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District officers' attendance at functions
Following is a question by the Hon Zachary Wong and a written reply by the acting Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Joseph Wong, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Question:
Regarding the attendance of District Officers at various kinds of ceremonies, will the Government inform this Council:
(a)
(b)
(c)
of the respective number of ceremonies attended by each of the District Officers last year, together with a breakdown by month of the number of attendance and the time spent thereof by each officer,
of the criteria adopted by the District Officers in deciding whether to attend such ceremonies or not; and
how District Officers can avoid causing disruption to other areas of their work as a result of their frequent attendance at ceremonial functions?
Reply:
Mr President.
(a)
(b)
(c)
No statistics pertaining to attendance of District Officers at various kinds of functions have been kept. As a rough indication, District Officers attend an average of 4 to 5 functions each month and spend between one to two hours at each function.
Attendance by District Officers at functions is an indication of Government support. In deciding whether or not to attend a particular function, District Officers generally take into account factors such as the purpose of the occasion, the status of the organisation, and whether their attendance would contribute positively to Government's community building efforts.
As invitations to functions are received well in advance, District Officers are able to plan their work schedule around these functions. Also, many of the functions are held outside office hours.
End/Wednesday, June 14, 1995