S
RESTRICTED
STAFF IN CONFIDENCE
NICA 431/13
RECEIVED IN ROTAY NO. 51
1 OFEB 1981
DESK OFFICER INDEX
PA
BBR
238-3184
PESTRY
Action Taken:
General Sir William Jadison GBE KCB MC
Governor and Commander-in-Chief
GIBRALTAR
wolle
ER 11/3
9 February 1981
FUTURE STAFFING IN THE DEPENDENT TERRITORIES
3
1. Thank you for your letter of 21 January with your and Robin O'Neill's helpful comments on the staffing paper. Perhaps I could
comment on some of them.
2. Hong Kong was not included in the staffing paper because: (a) the Hong Kong job prescriptions are not, generally, the same
as those for smaller dependencies (particularly the Caribbean ones); and
(b) the Hong Kong Civil Service establishment is expanding. The
Hong Kong Government are reluctant to lose people and can offer very attractive financial and career prospects.
We have had one or two unfortunate experiences whereby officers have withdrawn their candidature for posts at the eleventh hour. The same argument applies equally for the judicial posts (paragraph 8 of the memorandum). We are not leaving Hong Kong completely out of account but we have to accept that it is a limited source of staff.
3. I agree that there is, generally, a distinction between the "general administrative" posts of Governor, Chief Secretary etc. and those of Financial Secretary etc. But I would certainly contend that, in many posts, the top men also need skills and qualities (if not experience) of a distinctive dependent territory kind. The running of a small colony and political relations with local Ministers call for additional talents to those which a DS Grade 4 (or a Home Civil Service Assistant Secretary) will have had to develop during his normal run of postings. I grant that many will prove to have these talents, but by no means all can produce them without some kind of run-in period.
4. Having said that, I think Robin's prescription for the ideal Governor is a good one. To (a) I would add a sensitivity to "local" politics across the whole spectrum and a highly developed perception of the political and personal shifts and manoeuvres of people whose scope of operations and motivation is in many respects different from those encountered in diplomatic life.
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