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Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Henry Tang, at the Public Sector Reform Conference at the Sha Tin Town Hall this morning (November 10):
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Yesterday the Chief Executive spoke of our responsibility for reform. Today I'd like to set out my thoughts on the direction that reform efforts should take over the decade to the year 2020.
Yesterday the conference considered political and economic impacts on the public service through to 2020. Today you will consider other aspects of the shifting landscape – an ageing population; radical change in social interactions around communications technology; the changing assumptions and aspirations of young people; the influence of culture on our community.
Today we have to be shaping ideas for reform that will adapt our public service to its changing environment so that it will serve Hong Kong well tomorrow and beyond.
I'd like to set out some ideas on the direction for reform. I will be inviting you to help develop those ideas into actions through our discourse over the coming months.
But first, I want to start by outlining why I think substantial change is needed. To do this I'm going to use just a few illustrations. Some come from external views of Hong Kong: some come from inside Hong Kong. Some are numerical: some are real drawings.
Let's start with an external view.
"Hong Kong ranks among the top economies on the ease of doing business and …of the most consistent reformers."
This is a comment in last year's report from the World Bank's Doing Business Survey.
"Well, sounds good, doesn't it? It's alright" you may be saying to yourselves: why am I suggesting we actually need to change at all?
Well, we always need to look beneath the headlines at what is really going on. Yes, Hong Kong has a public service that has delivered much. Yes, we are continuing to add value through reform. Yes, we are one of the most well respected public services around the world. Yes, we are well supported and loved by the Hong Kong people.
But, governments and city administrations across the world and in the mainland are not standing still. They are innovating vigorously. We can see in area after area the wide advantages that Hong Kong used to enjoy being narrowed down: we can see areas where we risk falling behind.
When you are canoeing against the current you have to keep paddling. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
Can you find renewed pace and vigour for reform within yourselves? Can you find it within your organisations?
There is quite a lot of pessimism out there. In a focus group run recently with a group of civil servants, here is how one person characterised today's public service. The description they gave to this picture is of: "a middle-aged man, wanting to work hard, not knowing how to work effectively, anxious in the face of new stuff."
If you think that's not good, see what came from a group of non-civil servants. They think that you are a helpless victim of abuse!
These are just individual perceptions, but I don't think we can just laugh them off. We need to change those perceptions. To do that we are going to have to change the substance of the way we work. Superficial change to appearances is no use.
I've started by speaking of the need to change perceptions, but reform of the way the public service works is needed even more because of realities that we must face. There is much talk of our ageing society. Let's look at a few simple figures and think about what they mean for the public service:
* By 2020, the population of working age is expected to grow by about two hundred thousand: the population over the age of 65 will grow by about four hundred thousand.
* And that's just the start. By 2039 the projection is for the working age population to grow by one hundred thousand. The population over 65 will grow twelve times as much, by one million two hundred thousand.
Think about what those figures mean. By 2020, we need to make the whole city more user-friendly for older people. Health and welfare services for the elderly are going to have to increase by about 40%. And, we will have to be gearing up for another near doubling of demand over the next couple of decades. I will face that much sooner than you.
We will have to do this while leaving enough capacity in the workforce to keep the economy healthy and able to afford these services.
We will have to do this while sustaining high levels of investment in education. The interconnected, knowledge based economy needs excellent education for every citizen more than ever.
These realities determine how we must act.
Over the decade to 2020 there needs to be consistent and substantial increase in the productivity of the public service. This is essential to make resources available for the elderly, to sustain investment in other services and to give space for the rest of the economy.
Increasing productivity to create more value for the community requires persistent, close attention to three aspects of intellectual capital within your organisations.
* First one, human capital. There is much more to this than qualifications, training and succession planning. The engagement of staff with the purpose of the organisation, their creativity, entrepreneurialism and empathy with the citizens they serve – all these are of vital importance.
* Second is structural capital. By this I mean such things as the organisational structure, culture and business systems in your organisations. These enable and encourage your staff to work effectively and productively. A simple point to keep in mind – however well educated and well trained your staff are, they can't do a good job if the management and systems in your organisation prevent them from using their skills and their ideas well;
* Third is relational capital – the social networks, formal partnerships and corporate reputation that you develop to inform your actions, support your work and gain the trust you need to be able to act effectively.
Attention to these three areas will help to ensure that by 2020 Hong Kong still has an innovative and productive public service, and Hong Kong people will love you more.
In addition, I expect to see a public service that has incorporated sustainability into every aspect of the way it goes about its business. I want to see a public service that, as a whole, has shown clear and consistent leadership in moving this city onto a sustainable path. We must transform the way we use energy, use material, shape our built environment and protect our natural assets. And helping to achieve these objectives must be an integral part of the way we design our work and create services for our community.
I do not think that the citizens of Hong Kong are asking too much when they ask for their public service to employ technology well; to design services around the needs of citizens; to be active in creating value for the community rather than simply reacting to complaints.
Most important of all, the community we serve should be able to see us working together in a co-ordinated and efficient manner. Regardless of the division of labour within the government, we must work together as a single organisation. We mustn't let things fall between two stools.
In today's connected world we cannot see the public service as a group of separate bureaux and departments. A culture of common purpose in the efficient service of our city is essential. Within the public service every officer should be encouraged and empowered to put themselves into the shoes of the citizen seeking service, to look beyond the rules and help him. Helping each citizen go about their life and business with less frustration, with greater convenience and with greater opportunity is our fundamental purpose.
I remember this quite well the first time when I asked the Efficiency Unit to help us with public service. I said how do we instill a culture into our public organisation that everyone who stands inside the counter looking at someone who seeks service feels that I am the one who is seeking service and how do I transform myself and my thinking so that I can be in his or her shoes seeking that service.
So, I have asked the Efficiency Unit to help you to develop the intellectual capital within your agencies; to help deploy common services that will allow us to work together more efficiently and, support sustainability initiatives across Government. I ask all of you to apply your thought and initiatives to these areas of common action.
Today and tomorrow, let us begin to apply our ideas and skills more vigorously, to pick up the pace of reform to serve this city and community, well through to 2020 and beyond.
Thank you very much.
Ends/Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Issued at HKT 13:37
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