Dear Colleagues,

Reward for Outstanding Performance

I am pleased to inform you that 75 civil service colleagues have received awards under the Secretary for the Civil Service's Commendation Award Scheme today.

It is an integral part of our civil service system to recognise and award civil servants for their exemplary contributions to the Government and the community.  There is in place the Chief Executive's Honours and Awards System at the highest level and the Commendation Letter Scheme at the departmental level.  Following consultation with departmental management and the staff side, we have decided to introduce the Secretary for the Civil Service's Commendation Award Scheme commencing this year to recognise in particular the consistently outstanding performance of civil servants in their daily work. Awardees under this Scheme remain eligible for the departmental Commendation Letter as well as for nomination under the Chief Executive's Awards and Honours System.

The Scheme awardees who attended the presentation ceremony held this afternoon shared their joy with their invited families and guests present. The Chief Executive joined the cocktail party afterwards to extend his congratulations.

The outstanding performance of civil servants is an important consideration in our promotion exercises. Despite the financial constraint faced by the Government in recent years, we continue to promote civil servants across different grades and ranks.  In this regard, I am pleased to inform you that in the first eight months of this year, a total of 1,087 officers in 93 grades have been promoted.  In the coming months, several hundred officers will receive their promotion letters as the departmental management completes the relevant exercises.

It is the mission of the civil service to serve the community, and our system continues to value talent and performance. I assure you that outstanding civil servants will continue to be recognised and rewarded.

Yours sincerely,

(Joseph W P Wong)
Secretary for the Civil Service