30
30%
CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
The Structure of the Administration
The administration of the Hong Kong Government is organised into branches and departments. The branches, each headed by a policy secretary, collectively form the Government Secretariat. There are currently 12 policy branches, and two resource branches concerned with finance and the public service.
The policy branches whose secretaries report directly to the Chief Secretary are: the Home Affairs Branch (known, before October 15, as the City and New Territories Administration); Constitutional Affairs Branch; Education and Manpower Branch; Health and Welfare Branch; Planning, Environment and Lands Branch; Recreation and Culture Branch; Security Branch; and Transport Branch.
The Civil Service Branch, a resource branch, also comes under the aegis of the Chief Secretary.
The policy branches whose secretaries report directly to the Financial Secretary are: Economic Services, Financial Services (known, before April 1, as Monetary Affairs), Trade and Industry, and Works.
The Finance Branch, a resource branch, is also responsible to the Financial Secretary. There are 76 departments and agencies whose heads are, with certain exceptions, responsible to the branch secretaries for the direction of their departments and the efficient implementation of approved government policy. The exceptions are the Audit Department, whose independence is safeguarded by the Director reporting directly to the President of the Legislative Council; the Independent Commission Against Corruption, whose independence is safeguarded by the Commissioner reporting directly to the Governor; the Judiciary, which is the responsibility of the Chief Justice; and the Legal Department, which is the responsibility of the Attorney General.
To assist in the co-ordination of government policy, there are, under the umbrella of the Chief Secretary's Committee, seven policy groups which bring together branch secretaries in related programme areas. The six which are chaired by the Chief Secretary are: Community Affairs; Constitutional Affairs; Lands, Works, Transport, Housing and Environmental Protection; Public Services; Social Services; and Legal and Security. The Legal Affairs Policy Group is chaired by the Attorney General.
Office of the Commissioner for Administrative Complaints
The Commissioner for Administrative Complaints (COMAC) is an independent authority, established in 1989 to provide citizens with some means through which an independent person outside the public service can investigate, and report on, grievances arising from administrative decisions, acts, recommendations or omissions.
COMAC has jurisdiction over all government departments, except the Royal Hong Kong Police Force and the Independent Commission Against Corruption, for which there are separate systems to deal with complaints from the public. He also has jurisdiction over the Hospital Authority.
In mid-1992, the government undertook a review of the COMAC redress system to identify areas where improvements can be made to strengthen its role as a safeguard against government maladministration. After a three-month public consultation exercise, the government proposed a number of changes to the system. They include replacing the referral system to enable the public to take their complaints directly to the Com- missioner, extending the Commissioner's jurisdiction to major statutory bodies, and