CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
Civil Service Training and Development
The government attaches great importance to the training and development of public servants in order to increase efficiency and effectiveness, and to help them meet new challenges. Induction and refresher training is provided by many departments to equip staff with the knowledge and skills to carry out their duties effectively. When necessary, staff are also sponsored on local or overseas training courses attachments.
To achieve effective use of training resources, the Civil Service Training Centre and Senior Staff Course Centre were amalgamated in April 1996 to become the Civil Service Training and Development Institute, which strives to be a centre of excellence for Civil Service training. It conducts a wide range of management, language, China studies and computer courses, and co-ordinates the management training undertaken by civil servants at local and overseas institutes. It also provides training services to support management initiatives launched by the central government and helps departments with their training programmes.
Transition to 1997
Stability and continuity are high on the agenda of the Civil Service in making its transition to Chinese sovereignty. Turnover in the Civil Service has always been low compared with the private sector and the wastage rate of the overall Civil Service in 1995/96 was 4.4 per cent its lowest in seven years. Continuity at the management level is particularly important. For this purpose the government has a well-organised staff planning system. The Secretary for the Civil Service holds regular meetings with Heads of Departments and their Policy Secretaries to review succession planning of senior staff and to identify and groom officers with potential for senior management, in order to ensure a steady supply of talent to senior positions.
The Basic Law states that only Chinese citizens among permanent residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region with no right of abode in any foreign country may fill the 23 or so Principal Official posts the most senior posts. The government has localised 22 of the posts by promoting talented civil servants. The government will fulfil its commitment to fill all posts at future Principal Official level before July 1, 1997, by officers who meet the Basic Law's requirements by localising the last such post, Attorney General.
A Civil Service Pension Reserve Fund was established in 1995 to provide an additional assurance to civil servants on the security of pensions. The fund reinforces the strong guarantees in the existing pensions legislation, the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law. The fund, which stood at $7.4 billion in March 1996, will be topped up as and when necessary in order to maintain the balance at a minimum of one year's pension expenditure.
The government runs an extensive China Training Programme which aims to provide public servants with the necessary knowledge, understanding and skills to enable them to work effectively in the future Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. The programme is divided into two parts: China Studies and Chinese language training.
The emphasis on China Studies is to cultivate knowledge about the social, economic and administrative systems in China through courses held in China or in Hong Kong, and through visits to institutes in China. The courses and visits also
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