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The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Clement Cheung, visited the Treasury today (May 23) to learn more about the work of the department and to take the opportunity to meet its staff.
Accompanied by the Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Thomas Chow, Mr Cheung first met with the Director of Accounting Services, Mr Martin Siu, and the directorate staff. He was pleased to hear that the Treasury is committed to leading and excelling in the provision of accounting and financial management services to various bureaux and departments in the Government. The department is also responsible for providing centralised collection and payment services as well as producing the accounts of the Government.
Later, Mr Cheung visited the Pensions Division under the Establishment Branch to better understand the procedures of pension payment to retired civil servants and other eligible persons. In the 2015-16 financial year, payments of pension benefits amounting to some $29 billion had been arranged to about 132 000 eligible persons.
Mr Cheung then proceeded to the Information Systems Branch and toured the computer hall, which provides 24-hour services to support various service-wide application systems. He praised the work of the staff for provision of secure, efficient and effective accounting and financial information systems, as well as delivery of quality system support services.
When visiting the Planning and Development Branch, Mr Cheung was briefed on a knowledge database on government financial management which has been developed by the department to facilitate experience sharing and knowledge transfer among colleagues.
Before concluding his visit, Mr Cheung met the staff representatives of various grades at a tea gathering to exchange views on relevant departmental issues. He praised the efforts made by the staff members and encouraged them to continue to provide a full range of accounting and financial support services to the Government professionally.
Ends/Monday, May 23, 2016
Issued at HKT 17:34
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