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The following is issued on behalf of The Office of The Ombudsman:
The Office of The Ombudsman is celebrating the 10th Anniversary of The Ombudsman's Awards with more than 140 officers from various Government departments and public organisations at Langham Hotel today (September 20).
The Inland Revenue Department won the 10-year award while the Hong Kong Housing Society, Hongkong Post and Planning Department received prizes for the year. The Ombudsman, Ms Alice Tai, JP, officiated and presented the awards to the winning departments/organisations and public officers.
The Ombudsman urges Government departments and public organisations to view complaints with an open mind and a fair approach, and at the same time, process complaints with a firm and fair hand, responsive yet responsible attitude. "All complaints offer a reminder for review and where appropriate for improvement. On the other hand, yielding to unreasonable demands to avoid argument with complainants is not good service, not to the client and certainly not to the organisation itself. It is just unthinking surrender that may encourage abuse, unfair advantage or worse, even disrespect for the authorities," said Ms Tai.
The Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS), Hongkong Post and the Planning Department won the awards this year. They achieved excellence in building effective internal administrative systems for quality public service, professionalism in handling complaints, and commitment to improving services to the public. They also actively supported the Ombudsman's investigations and contributed to fostering a positive complaint culture. The Grand Award was presented to the HKHS in recognition of its outstanding performance.
This year, in celebration of the 10th Anniversary of these awards, The Office of The Ombudsman presented a special "10-Year Grand Award" to the organisation with continuously outstanding performance in complaint-handling over the past decade. The award went to Inland Revenue Department (IRD), which has received The Ombudsman's Award in 1997, 1998, 2001 and 2005. The IRD was presented with a commendation in the calligraphy of Fine Arts Faculty lecturer at The Chinese University, Mr Wong Shiu Hin. The phrase "without fear or favour" is meant not only to commend the Inland Revenue Department on their track record but also to encourage them to go from strength to strength.
The Ombudsman Awards Scheme, launched in 1997, is now an annual event. In 1999, the scheme was extended to individual public officers who make significant contributions towards a fair, open, accountable and efficient public administration in the course of performing their duties. Nominations are made by heads of departments and organisations listed under the Schedule of The Ombudsman Ordinance and assessed by a selection panel chaired by the Deputy Ombudsman. In 2000, the office further expanded the Awards for Officers of Public Organisations to include complaint-related nominations. This year, 25 public officers from 19 departments and organisations were honoured with the awards (see Appendix for a full list of awardees).
Ends/Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Issued at HKT 17:59
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