Civil Service. The Colonial Secretariat under the control of the Deputy Colonial Secretary coordinates the work of all the depart- ments and takes, or transmits from the Governor or Colonial Secretary, all general policy decisions.
The Government has a Public Relations Officer whose duties are to transmit news and explain government policy to the public and to keep Government informed of public opinion.
The Public Services Commission, which was appointed under the authority of the Public Services Commission Ordinance, 1950, with a view to improving the standard of efficiency of officers in the public service and ensuring that the claims of local candidates for appointment to the service receive full consideration, is responsible for advising the Governor on appointments and promotions to the great majority of vacancies on the pensionable Government establish- ment.
During 1949 a six-month visit was paid by an Adviser on Organization and Methods who examined the organization and proce- dures of the Colonial Secretariat and the Public Works Department and reviewed various problems concerned with governmental method.
Trade, Finance and Development
Since 1938 the Financial Secretary has assumed a purely administrative function in the Colonial Secretariat and under his direction the Accountant-General is responsible for the public accounts, all of which are subject to the supervision of the Director of Audit. The assessment and collection of rates are the responsibility of the Commissioner of Rating and Valuation; and the collection of miscellaneous indirect taxation and of the direct taxation levied under the Inland Revenue Ordinance, 1947, and the Estate Duty Ordinance, 1932, are the responsibility of the Commissioner of Inland Revenue.
During 1950 the two former trade departments (Commerce and Industry, and Supplies and Distribution) were unified under a Director of Commerce and Industry who is responsible for Govern- ment bulk purchases of essential foodstuffs, price control, rationing, the collection of import and excise duties and the direction of preventive work. Procurement of Government requirements other than essential foodstuffs is the responsibility of the Controller of Stores. The control of enemy property and property abandoned during the war is in the hands of the Custodian of Property.
The four separate departments which dealt with agriculture, fisheries, forestry and public gardens have now been linked for administrative purposes into a single department under a Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
A new departure has been the setting up of a department to foster the development of cooperative societies. This department, under a Registrar of Cooperatives, is also in control of the Govern- ment Wholesale Fish and Vegetable Markets.
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