition of the outstanding performance of government departments and civil servants in customer service. In parallel, we have organized this exhibition to enhance public understanding of the services provided by government departments. This year, 48 departments have taken part to demonstrate our fine tradition of providing quality service to the public.
In recent months, civil service pay has hit the headlines and attracted wide discussions among various sectors of the community. In fact, evaluation of the civil service should not be based on its pay level but should be made in the context of its overall performance, particularly the efficiency and standard in the delivery of public services. A clean and efficient civil service is essential to every community because it is the foundation upon which stability and prosperity are built and steady development is made.
The Chief Executive reiterated in this year's Policy Address that the civil service is one of the fundamental strengths of Hong Kong. According to a professional and comprehensive opinion poll we commissioned last October, over 70% of the respondents were satisfied with the performance and service attitude of civil servants, and almost 80% considered that, when compared with the pre-1997 level, the standard of our performance remained unchanged or even improved. I am confident that these findings also reflect what members of the public think and feel about civil servants in their day-to-day contact with various departments.
Apart from members of the participating departments, many more civil servants are working diligently. Their full dedication and strong commitment have been the driving force behind our continuous improvement to public service. I hope that in the days to come, all of us will continue to give our best and pursue excellence in service delivery.
Once again, I would like to extend my warm welcome to you. May I also remind you to cast your vote for the most impressive booth and respond to the survey after the visit as a token of your support and encouragement to our colleagues who have worked very hard in organising the exhibition.
Thank you very much.
End/Thursday, February 20, 2003
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