**********************************************************
The Government announced today (August 13) that the mid-term review of the remuneration for Under Secretaries and Political Assistants had been completed and that the remuneration for the nine Under Secretaries and the nine Political Assistants would remain unchanged.
The review was conducted between May and July this year. The performance of each Under Secretary and Political Assistant was appraised by his or her supervising principal officials and the appraisal reports were individually reviewed by the Director of the Chief Executive¡¦s Office. All the appraisal and review reports were then submitted to the Appointment Committee chaired by the Chief Executive for consideration. The performance of the Under Secretaries was assessed mainly on their effectiveness in promoting government policies and presenting government positions in the Legislative Council (LegCo) and to the media, community organisations and members of the public, and in assisting their supervising Bureau Secretaries in formulating and implementing policies. The performance of the Political Assistants was assessed mainly on their effectiveness in tendering political analyses and advice to their supervising principal officials, as well as in political liaison work.
Having considered the appraisal and review reports, the Appointment Committee considered that the performance of each of the Under Secretaries and Political Assistants generally met the requirements, and on that basis decided that their remuneration should remain unchanged.
The Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, said, "Under Secretaries and Political Assistants are new positions created during this term of administration. I do not believe that it is sustainable for an open and accountable government to rely solely on politically appointed Principal Officials to handle all the political work. It is proper and necessary to further develop the political appointment system - a system which is commonly adopted in other democracies.
"The creation of the Under Secretary and Political Assistant positions is a new challenge for both the SAR Government and the appointees. We need time to consolidate experience. Since the creation of these positions, the Government's work in explaining policies to the LegCo and the District Councils has been enhanced. We now have in place proper acting arrangements when the Bureau Secretaries are away on duty visits or on leave. The Principal Officials concerned now enjoy better support in discharging their duties.
"I appreciate that the public has high expectations of politically appointed officials. Given the differences in responsible policy areas and scope of work of the Under Secretaries and Political Assistants, members of the public understandably have different impressions of them and assessments on their performance. I believe that the Under Secretaries and Political Assistants would humbly accept public scrutiny and criticisms. They will take this opportunity to review their work and identify areas for further improvement having regard to public expectations. I encourage them to build on their past work, to feel the pulse of the community, to actively liaise with all political parties of the LegCo, to proactively reach out to different sectors of the community and to explain government policies to the media and the stakeholders," said the Chief Executive.
A government spokesman said, "Since assuming office, the Under Secretaries have attended many LegCo panel and committee meetings, and assisted in explaining government policies and seeking LegCo members' support for government proposals. They have also attended many other meetings and functions, including District Council meetings, public forums, seminars and consultation sessions, so as to strengthen the communication between the Government and different sectors of the community. The Under Secretaries have also deputised for the Bureau Secretaries, as Acting Secretaries, when the latter are on duty visits or on leave. The number of times the Under Secretaries have deputised for their Bureau Secretaries and their attendance at LegCo meetings are set out in Annex 1.
"The Political Assistants are primarily responsible for providing political analyses and advice to the Directors of Bureau and Under Secretaries and assisting them in conducting lobbying work. They liaise with the media and assist in explaining government policies and positions,¡¨ the spokesman said. Related statistics on the work of the Political Assistants are at Annex 2.
"With different portfolios, different subject matters and different sectors to liaise with, the work of Under Secretaries and Political Assistants is bound to be different; any direct comparisons among them would be inappropriate," he added.
Members of the Appointment Committee also include the Chief Secretary for Administration, the Financial Secretary, the Secretary for Justice, the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs and the Director of the Chief Executive's Office.
The Finance Committee of the LegCo approved in December 2007 the creation of the positions of Under Secretary and Political Assistant. The first batch of Under Secretaries and Political Assistants assumed office from June 2008 onwards.
Ends/Friday, August 13, 2010
Issued at HKT 14:28
NNNN
