CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
individual grievances against maladministration in the public sector; making bureaucracy more humane; lessening the gap between the Government and the public; acting as the people's watchdog; preventing abuses; righting individual wrongs; indicating the facts when public officers are unjustly accused; improving the efficiency and quality of service in the public sector; and protecting human rights. The Ombudsman has jurisdiction over practically all government departments except the Hong Kong Police Force and the Independent Commission Against Corruption, which have their own separate bodies to deal with complaints from the public, and also 18 major public organisations including the Employees Retraining Board, The Hong Kong Examinations Authority, the Hong Kong Sports Development Board and the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, which have been put under the jurisdiction of The Ombudsman since June 4, 1999.
Apart from investigating complaints, The Ombudsman can initiate direct investigations on her own volition and may publish investigation reports of public interest. These direct investigations aim at addressing problems at a higher level by adopting a proactive and preventive approach. They are useful in preventing administrative flaws of a systemic nature by nipping problems in the bud and preventing future similar complaints by addressing fundamental problems or other underlying reasons for complaints. A total of 24 direct investigations had been completed, of which five were completed in 1999. The subjects investigated in the year were the registration of tutorial schools, the restaurant licensing system, the issue pertaining to imported pharmaceutical products, the commissioning and operation of the new airport at Chek Lap Kok, and registration and inspection of kindergartens. Besides, there were five direct investigations being undertaken, which included the regulatory mechanism for import/export, storage and transportation of used motor vehicles/cycles, regulatory mechanism for local travel agents for inbound tours, and provision and management of private medical and dental clinic services in public housing estates, the clearance of Provisional Urban Council tenants and licence. holders affected by the Land Development Corporation's development projects, and selected issues concerning the provision of retraining courses by the Employees Retraining Board. Reports of all direct investigations completed are available for public scrutiny at the office's Resource Centre.
The Ombudsman Ordinance also empowers The Ombudsman to investigate complaints of non-compliance with the Code on Access to Information against government departments, including the Hong Kong Police Force and the Independent Commission Against Corruption. The code was introduced in March 1995 and gradually extended to all government departments by December 1996. The Ombudsman serves as a common independent review body for alleged breaches of the code.
The office received 9 893 enquiries and 3 557 complaints in 1999, compared with 9 601 enquiries and 3 895 complaints in 1998. The areas which attracted substantial numbers of complaints were related to negligence or omission, disparity in treatment, unfairness, delay, error, wrong decision, lack of response to complaints, failure to follow procedures and rudeness.
The organisations receiving the most complaints were: Housing Department, Correctional Services Department, Land Development Corporation, Lands Department, Hong Kong Housing Society, Urban Services Department, Immigration Department, Hospital Authority, Government Secretariat and Home Affairs
25