The system of administration is briefly as follows:
Under the general direction of the Colonial Secretary the administrative functions of Government are discharged by some thirty departments, all the officers of which are members of the Civil Service. The Colonial Secretariat under the control of the Deputy Colonial Secretary coordinates the work of all the departments and takes, or transmits from the Governor or Colonial Secretary, all general policy decisions.
the
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. During 1951 control of Radio Hong Kong, with its broadcasting services in English and Chinese, was transferred to the Public Relations Officer from the Postmaster General.
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 establishment.
Trade, Finance and Development
The
Since 1938 the Financial Secretary has assumed a purely adminis- trative 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. assessment and collection of rates
are the
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.
The Director of Commerce and Industry is responsible for Government 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 Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is adminis- tratively responsible for the Government's services in agriculture, fisheries, forestry and the maintenance of public gardens, each of these divisions being under the supervision of professional officers.
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