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The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Carrie Lam, visited the Efficiency Unit (EU) today (July 25) to better understand its daily operations, business proposals and technical support projects in planning.
Mrs Lam said, "The Chief Executive put forward his vision on establishing service-oriented government and raising administrative efficiency in his election platform. I encourage colleagues in the EU to spare no effort in supporting the implementation of the Chief Executive's manifesto by enabling the departments to examine their processes of public service provision, to promote innovative service culture, and to enhance the use of information technology for communicating with the public."
Mrs Lam then proceeded to the 1823 Call Centre in Tsuen Wan, which is under the ambit of the EU. She was briefed by the staff on the contributions of the government hotline during typhoons.
During the typhoon period for the past two days, the 1823 Call Centre handled over 15,000 enquiries, representing an increase of 20 per cent over normal days. Among them, 2,100 were about fallen tree incidents, 980 were about road conditions, 300 were about the arrangements for recreation programmes, 200 were about flooding, and some were about slope safety.
Mrs Lam said, "I wholeheartedly thank the colleagues of the 1823 Call Centre. They were dedicated to their work when Typhoon Vicente passed Hong Kong. They serve as a bridge between the Government and the public, and follow up enquiries with enthusiasm and initiative. It shows they care about the public, and also ensures the relevant government departments can handle different emergency situations promptly with a view to safeguarding the lives of our citizens."
In 2011, the 1823 Call Centre handled over 2.45 million enquiries, 98 per cent of which were resolved after the first calls.
Ends/Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Issued at HKT 18:07
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