CONFIDENTIAL
no reason why a Head of Department should not play a political
role in the sense that he could explain to the public what
his department is doing and why. For example, the Labour
Department have on the stocks many items of legislation
which, if enacted, would improve labour conditions, What do the
public know of this? Fortunately there is a growing awareness
of the need for explanation. At a lower level, Government is
considering the appointment of District Officers in the urban
areas whose task will be to explain Government policies to the
people at the grassroots and to investigate complaints.
most encouraging and a step in the right direction.
This is
13.
Other Matters
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The Secretariat
Whilst
It is apparent that in many quarters there is a strong
resentment of Secretariat attitudes and methods.
appreciating his "Treasury" role, many criticised the Financial
Secretary for assuming that almost all departmental schemes have
financial implications and to be fair many of them do - thus
enabling him to have too great a say in departmental policy
generally. Other criticisms were that the Secretariat fail in
forward planning and react to events rather than control them,
and that Heads of Departments must be given more freedom of
action and encouragement to use their initiative. Obviously
this was something I could not look into. I have, however,
asked the Department here to explore ways in which the
Secretariat could be reorganised to bring it into line with
current needs without loss of efficiency.
14. Legislative and Executive Councils
Many unofficial members of the Legislative and Executive
Councils complain that they are not properly consulted by the
Administration. This is denied by the Administration and the
truth is difficult to uncover. But what is clear is that many
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/unofficial
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