XN000022-1976-04-07 — Page 11

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Wednesday, April 7, 1976

NEW COMMITTEE MAY BE SET UP TO OVERSEE PUBLIC SPENDING

A Public Accounts Committee may be set up to ensure that public funde are spent in the way intended, the Financial Secretary, the Hon. Philip Haddon-

Cave, said today (Wednesday).

Winding up the budget debate in the Legislative Council, the said that

the proposed Public Accounts Committee would have the task of examining the

Director of Audit's report, seeking additional information from those concerned

and satisfying itself that any necessary remedial action had been taken.

He said that the Director of Audit was in fact performing a role partly

similar to that of a "permanent central team to monitor departmental expenditure"

suggested by the Hon. F.W. Li.

"In compiling the enclosure to the despatch forwarding his report of audit to

the Secretary of State tabled in this Council around December every year, we

require those subject to criticism to explain themselves," the Financial Secretary said. "Invariably, the outcome is some changes to procedures and

practices to prevent a recurrence of whatever went wrong.

1.

He said that the setting up of a Public Accounts Committee would involve the Legislative Council more closely in the processing of the Director of Audit's reports and provide a more formal accountability of the

Civil Service to taxpayers.

The Financial Secretary refuted "serious charges" by the Hon. F., Li concerning financial mismanagement in the Government, and spoke at length on

the series of checks and balances designed to prevent this.

Replying to a suggestion made by Mr. Li that "revenue-generating departments" should be run as autonomous corporations, the Financial Secretary said that hiving off in this way would introduce an inflexibility in the use

of available funds.

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