Speech by Deputy Secretary for the Civil Service at the Integrity Programme Implementation Seminar

Following is the full text of a speech by the Deputy Secretary for the Civil Service, Miss Jennifer MAK, at the Seminar on Integrity Programme Implementation today (November 14) (English Only):

Good morning, Miss Chung and Colleagues,

On behalf of CSB and ICAC, I would like to, first of all, extend a warm welcome to you all.  I am pleased to see such a good turn-out this morning.  I see this as an indication of the importance we all place on integrity management in the civil service.

We have a very full half-day programme this morning comprising talks and also discussion sessions.  I hope that you will all find the programme a useful one.  Hong Kong has been recognised internationally to have one of the world's most trustworthy, efficient and clean civil service.  The fact that Hong Kong remains an attractive and business-friendly place in which to live and work is due, in no small measure, to our fine and honest civil service.  This stems from the fact that integrity, impartiality and honesty feature as core values of our civil service.  To maintain our competitive edge, upholding the integrity of the civil service has always been one of the key areas of our work.

In this regard, continuous efforts are being made to maintain a high standard of probity within the civil service.  To give you an idea of our on-going endeavours, let me briefly re-cap what we have done in the past few years before sharing with you how we intend to position ourselves, with your assistance and contributions, for the challenges ahead.

In the 1998 Policy Address, we set ourselves ambitious targets through the promulgation of a two-year integrity programme for the civil service.  A task force was set up in CSB to spearhead efforts in promoting integrity and good conduct at all levels.  This task force worked closely with colleagues in the ICAC.

More specifically, the Task Force focused its endeavours :

-   on updating the relevant civil service regulations and guidelines, some of which had not been amended for some time;

-   on assisting departments to draw up supplementary guidelines specific to their departmental situations.  This has proved to be very useful, particularly to staff who have considerable interface with the public as they are provided with more specific guidelines geared to their particular areas of work;

-   on providing support to departments in promoting vigilance against corruption and conflict of interest.

The two year integrity programme has recently ended.  So, how did it fare? 

At the central level, the review of the central circulars has been completed, taking into account present-day circumstances.  Up-dated guidelines have been issued or are being drawn up for staff consultation.  These cover subjects including the declaration of investments by civil servants, management of staff indebtedness, avoidance of conflict of interest situations, acceptance of advantages, etc.

At the departmental level, by February 2001, the Task Force had visited all 67 departments.  As at November 2001, of the 67 departments, 42 have reviewed or issued up-to-date departmental guidelines, 13 have drafted and the remaining 12 are in the process of drawing up departmental guidelines on integrity management.

At the individual level, efforts have been made to raise civil servants' awareness of the high standard of integrity expected of them through a number of initiatives, such as encouraging departments to hold briefings/seminars for their staff, to tie in with the promulgation of departmental guidelines.  In parallel, with the support of the Task Force, the ICAC has taken the lead in organising tailor-made corruption prevention training for officers in the various departments, from senior managers to front-line staff.  Between January 1999 and October 2001, some 1 780 training sessions which touch on integrity management issues have been organised for over 48 900 civil servants.

To underline our resolve to face up to the integrity issues in the new millennium, CSB and ICAC jointly organised in March 2000 a two-day international conference "Ethical Leadership Forum 2000".  The conference was well received by business leaders and government officials.  As a spin-off of the conference, we have produced, for managers in the service, a guidebook entitled "Ethical Leadership in Action", providing handy reference on practices against corruption.  I understand that this guidebook has been well-received as it is easy to read and sets out in simple terms the critical integrity issues requiring attention.

Whilst we are encouraged by the positive feedback thus far on the overall efforts made to promote integrity within the civil service culture, we are mindful that there is no room for complacency on a subject like integrity management.

The seminar today marks another milestone in our continuous efforts to promote ethics in the civil service.  In this seminar, through the talk to be delivered by our guest speaker, Miss Cordelia Chung, General Manager of IBM China/Hong Kong Ltd, we hope you will gain a deeper insight into the best practices of one of the world's leading corporations in promoting ethical values amongst its staff.  IBM's success in cultivating a clean culture for its branch companies all over the world may help you, as senior departmental managers and the backbone of the civil service, to formulate a strategy that integrates accountability with the operational and personnel management systems in your department.  In the case study and experience-sharing sessions that follow, I hope you will have useful exchanges with your colleagues on the practical issues that we all face in the implementation of integrity programmes in the civil service.

Apart from this seminar, we are also in the process of developing a new website to provide resource materials on civil service integrity management for easy reference by departmental managers.  In this web site, we will assemble in one place various reference materials on ethics management.  They include central guidelines on acceptance of advantages, conflict of interest, declaration of investments; suggested answers to frequently asked questions on these subjects; publications on the integrity of civil servants; as well as sample departmental guides on conduct and discipline.

In addition, users can access the ICAC half-yearly newsletter "Integrity OnLine" on the new web site.  The web site will also feature our past efforts in integrity management, including speeches delivered by keynote speakers at forums or seminars; products such as clippings of videos for training purpose; as well as E-banners which could be used by departments in their web sites.

By the time when the new web site comes on line by the end of this year, it would help you, as departmental managers, to gain easy access to reference materials on integrity promotion.  That, we hope, would in turn help you in your day to day work in dealing with integrity management in the work place as well as sustain efforts to maintain a high standard of integrity in the civil service.

Last but not least, I would like to take this opportunity to express CSB's gratitude to the Independent Commission Against Corruption for the sterling assistance that they have provided to us in all these years in the integrity management field.

We have lined up, together with ICAC, other initiatives next year to maintain the momentum of our work to promote integrity in the civil service.  My colleague, Mr Christopher Wong, will tell you more about them before this seminar comes to a close.

We are of course conscious that our initiatives would not be effective without your support.  Similarly, this seminar would not be successful without your enthusiastic and active participation.  May I thank you once again for being with us here today.

Wednesday, November 14, 2001